Toss those murder mystery beach reads in the bin (Just kidding, please donate them to your nearest independent book store). It’s time to read up on your music history—past, present, and future—instead.
From books about the Beatles to behind-the-scenes tales from New York City’s rock scene in the aughts, this summer, there’s an impressive stack of page-turners that you will be talking about with everyone. Because really, this list includes books that aren’t just for music nerds. They’re for everyone, and it’s likely you’ll be sharing them with friends and your parents’ friends alike, eager to discuss the stories told because they’re too ridiculous to believe by word of mouth alone.
We chose five books for your summer reading list. That leaves enough time for you to steadily churn through them in a week or two, but don’t be surprised if you flip through them faster than that. They’re ridiculously entertaining. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Clare Nina Norelli
Twin Peaks
Bloomsbury
Like most of David Lynch’s works, Twin Peaks became a cult sensation immediately upon airing on ABC in April of 1990. It’s passed through generations of fans, coffee lovers, and angsty teens, making surrealism mainstream in the most unexpected of ways. Now, as Lynch revives the show for a second series still unfolding each week as you read this, you can learn more about the music that makes the TV show so eerie. Angelo Badalamenti uses percussive jazz and romantic synth to give emotion to a bizarre world, his soundtrack selling over two millions copies since it was first released. To help make sense of the show’s music, Clare Nina Norelli goes deep for the 33 1/3 book series, getting into the nitty-gritty of Twin Peaks that fans will geek over.
Rob Sheffield
Dreaming the Beatles
Dey Street Books / Harper Collins
Of course we all know the story of the Beatles. Even people who swear they hate the Beatles know the story of the Beatles. It’s impossible to go through life without hearing the music of the fab four, and yet talking about their music remains a timeless act, one that brings love into the lives of so many. Rob Sheffield’s book stands out among a sea of Beatles bios by breaking down why their legacy still matters, especially when most of their living fans weren’t alive when their records came out. So, the Rolling Stone columnist and bestselling author focuses on the emotional connections made by their music, drawing connections between them and Bowie, Fiona Apple, and virtually every artist in between. It’s a fascinating read, even for those who swear the mere mention of the band will drive them crazy.
Lizzy Goodman
Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
Dey Street Books / Harper Collins
It’s not easy interviewing musicians. Once you get them to crack, though, it becomes a goldmine of information, and author Lizzy Goodman manages to get dozens of iconic bands to spill every story, detail, and memory for her new book. When cut and pasted into a new order, the bands’ narratives form one joint tale about what rock and roll of the aughts was like in New York City. Meet Me in the Bathroom is an incredible capsule of 2001-2011, digging up dirt about everyone from the Strokes to LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs to the Walkmen, and LCD Soundsystem to Vampire Weekend. It’s like Our Band Could Be Your Life, but about the alt-rock scene of the ’00s instead of ’80s DIY punk. In other words, it’s probably what the average DigBoston reader will be gushing about all summer long.
Brodie Lancaster
No Way! Okay, Fine
Hachette Australia
Okay, yes, this book is technically about pop culture at large, but Brodie Lancaster explores pop music so succinctly here that it’s hard to justify why it shouldn’t be on this list. After being told that “girls can’t play the drums,” Lancaster grew up eagerly searching for examples that contrasted that. She looked for women who didn’t want to stay silent. She looked at musicians who decided to make noise. Through a lens of feminism and self-taught defiance, Lancaster explores the importance of pop culture not just as the art of enjoyment, but the art of empowerment. If you need more ringing endorsement, just look up what musician Courtney Barnett, actor Abbi Jacobson, and novelist Emma Straub have to say about it. (Hint: They love it.)
Ann Powers
Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music
Dey Street Books / Harper Collins
It should come as no surprise that the person to write the definitive book about popular music is NPR’s own Ann Powers. In her new book, Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music, out Aug 15, she dives into the complex reasoning as to how pop music shapes American ideas and beliefs. It’s an expansive book that dissects the myths that make popular music popular, explains why music was and still is an erotic art, and reminds readers of why we turn to confessional pop to begin with. Powers is one of the few writers whose every sentence is original and every point, even on topics beaten to death, sheds light that our eyes hadn’t yet seen before. Good Booty is no exception.
