Some music books
Welcome to the Goon Squad-Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan is such a great fiction writer, and she’s woven her love of music in here. Plus it’s set in San Francisco and New York City and ranges from the 70s to the near future.
Telegraph Avenue Michael Chabon
Chabon is a great writer, but I’d probably rate Mysteries of Pittsburgh or Kavalier and Clay as even better. The setting is a struggling record store in Oaklands, and I enjoyed the setting and ageing characters from the 70s Blaxploitation era. (In real life, Chabon is a big fan of the manbag).
The Exes Pagan Kennedy
The best of the “music themed” fiction bunch. A guy is persuaded by his ex-girlfriend to form a band that is only made of exes (rather than waiting until musical differences forces them apart). There are four sections, told from each members perspective, as they gradually become successful, but experience substance abuse or mental health pressures caused by living in a tour bus with exes.
I play drums in a band called okay-Toby Litt
“Okay” perform at Japanese festivals, acquire Japanese groupies, someone has a drug problem, someone has a religious conversion, the rest of the members find this awfully inconvenient.
Harvey Loco-Raya Elias
It’s fair to call this more of a heroin memoir than music. Raya snorted and injected away her chances and descended into the Lower East Side drug scene. Not unlike Ellen Miller's "Like Being Killed".
Gary Benchley Rock Star-Paul Ford
Gary forms a band, gets a tour, they don’t sell any merchandise, no-one comes to see them, bass player recruited by more successful band they are supporting, keyboardist quits, Gary drives home with female drummer he’s infatuated with, to detriment of relationship with cat owning girlfriend.
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