Next Week in Music | December 22-28 • New Books

Still need a gift for that Weezer fan on your shopping list? Look no further. And if you can find anyone who remembers We’ve Got A …Fuzzbox… And We’re Gonna Use It!!, you’ve got them covered too. Speaking of covers, here are all the upcoming books for your perusal:

My Friend, Weezer: A Visual Time Capsule of One of Rock’s Most Iconic Bands
By Sean Murphy

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For over three decades, Weezer have remained one of the most enduring and beloved rock bands of our time — evolving, experimenting, and redefining themselves with every album. And for most of that journey, photographer Sean Murphy has been there, shaping and capturing their image. This book is an unprecedented visual archive, a time capsule of Weezer’s evolution as seen through Sean’s lens. His images go beyond standard music photography. They document spontaneous, artful moments that showcase the band’s evolution, energy, and chemistry. Across countless shoots, album cycles, and behind-the-scenes moments, he has built a body of work that grants fans a more intimate, unfiltered look at Weezer — both as a band and as individuals. With rare outtakes, candid moments, and the kind of magic that only comes from years of trust and collaboration, My Friend, Weezer is a visual biography of one of the most influential rock bands of our generation, told through the eyes of an artist who has been with them every step of the way.”

We Had A…Fuzzbox…And We Used It!!! The Authorised Biography
By Martin Tracey

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Signed on only their second gig much of the story of the all-girl band We’ve Got A …Fuzzbox… And We’re Gonna Use It!! is what dreams are made of… but was it all Pink Sunshine? With exclusive access to original band members this authorised biography by fellow-Brummie Martin Tracey not only covers the breadth of the band’s most successful and colourful years, it also reveals a powerful insight into the pressures of a very young girl band pluckily navigating their way through a male-dominated industry in a different time. And, of course, they did it the Fuzzbox way — armed with wit, fun and a unique unity, these four girls with unstoppable energy smashed through any barrier that dared to stand in their way! This authentic and untold story candidly reveals the rollercoaster ride of three schoolgirls and a big sister who rocketed to worldwide success and the trailblazing aspects of their whole outlook which paved a way for others to follow. We’ve Got A …Fuzzbox… And We’re Gonna Use It!! wasn’t just a name — it was a declaration. And We Had A… Fuzzbox… And We Used it!!! is more than a music biography. This is a handbook to aid the next Fuzzy generations of female musicians and an unapologetic celebration of rebellion, resilience, and the power of four women who loudly refused to be silenced.”

Evidence Of Ecstasy: David Woodhead’s Musical Journey In Photographs
By David Woodhead

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Not just the story of one person, David Woodhead’s Evidence Of Ecstasy is a photographic window into a generation of Canadian independent musicians. It traces his journey through a lifetime of images, inviting us behind the scenes at recording studios, folk festivals, and touring adventures while working with many original and influential musical artists. Through the lens of his camera, we catch glimpses of several different transitory communities of musicians, mostly through the 1970s and ’80s, and mostly in black and white. There is a fierce sense of uncompromised creativity here, and each photograph is chosen to highlight that sense of being somewhat off the beaten track, and not part of the “star-maker machinery” of commercial culture. From a Montreal family that valued music in everyday life, though teen-age influences from Brownie McGhee to The Fugs and Frank Zappa, we see David progress through his first band experiences to a breakout to Stratford, Ontario’s Black Swan coffeehouse. The next chapters follow his adventures as bassist with Stan Rogers, with another breakaway to Canada’s rustic West Coast and back east for a taste of Toronto’s Queen Street scene of the 1980s. Working with inspirational fiddler/composer Oliver Schroer is featured, and we close with a short chapter bringing us all the way from starting a family in the late ’80s to recent events. But the emphasis of Evidence of Ecstasy is on earlier times when people were not armed with cell phones and much less was documented visually. David did not intend to be a documentary photographer, but he certainly managed to capture some memorable images and has assembled them into a compelling story.”

Rock Of Pages: The Literary Tradition Of 1980s Heavy Metal
By Jesse Kavadlo

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rock Of Pages provides contexts and close readings of 1980s heavy metal with 40 years of hindsight, drawing upon analytical frameworks usually associated with literature and literary studies. Based on decades of work as a professor of literature and as a musician, Jesse Kavadlo analyzes the ways in which 1980s heavy metal aligns with and develops many of the themes prevalent in the canon of literature. In doing so, the book examines some of the contexts of 1980s heavy metal, including Cold War, the rise of MTV, and the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center and subsequent congressional hearings. Rock Of Pages takes the PMRC’s own objections to heavy metal and uses them as titles and topics to analyze the intersections between heavy metal and literature: Representations of violence, but the connected concerns about justice; images of substance abuse, and the interrelated issues of obsession, madness, suicidal ideation; sex and love, with, concomitantly, representations of women and relationships between men and women; and the references to the occult, with the depictions of Satan, the afterlife, and morality on Earth itself. In doing so, the book suggests that 1980s heavy metal displayed more artistry and intelligence than people imagine, but that literature is rebellious and subversive as well.”