How Music Works
19/01/13 20:26
David Byrne, How Music Works (San Francisco: McSweeney’s Books, 2012).
David Byrne has lived the life of a musician through his work with Talking Heads. He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He knows what he is talking about. But I didn’t expect such an in-depth exploration. This isn’t just a book about Rock and Roll, nor is it just a book about the music business. It is a far more comprehensive study of music and its impact on our lives. It is filled with history, anthropology, and a whole lot of love for all kinds of music. Whether the reader is a musician, or just someone who likes music, there is a lot to learn from this powerful collection of music and its power in our lives.
The science and art of recording music has evolved as the technology has changed, and Byrne has an extensive knowledge of how music is recorded, and how it is changed by the process of recording. There are lots of illustrations, including some sketches by Byrne. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves music.
Two in the Far North
18/01/13 18:13
Margaret E. Murie, Two in the Far North (Portland: Alaska Northwest Books, 1997).
I have never been to Alaska, but I do hope to visit someday. Margart Murie reminds me why I want to visit and why I want to plan my visit in such a way that I get off the beaten path and travel by human power to some of the only places. Walking, canoeing, and just finding places to sit and look. Her stories of her adventures with Olaus and others are reason enough to have wilderness. Even the places I have not visited are worth having because others have visited those places and some of them, like Mrs. Murie, are such descriptive and delightful authors that they have given us readers a tour of the place.
This is a book to read again and again. And it is a book to tuck into my backpack when I finally am able to visit Alaska someday. The only thing more delicious than reading the book would be reading it while camping in the wild country - a perfect activity for a rainy day. When the sun shines, I want to be outdoors looking carefully at the wildness that remains.