by Sasha Geffen ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020
A helpful guided tour that shows how music is the perfect art form in which to “dance between genders.”
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Rolling Stone & Kirkus' Best Music Books of 2020
An exploration of how “music shelters gender rebellion from those who seek to abolish it.”
Popular music has always been fertile ground for expressions of sexual nonconformity, and queer and trans musicians have often ventured well beyond the gender binary—a construct, notes Geffen, that “has always limped along in pieces, easily cracked by a brief foray into the historical record.” In her debut book, the author traces gender transgression in pop music back to its roots in the blues. In the early 20th century, blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith challenged heterosexual norms in their lyrics, which feature “coded” references to gay love. From its very beginnings, Black American music included queer sexuality, and there would have been no Elvis or the Beatles without Little Richard first. Geffen capably describes musicians' strategies for breaking free of gender expectations up through the present day, with chapters on punk; glam rock; “post-punk, goth, and industrial”; Prince (yes, his own chapter); synthpop; disco and house music; hip-hop; “women’s music and riot grrrl”; grunge; and “the formless internet.” Androgyny and the challenging of gender norms are constant themes. Some readers may quibble with the author’s selections—seven pages on arty provocateur Genesis P-Orridge but only two for Morrissey—and there are glaring omissions: The London Suede and Owen Pallett leap to mind. Nonetheless, Geffen's genuine enthusiasm for transgressive pop music is clear and infectious, and the chapters on punk and glam rock (Ziggy Stardust–era David Bowie "carried androgyny into the mainstream on the strength of his weird charisma") are true standouts. The book is full of insightful observations, such as the pivotal role that Wendy Carlos and Pauline Oliveros played in the development of electronic music. Likely because they are not considered pop music, genres such as gospel, classical, and jazz go largely unaddressed. One of Kirkus and Rolling Stone’s Best Music Books of 2020.
A helpful guided tour that shows how music is the perfect art form in which to “dance between genders.”Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4773-1878-2
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Univ. of Texas
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2020
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IndieBound Bestseller
by Steve Martin illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 17, 2020
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
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IndieBound Bestseller
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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by Steve Martin ; illustrated by Harry Bliss
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by Jennette McCurdy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 9, 2022
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
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New York Times Bestseller
IndieBound Bestseller
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
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