The growth of long-form music biography and analysis proves that demand for insight into music makers, and the works they leave behind, remains as strong as ever. Indeed, bookshelves are bustling with fresh tomes – from Krautrock to hip-hop via UK jazz and underground club communities, publishing has opened itself up to fresh voices, and different sounds in the past few years.
2024 proved to contain a rich seam of music books, and whittling down the best of these publications was more difficult than ever.
Here are our seven favourite music books from the year just passed.
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Futuromania: Electronic Dreams, Desiring Machines and Tomorrow’s Music Today – Simon Reynolds
Legendary music journalist Simon Reynolds may be known for his sharp and still-relevant analysis of retro culture in his 2010 book Retromania, but he’s no pessimist about music and technology’s enduring ability to help create the future. Futuromania is an engrossing journey through half a century of electronic music, chronologically moving from a gripping opening chapter on Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer to latter sections praising the radical power of genres like grime and footwork. A gripping, intelligent and optimistic guide from one of Britain’s greatest ever music writers. (Tom Morgan)
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Never Understood – William and Jim Reid
The greatness of ‘Never Understood’ comes less in the latter stages of this entertaining and fast-paced account of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s forty-year career but rather in their formative, East Kilbride years.
When the excess of the 1990s takes its toll, it is something of a familiar story, but the detail in the account of the childhood and adolescence of the Reid Brothers is vivid, funny and unexpectedly affecting. With the help of Ben Thompson, the period is drily and reflectively narrated, via family, football, friendships and, of course, the musical and chemical experiments that led to ‘Psychocandy’. A thrilling – and very Scottish – ride. (John Williamson)
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1984: The Year Pop Went Queer – Ian Wade
Ian Wade ends this journey through one of pop’s greatest years with the proclamation that ‘pop music is important’. The previous 300 pages convincingly illustrate just some of the reasons why in a very particular context. And while there are constant reminders of the grimness of the Thatcher era generally and specifically for the LGBTQ+ community, the book is also a joyful and musically diverse journey that, commendably, spans Madonna and Hazell Dean; Sylvester and Jimmy Somerville; Rob Halford and Morrissey. Consequently, the soundtrack is every bit as a good as Wade’s lively prose. (John Williamson)
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Street-Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence – Will Hodgkinson
The mononymous Lawrence is one of British music’s true one-offs, a pop culture addict who has crafted a singular catalogue of vastly influential – if often under-appreciated – indie pop gems. Street-Level Superstar finds Will Hodgkinson engaging with this eccentric across 12 months, as the songwriter attempts to re-build his life and go in search of that elusive hit.
It’s a charming book, as engaging – and odd – as its central character, but you find yourself swept up in the world of Lawrence. Funny, and sometimes poignant, Street-Level Superstar holds your interest from the first page, while also refusing to sand down any of the songwriter’s peccadillos (and there are many). Riveting entertainment from a talent who deserves his long-awaited moment in the sun – if he ever truly gets there. (Robin Murray)
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Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story Of The UK Jazz Explosion – Andre Marmot
Back in 2017 CLASH published an article that stated UK Jazz Is Killing It Right Now. At the time, a golden generation of musicians were busy dismantling the glass ceiling, and inviting others through. Now, in the aftermath of Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, Moses Boyd (and more) charging into the mainstream, Andre Marmot has endeavoured to capture this striking cultural moment, piecing together a few lessons in the process.
A breathless run through of an inspiring era in British music, Unapologetic Expression contains deft character sketches and vivid memories, pausing to nail ineffable moments from recording sessions and gigs. Andre Marmot’s role as an insider – as a booker with Earth Agency he watched these musicians develop first-hand – grants the book a degree of intimacy other writers may have lacked. A brisk narrative that offers a first-hand survey of a unique cultural moment. (Robin Murray)
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Rebel Girl: My Life As A Feminist Punk – Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna has always walked it like she talked it. From her seminal work with Bikini Kill onwards, the American punk singer has become a by-work in creativity, and truth-telling.
Her memoir Rebel Girl is a riveting account of several eras within American music, blending her potent observations with personal revelation. Vivid accounts of the Olympia music scene permeate the opening chapters, alongside tales of her friendships with the likes of Kurt Cobain and Joan Jett.
Later insight into her work with Le Tigre, Kathleen Hanna’s experiences with Lyme disease, and her marriage to Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock expand her story, showing the full of emotional experience in her life. A grand, frequently inspired book. (Robin Murray)
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The Chronicles Of DOOM – SH Fernando Jr.
A storied figure in rap music, DOOM’s life – and demise – was largely shrouded in secrecy. A self-mythologising artist who wove a complex tale, writer SH Fernando Jr. tasked himself with picking apart the half-truths and secrecies, while also retaining the essential magnetism that makes DOOM so beloved.
Split into five parts – The Man, The Myth, The Mask, The Music, and The Legend – this is an ambitious, widescreen, hugely colourful undertaking. Putting to bed some long-held rumours and mistruths, the book also zones in on what makes DOOM such an entrancing figure – in placing a spotlight on his life and work, the author often locates further deposits of genius. A tome worthy of the iconoclastic rapper. (Robin Murray)
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