A career in music journalism is described with verve mixed with nostalgiaSylvia Patterson used to plaster her bedroom walls with pages from NME and Sounds, then at the zenith of taking themselves deadly seriously, and absorbed the ethos of music as revolution (as well as fun and frenzy). What a blast, then, to find herself, via a desperate stint at hoary Annabel magazine, working as a staffer on Smash Hits, whose relentlessly jokey glossary virtually wrote Eighties pop culture. Patterson’s nostalgia is palpable and she recreates that over-capitalised, “birrova laff” style with joy as she recalls encounters with the biggest music acts in the world as they exposed themselves to the magazine’s particular brand of ridicule in pursuit of publicity. Throughout an illustrious career in music journalism, Patterson has never lost her belief that pop and rock are, or should be, “foamingly important”; she describes the commodification of music into over-controlled “brands” with clarity and regret. Celebratory and elegiac, the book documents the last three and half decades in pop and gives an honest account of an exhilarating and gruelling life. Top read. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A career in music journalism is described with verve mixed with nostalgiaSylvia Patterson used to plaster her bedroom walls with pages from NME and Sounds, then at the zenith of taking themselves deadly seriously, and absorbed the ethos of music as revolution (as well as fun and frenzy). What a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” the concert pianist recalls his artistic and erotic awakening. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-24 15:00:06 UTC ]
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Lobbyists for the music industry and streaming music services are gearing up to battle one another after the Justice Department said it will review decades-old agreements that govern songwriter royalties.The review, which follows court battles between rights holders and Pandora internet radio,... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Al Pacino's book is an eccentric mix of self-reflection and career reframing as one of Hollywood's giants talks about his troubled youth and rise to fame. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-10-12 14:00:51 UTC ]
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The editor and essayist Joseph Epstein looks back on his life and career in two new books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-22 09:03:39 UTC ]
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In the debut novel “The Band,” a burned-out pop idol meets a disillusioned professor, raising the question: What if the dangers of fame resemble white-collar ennui? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-13 09:02:30 UTC ]
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In “The Woman in Me,” the pop star mines her extraordinary story for generic lessons. But the details speak for themselves. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-10-29 19:33:11 UTC ]
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From her Louisiana roots to the quasi-imprisonment of her conservatorship, Britney Spears' 'The Woman in Me' paints the pop star's life as a Victorian nightmare. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-20 20:46:28 UTC ]
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From Bono to Jarvis Cocker, Bruce Springsteen to Cosey Fanni Tutti, the last decade has seen an explosion of books by artists from every walk of musical life. Why is this once-rare genre striking a chord with stars and readers alike?By her own admission, Miki Berenyi was not a woman itching to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-15 08:00:25 UTC ]
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In the “brutally honest” memoir “Pageboy,” the actor recounts the fears and obstacles to gender transition, and the hard-won happiness that’s followed. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-06-06 09:00:19 UTC ]
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Her 2005 book, “Mozart in the Jungle,” lived up to its subtitle, “Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music,” and was later made into an Amazon TV series. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-19 18:57:28 UTC ]
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Her new memoir finds the 90-year-old singer-dancer hungry for acclaim, but generous to others on her way to getting it. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-17 09:00:22 UTC ]
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In “Stalking Shakespeare,” Lee Durkee describes his quest to find a true, authentic image of the famous playwright, a search that becomes a tragicomic tale in its own right. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-15 09:00:13 UTC ]
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Peter Orner's 'Still No Word From You' melds memoir and criticism and, in the process, brings reading to life as a multi-sensory, communal experience. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-28 15:00:54 UTC ]
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'Yoga' charts true-crime master Emmanuel Carrère's journey from intensive meditation to mental breakdown — but leaves out the divorce that derailed him. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-07-26 13:00:18 UTC ]
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The comedian’s memoir was funny. But when the new show based on it tries for something deeper, it sinks into bathos. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-06-08 02:00:06 UTC ]
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In "Mean Baby," "Cruel Intentions" star Selma Blair discusses the very long road to her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis with charm and candor. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-06-03 13:00:52 UTC ]
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The novelist Kathryn Davis' memoir, 'Aurelia, Aurélia," is a Virginia Woolf-inspired whoosh of experiences in the aftermath of her husband's death. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-01 18:31:42 UTC ]
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In her new book, Amy Bloom writes about loving her husband and helping him to end his life after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-01 10:59:23 UTC ]
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In 'Home/Land: A Memoir of Departure and Return,' Rebecca Mead, who returned to England after decades as an expat, asks what it means to be home. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-09 14:00:23 UTC ]
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