New db book

[wupot]

Heard about a new db book coming out in 2012, "how music works". It's written by db and sounds to be semi-autobiographical

[Youdo]

nice find, looks good.

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesw ... s/8740808/

http://www.insound.com/How-Music-Works- ... /INS98476/

[Aspiemom]

Kind of sounds like the TED talk became a book when it grew up. Cool. Audacious title!

[josecardozo]

It's coming!
They just announced a conversation between DB and Arcade Fire's Win Butler about the book in September

http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/06/p ... versation/

According to Pop Montreal's website, they book will be published by Mcsweeney's

[timsandle]

It's coming!
They just announced a conversation between DB and Arcade Fire's Win Butler about the book in September

http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/06/p ... versation/

According to Pop Montreal's website, they book will be published by Mcsweeney's

The blurb on Amazon states:

"How Music Works is an unparalleled account of a life in music and an explanation of how and why music works from one of the world's most accomplished performers. With his albums for Talking Heads, his work with Brian Eno or his solo output, David Byrne has been consistently at the forefront of musical - and artistic - innovation. In this extraordinary book Byrne explores why the past matters and what the future might bring. From personal accounts of devising and performing his most famous work, to an exploration of the possibilities of new technologies, Byrne discovers that artistic creation is less about an internal creative spark than we thought and more about external factors such as history, architecture and technology. "The universe of music follows broad and basic evolutionary patterns-as does birdsong, to take one example. It seems the will only triumphs if the context is amenable, just as in Darwinian adaptation. What we hear is determined by what we want to hear, by what can be heard, and by the circumstances that allow it to come into being."

[wupot]

There is going to be a book tour this fall too. Schedule is on mcsweeneys website.

[living_space]

Carrie Brownstein (Sleater Kinney, Wild Flag, Portlandia) will be having a discussion/interview with David in Portland the day after his show with St. Vincent. I'm sure it will be cool (as usual).

[wupot]

Amazon shipped my copy yesterday

[josecardozo]

Here's a review, they call DB a "painfully bright" person.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/07/david-byrne-how-music-works

[Wickeddoll]

The book was on the Entertainment Weekly "Must List" in the recent issue.

Natalie

[tedkul]

I've got extra tickets for DB's upcoming speaking appearance in Toronto. Details in the "Love for Sale" section of the forum.

Also, I picked up the book yesterday at TYPE on Queen West if anyone in town is looking for a copy. They seemed to have quite a few.

[Wickeddoll]

I went ahead and ordered it. *fingers crossed*

Natalie

[Rick]

I just learned that the event scheduled for October 14 in Los Angeles is sold out. When I first learned of these interview/conversations I called the venue and was told there were no tickets for sale, it was first-come seating. Now I get an email today from davidbyrne.com with more info and a like to tickets, but alas there are no more. I'm a little ticked off by it, but maybe I'll get lucky and some will get released closer to that date. If anyone knows where I might find some let me know.

[thick as a Brick]

"A Talking Head Has Something to Say"

And that’s about as good as it gets in this review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/books ... l?_r=1&hpw



.

[josecardozo]

Is it that bad as the NY Times makes it appear? I really enjoyed reading his theories on the blog. I think it's more of a "this is not what I wanted from a guy in the Talking Heads" kind of review. I will still read the book and report back. Thanks for sharing.

[Backsliding]

I'm in the middle of reading How Music Works and thoroughly enjoying it - I really like DB's authorial voice, whether on his blog or this book; the NY Times review was wide of the mark in that it seems the reviewer was expecting some juicy tell-all about his time with Talking Heads, which goes to show he/she has no idea; Byrne would never take part in something so grubby (the reviewer seems dismayed that DB uses a euphemism for 'sex & drugs', and plainly wants to hear more about the rest of the band and the CBGB's days - which would admittedly be pretty cool, but Byrne just ain't about the whole nostalgia thing).

The book only gets autobiographical when exploring Byrne's personal relationship with music, music technology and the music biz in relation to the many-varied topics at hand, and he generally takes a far broader overview of the evolution of music than his own experiences encompass.

I honestly think it's one of the most notable things his produced and I haven't even finished the book, it really stamps him as an intellectual giant in the field of music, and his ability to thread a line through the tangled web of musical developments makes for a surprisingly breezy read.

So as with a lot of things it all comes down to expectations; I've recently been doing a bit of work with a friend who owns a studio, I am pretty much a novice, but a lot of what DB explores in the book has really resonated with me having been exposed to some of that world of sonic possibilities.
The stuff he writes about the research department of the Bell telephone company is something that I find really fascinating for instance, but I could see how others might be baffled or bored.

It's the kind of book you can pick up from time to time and re-read any chapter in the book, because it is chock-full of information and ideas.

[wupot]

Charlie Rose Interview

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12688

[thick as a Brick]

How Music Works. Fairly long interview at Salon.com

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/21/david_b ... any_money/