I came for Dickens but stayed for Prince. "Dickens and Prince" is an extended essay that is overflowing with enthusiasm and worship for two very diffeI came for Dickens but stayed for Prince. "Dickens and Prince" is an extended essay that is overflowing with enthusiasm and worship for two very different artists, modesty about his own role, and a paen to the genius that emerges from a combination of protean talent and relentless obsessive drive. I listened to the Audible version which is 2.5 hours (at 1.3X).
I'm a huge Dickens fan and have enjoyed the movie versions of Nick Hornby's books (have not read the books themselves). I know the most famous Prince songs and once saw him in a truly stunning concert, a late night jam session in the East Room of the White House, at one point joined by Stevie Wonder. But beyond that I knew absolutely nothing about Prince and was not particularly intrigued.
The Dickens parts of the books were very familiar, most of them coming from the excellent Claire Tomalin biography Charles Dickens. But they were still enjoyable, one professional craftsman admiring another.
But the Prince parts blew me away, mostly because of my own previous ignorance. Learning about how young he started, how sure of himself he was, performing all the instruments and backup vocals on his first five albums, his prolific recording and performing career, and the perhaps thousands of unreleased songs he left behind in his vault. All of this is presumably just as familiar to Prince fans as the Dickens parts were to me but also the way in which Hornby expresses his enthusiasm and appreciation is infectiously exciting.
The book alternates between the two, going through their youth, their twenties, thematic issues (e.g., women) and their deaths. There are a surprising number of parallels but Hornby does not push them in any sort of forced of awkward way. Instead his book is ultimately a meditation on what he sees as the most important parallel between them: "This book is about work. And nobody ever worked harder than these two or at a higher standard while connecting with so many people for so long."...more
No one else could have written a book with this range. Rockonomics draws on economic theory, standard government surveys, proprietary administrative dNo one else could have written a book with this range. Rockonomics draws on economic theory, standard government surveys, proprietary administrative data, a unique survey fielded by the author, and interviews with a range of people in the music industry. It covers just about every aspect of the music industry. The book focuses on the economics of the music industry, including a number of familiar themes like how streaming revenue is rising but recorded music primarily drives touring revenue, how live ticket prices are set, how merchandise is marketed, how streaming is changing the makeup of songs, and more. Relatively little of this was revelatory, as someone who only casually follows these issues I knew most of it, but all of it was definitive and authoritative. A secondary purpose of the book (and it is secondary, notwithstanding the subtitle) is to use the music industry to illustrate a number of economic concepts, like superstars and inequality, the behavioral economics that leads stars to underprice their tickets for fear of sending the wrong signal, the economics of incomplete contracts, the endogenaity of preferences, and even simple demand curves--but in advertising revenue.
It is hard not to linger over the references in the book to artists that died prematurely, including some sympathetic references to them dying at their own hands. This, plus the broad range of Rockonomics, makes it all the harder to accept the fact that Alan Krueger will not write another book....more
I started this on January 1st and just finished it today. It is a separate movement from a classical piece for each day of the year, generally rangingI started this on January 1st and just finished it today. It is a separate movement from a classical piece for each day of the year, generally ranging from 2 to 20 minutes. In some cases motivated by the feeling of the day (like the champagne popping in the Johann Strauss waltz for today’s piece), in some cases the birthday, death day of the composer or the date of the composition, and in some cases even more arbitrary.
Clemency Burton-Hill is ecumenical in her tastes, incredibly enthusiastic, not remotely snobby—talks about pieces she listens to in the Tube, while doing housework, or reverentially in a concert hall. All of the major composers are here but with 366 days (yes, it has the leap day—so perfect for 2020), there are lots of women, non-European/Americans, and composers who are still alive and working—many of them under 50.
A book like this would have been impossible prior to streaming but with streaming I was able to listen to all 366 pieces (mostly on the designated day, but sometimes I did in groups because I got behind or felt like getting ahead). This introduced me to so many new pieces/composers that I downloaded and will help add to my listening next year and beyond.
If you like classical music and want to expand your horizons this is a great way to do it....more
Excellent. I listened to most of the book on audible, it's a shame you just get the text and not interspersed music.
The middle section on the period sExcellent. I listened to most of the book on audible, it's a shame you just get the text and not interspersed music.
The middle section on the period surrounding World War II worked te best because of the integration of history, mini-biography and music. The chapter on Benjamin Britten, focusing on Peter Grimes, was also very strong, but essentailly functioned as a standalone chapter rather than an integrated part of a larger narrative. Which is true of much of the book. But also true of much of 20th Century classical music -- which isn't exactly Alex Ross's fault. ...more
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