Next Week in Music | December 8-14 • 10 New Books

The Bottom Line tops the bill, Gentle Giant’s frontman climbs the corporate beanstalk, Apples In Stereo get picked, Stray Kids get found, Tom Waits gets his closeup — and more titles for your to-do list. Read all about ’em:

Positively Fourth and Mercer: The Inside Story of New York’s Iconic Music Club, The Bottom Line
By Allan Pepper & Billy Altman

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “In 1974, when young music promoters Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky opened their night club The Bottom Line in an industrial area of Greenwich Village that was all but deserted after 6 p.m., no one could have foreseen either its long-term success or its impact on the musical and cultural landscape of New York City. Over the next 30 years, while trends and tastes came and went, The Bottom Line remained true to its co-founders’ profoundly simple vision: That if you presented entertainers in an intimate setting where the focus would always be on what transpired onstage, both artists and audiences would treasure the experience. That vision would ultimately translate to, literally, thousands of magical evenings and events featuring both icons and up-and-comers from across the music universe. As the performers, patrons and staffers who passed through its doors all agree, The Bottom Line realized its founders vision as no New York music club, before or after, ever would. The story of the club is the tale of childhood friends who turned their shared dream into a reality — and, through determination, hard work, and, most of all, a belief in each other, made entertainment history, and memories, to last a lifetime. Told by co-founder Pepper and music journalist Billy Altman, as well as scores of on and offstage participants whose exploits helped create its lasting legacy, Positively Fourth and Mercer is certain to appeal to anyone interested in music, show business and the inner and outer workings of a legendary club that defined its time in the firmament of New York City nightlife. It is a love story about friendship, romance, and following a dream.”

Giant Steps: My Improbable Journey From Stage Lights To Executive Heights
By Derek Shulman

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “In Giant Steps, Derek Shulman chronicles a truly incredible life and career in music — first as the leader of the prog-rock pioneers Gentle Giant, then as the record-label executive responsible for cultivating and signing the likes of Bon Jovi, Dream Theater and Slipknot, and orchestrating comebacks by AC/DC, Bad Company and more. Beginning with a young Shulman confidently telling his school teacher that he would grow up to become a pop star, this eye-opening memoir explores a Zelig-like existence on both sides of the music industry. Shulman found fame first as a teenager in the ’60s group Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, then took rock music to the outer reaches across 11 albums with Gentle Giant. In the ’80s, he switched gears to become a record executive, first at Polygram and then at Atco and Roadrunner, working with everyone from Black Sabbath to Dr. Dre to Pantera to Men Without Hats. Along the way, Gentle Giant would become a defining influence on hip-hop, their music sampled by many of the genre’s leading lights — including J. Dilla, De La Soul and dozens more — and the band acclaimed by The Roots bandleader and filmmaker Questlove as one of his favourite rock acts of all time. Clean-living and career-driven in a world of debauchery and excess, Shulman is perfectly placed to explore and explain the major developments in popular music and youth culture from the 1960s to the present day, making Giant Steps a must-read for fans of prog, rock, hip-hop, and more.”

The Apples In Stereo
By Josh Bloom

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “Without The Apples In Stereo, there would be no Elephant 6. Without Robert Schneider, there would be no Neutral Milk Hotel. In author Josh Bloom’s first-person account, you get to decide whether these claims are truth or myth. The first biography dedicated to a core Elephant 6 artist, The Apples In Stereo is based on extensive interviews with Schneider and also includes exclusive contributions by all the key band members from the group’s formative years. This entertaining, often dramatic story frames an essential catalog of pop-rock perfection that will be part of every playlist you make from now on. Join this sometimes psychedelic, subtly therapeutic, always artistically ambitious journey, and be sure to keep your headphones on!”

Stray Kids
By Carolyn McHugh

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “From humble beginnings on JYP’s Stray Kids survival show to conquering international stages, Stray Kids have surpassed K-pop fame to become a global sensation. This ultimate fan book delves into their whirlwind rise to stardom, self-produced music, and how they’ve become empowering role models for millions worldwide. Their album 5-Star shattered records, while the Maniac world tour sold out arenas worldwide, proving their influence extends beyond music and impacts pop culture as a whole. Known for their bold mix of EDM, hip-hop, and introspective themes, Stray Kids are reshaping the K-pop landscape, led by the in-house production team 3RACHA. The group’s fearless innovation has garnered them legions of dedicated fans across continents. With over 10 billion streams on music platforms, and numerous Daesangs and Billboard Music Awards, their influence is only set to grow, making them unstoppable in the ever-expanding world of K-pop. So what better way to celebrate the phenomenon that is Stray Kids than through this beautifully illustrated book, packed with intimate insights and illustrations that explore their incredible journey and groundbreaking music.”

Waits / Corbijn
By Jim Jarmusch

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “Now back in print, this stunning, award- winning visual odyssey encapsulates the essence of Tom Waits’ enigmatic persona and Anton Corbijn’s distinctive photographic style. Spanning over three decades, this extraordinary book showcases the enduring collaboration between a legendary musician and a renowned Dutch photographer — a creative symbiosis that has produced some of the most memorable images in rock ’n’ roll history. Structured chronologically, it traces Waits’ evolution as an artist alongside Corbijn’s development as a photographer whose starkly evocative images capture Waits in a multitude of settings, from gritty urban landscapes to intimate studio sessions. Through Corbijn’s lens, Waits emerges not just as a musician but as a multifaceted character, embodying the spirit of the troubadour, the poet, and the raconteur. A final section features Waits’ own photography along with poems, stories, and collages. As Jim Jarmusch comments in the introduction, “A collection of images of Tom Waits seen through the eyes of Anton Corbijn is something special, some kind of vortex, an axis of evil geniuses.” Waits fans, photography enthusiasts, and anyone seeking insight into the joy of collaboration will find much to discover in this inspiring partnership between two artistic visionaries and friends.”

Lisette Model: The Jazz Pictures
By Audrey Sands

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “Street photographer Lisette Model spent more than 10 years documenting Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Percy Heath, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and countless other luminaries of America’s jazz scene. From the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival to nightclub shows and raucous afterparties in cramped apartments, Model’s images are effusive and full of empathy, celebrating jazz at a time when the genre was under increasing political and cultural scrutiny. During the 1950s, the New York Photo League was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee for purported connections to the Communist Party. Model was interviewed by the FBI and eventually placed on its National Security Watchlist. This mounting political pressure led publishers and funders to rescind support of Model, and ultimately caused her to shelve the book dedicated to her jazz pictures, which was to feature an essay by Langston Hughes. Now, this clothbound book finally realizes Model’s self-censored project, providing a fresh look at familiar faces who today signify the fight for freedom, equality and creative expression. Alongside Hughes’ original essay, texts by author Audrey Sands and saxophonist Loren Schoenberg underscore the importance of this series and the revelatory insight it shines on jazz music, both onstage and off. Model (1901-’83) was born in Vienna. She moved to Manhattan in 1938 and two years later Model hosted her first solo exhibition with the New York Photo League. Following the group’s dismantlement by the FBI, Model transitioned to teaching. Her most notable pupils included Diane Arbus, Helen Gee and John Gossage.”

33⅓ | Tame Impala’s Currents
By Alister Newstead

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “Tame Impala’s psychedelic third album Currents (2015) is emblematic of a cultural shift in music production and consumption in the early days of streaming and a project that cemented its creator Kevin Parker, as one of Australian music’s most unlikely success stories and influential exports. Currents marked a conscious shift in sound and attitude for its creator, West Australian polymath Parker, resisting his role as psych rock savior to embrace soul, disco, funk and his latent pop instincts. The result was Tame Impala’s most popular and influential album, transforming them into festival-headlining, internet-famous Gen Z idols and turning the ear of popular acts, from Rihanna and Lady Gaga to Travis Scott and Dua Lipa. Parker’s increasingly substantial credits as a collaborative producer and songwriter, with the likes of these artists as well as The Weeknd, Mark Ronson, Justice, Gorillaz and many more, served to enshrine him as a modern architect of pop music. Not bad for a shy, shaggy teen who used to lurk in basement Perth venues and play gigs with a towel on his head. This book dives deep into Currents, examining its context, creation, content and lasting impact on the history of Australian popular music. The album’s theme of metamorphosis and genre-blurring sound embodied (and possibly encouraged) a wider shift in the 2010s of popular music trends, consumption and listening habits.”

Berghain Nights: A Journey Through Techno And Berlin Club Culture
By Liam Cagney

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “Fascinated by Berlin nightclub Berghain’s strange techno and stranger goings-on, Liam Cagney journeys through techno’s history, from Detroit to Tokyo, and explores Berlin club culture in all its color and intensity. Berghain Nights is the result. From kinky parties in the labyrinthine KitKat Club to the smoky gloom of Tresor’s repurposed bank vault, to the psychedelic lab of Cocktail d’Amore, Berghain Nights not only captures the excitement of Berlin club culture but also asks how techno in a queer club context can help people strip away their inherited hangups to find a truer self. Berghain Nights is about spiritual frenzy and soulful music, countercultural urgency, and capitalistic cash-ins. It’s a story of the most notorious club in the world and of a scene that, enthralling thousands every weekend, feeds billions annually into Berlin’s economy. In the midst of it all is the story of a person who, having gone through life feeling like an alien, finds himself in the most alien place imaginable — and feels at home there.”

Grassroots Music In The Upper Cumberland
By William Lynwood Montell

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “The Upper Cumberland region includes eight counties in Tennessee and eight more in Kentucky. It is an area uniquely rich in traditional music. The importance of family ties and a deeply ingrained sense of community led to the flourishing of a distinct musical legacy from the 1700s up to the present day. In this pathbreaking study of a region’s music, William Lynwood Montell brings together an enormous trove of information about the folk practices, the transmission of musical skill and style, and the influence of traditional music on popular music (and vice versa). Written by experts on the individual counties, each chapter focuses on one county and contextualizes its music within the broader musical legacy of the region. The result is a comprehensive look at the full musical spectrum of this area that avoids the often scattershot approach of statewide studies of music. Among the many notable musicians from the region who come under close scrutiny are Archie Lee, Richard “Blind Dick” Burnett, Finley “Red” Belcher, Blake Williams, Lester Flatt, Steve Wariner, Mandy Barnett, Lola Jean Dillon and John Anderson, to name a few. A celebration of local musicians and their stories as well as a look at how a musical legacy is transmitted from one generation to the next, this book will be of interest to students of traditional music and to music fans alike.’

Being Dope: Hip Hop & Theory Through Mixtape Memoir
By A D Carson

THE EDITED PRESS PRESS: “Being Dope is a book that will challenge what you think you know about rap and rappers. It is not a typical memoir and is as much about genre as it is about anything else: History, hip-hop scholarship, storytelling, and theorizing through rap. Each section features A.D. Carson‘s mixtap/e/ssay lyrics alongside poetry, reflective prose, and critical analysis that provide social, historical, academic, and personal context. Being Dope is about permission and sanctioning. As Carson demonstrates, dope is distinct from drugs like illegal is distinct from legal and illicit is distinct from licit. Being Dope is about the rapper as genre, a contested category of human relegated to subhuman status in the public imagination. The book is, therefore, a refusal of this refusal: The rapper being, on his own terms. Dope is rooted in the experiences of Black people in the U.S., including histories of people treated as property, chattel, technology, and the War on Drugs — a war on people. Dope is also a measure of quality, of cool. Being Dope is about the presence of pasts and futures — methods of intoxication — more than it is about the absence of humility. Being Dope is the beautiful, ugly, abundant, and otherwise art made from the ruins of war and the carnage it leaves.”