Other books that might interest you

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  Songwriter Interviews: '90s...

  Carl Wiser

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  Ever wonder what that '90s song "Peaches" is really about? How about that other hit from Presidents of the United States of America, "Lump"? We've got the answers, along with the stories behind "Mr. Jones," "Wicked Game," "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (evil stepmother alert!) and other memorable songs from the decade directly from the singer-songwriters who made them.

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  Shadows of Love Shadows of...

  William T. Vollmann

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  In this landmark collection, William T. Vollmann offers a kaleidoscopic retrospective of the visual artwork he has produced over four decades, with new commentary from Vollmann on his process, inspiration, and the many intersections with his writing. 
   
   
   
  The celebrated author of over twenty-five books (among them the National Book Award–winning novel Europe Central; the seven-volume Rising Up and Rising Down, based on Vollmann's career as a war correspondent; and the two-volume climate change investigation Carbon Ideologies), Vollmann's equally ambitious and prolific career as a photographer, printmaker, and painter reflects the artist’s deep interest in people existing on the margins, a profound empathy for his subjects, and the humility and generosity to meet them on their terms. 
   
   
   
  In Shadows of Love, Shadows of Loneliness, a series of essays  commissioned especially for this book lays out Vollmann's views on what photographs can and should say, how he chooses what to represent (beauty, suffering, compassion, love, desire, ideology), thoughts on photographic consensuality, and any number of technical descriptions. Particularly useful for Vollmann fans and scholars are the cross-references between these artistic and photographic projects and his books.

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  A Classic Interview with Music...

  Miles Davis

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  Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 - September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Born into an upper-middle-class family in Alton, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis, Davis is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in a roughly five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz. The following audio recordings are from a 1953 radio interview in East St. Louis and a 1984 television interview in Norway.

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  The Things I Came Here With - A...

  Chris MacDonald

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  “Does it hurt?” When you’re a tattoo artist, that’s the most universal question. For Chris MacDonald, the answer is simple: hurts less than a broken heart. Those words are painted above the entrance to his shop, Under My Thumb Tattoos, as a reminder.
  		 
  Chris and his brothers were as wild as the wind, in their house among the fields of Alliston, Ontario, when their parents divorced. Shell-shocked, they were uprooted and brought to Toronto by their dad. Their mother’s mental illness worsened in the aftermath, and she disappeared. As a teenager, Chris left home and found himself immersed in the city’s underbelly, a world where drugs, skateboarding, and punk rock reigned. Between the youth shelters, suicidal thoughts, and haunted apartments, a light shined: and it was art.
  		 
  He eventually found himself following the path of his brother, Rob, and pursuing life as a tattooist. Then, at the height of a destructive summer, everything changed: he met Megan, the girl who would become his rock of ages.
  		 
  This remarkable memoir examines what tattooing means to MacDonald and traces the connection his artistic motives have to both his family and childhood. The Things I Came Here With is about how crucial our past is to understanding our future, but it’s also a love letter to his daughter about the importance of expression, life’s uncertainty, and beauty.

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  Liao Dynasty - Nomadic...

  Rolf Hedger

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  The story of the Liao people begins in the vast and harsh steppe regions to the north of China, where they first emerged as a formidable force in the region’s history. The Liao were a nomadic group, characterized by their mastery of horseback riding and combat, which set them apart from the sedentary agricultural societies of the surrounding civilizations. Their origins are not fully understood, but it is widely believed that they came from the Mongolian Plateau, migrating southward and eastward into the northern reaches of China during the early centuries of the Common Era. 
  In their early years, the Liao people were organized into various tribes, each with its own leadership and customs. These tribes were constantly in motion, following the migratory patterns of their livestock and engaging in periodic warfare with one another for dominance and resources. Despite the chaotic nature of their existence, the Liao were bound together by a common identity rooted in their nomadic lifestyle and warrior culture. Over time, they developed a strong sense of unity, driven by their shared need to survive in an unforgiving environment. 
  As the tribes of the Liao people grew in number and influence, they began to organize themselves more systematically under the leadership of powerful chieftains. These chieftains rose to prominence not only through their military prowess but also through their ability to forge alliances and broker peace with neighboring peoples. The Liao were skilled diplomats, and many of their early leaders recognized the value of creating relationships with the settled agricultural societies that dominated China’s northern frontier. This strategic diplomacy allowed them to secure critical resources, such as grain and horses, while maintaining their autonomy and military strength.

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  Queer Arrangements - Billy...

  Lisa Barg

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  Winner of the 2024 Philip Brett Award, sponsored by the LGBTQ Study Group of the American Musicological Society (AMS)The legacy of Black queer composer, arranger, and pianist Billy Strayhorn (1915–1967) hovers at the edge of canonical jazz narratives. Queer Arrangements explores the ways in which Strayhorn's identity as an openly gay Black jazz musician shaped his career, including the creative roles he could assume and the dynamics between himself and his collaborators, most famously Duke Ellington, but also iconic singers such as Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald. This new portrait of Strayhorn combines critical, historically-situated close readings of selected recordings, scores, and performances with biography and cultural theory to pursue alternative interpretive jazz possibilities, Black queer historical routes, and sounds. By looking at jazz history through the instrument(s) of Strayhorn's queer arrangements, this book sheds new light on his music and on jazz collaboration at midcentury.

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