“The real history of music is not respectable. Far from it. Neither is it boring. Breakthroughs almost always come from provocateurs and insurgents, and they don’t just change the songs we sing, but often shake up the foundations of society. When something genuinely new and different arrives on the music scene, those in positions of […]
Tag: Bill Bryson
Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone – 125 Years of Pop Music by Peter Doggett (Vintage, $24.99)
“The global heritage of popular music is the product of 125 years of artistic and scientific innovation. It represents a constant quest for modernity, which must be endlessly renewed. This is the story of that quest; of the musicians, the generations that they delighted and divided, and the technology which captured their music in the […]
Most Outstanding Book of 2014
By Andreas Kessaris for Curtains Up! (@AKessaris) Annually around this time, everyone and their pet dog puts out a list encapsulating their year into “Best” and “Worst” lists. When I was asked to do the same it became a dilemma: How do I select the “Best” book of the year, especially when I find […]
The 10 Books Every Household Should Have
By Andreas Kessaris for Curtains Up! Books are wonderful things. They can educate us. Entertain us. Move us. Help us share experiences. Take us to places and eras we may never visit. (I am aware that I am likely not the first person to make such observations.)