Tom Lynch

Over the final few months of 2004, a tub-full of music-related literature has hit shelves, including some yearly staples as well as some newcomer surprises. Here's a rundown of recent releases that put melody on the page.

"Nirvana: The Recording Sessions," by Rob Jovanovic

Jovanovic has tackled giants such as REM and Beck in the past, and here he documents every recording Cobain did from 1982 to 1994--a draining task for sure--with super-fan-only results. Though it's cool to know the details of the 1985 recording of "Spank Thru" and the 1987 "About a Girl," the most intriguing notes come post "Nevermind," when the band was doodling with b-sides and one-off contributions and began recording "In Utero," when blackness loomed just around the corner and Cobain's emotional isolation was hippo-skin thick. A nice companion to the recent box set.

Firefly Publishing, 224 pages, $19.95

"Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing," by Benjamin Nugent

Elliott Smith is difficult to write about, given his tendency to shy away from critics and not divulge too much personal information outside of his lyrics. Nugent is a fan of the late, great singer-songwriter--he makes that abundantly clear--but still produces a fairly shallow look at deep material. Maybe that was his intention given the title, or his own adaptation of Smith's library of desolate songs, but this biography is more of a summation of events than a portrait of a man and musician. Smith's music tells the better story.

Da Capo Press, 230 pages, $23.95

"Britpop! Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock," by John Harris

The early- to mid-nineties British indie-rock scene still confuses and impresses the masses that swallow up the overseas angst of those living down "new Beatles" tags, and Harris' investigation of the decade in pop fully evaluates the highs and lows with solid precision. Blur, Oasis, Pulp and Elastica are among the names spilled upon the pages while Harris covers all topics--economy, politics, social movement--and comprehensively collects great, telling interviews and weaves them with tales of the obnoxious and those of the humble.

Da Capo Press, 426 pages, $18.95

"Chronicles: Vol, 1," by Bob Dylan"

Dylan seems to want to escape himself, at least the musician audiences know as the free-wheelin' protestor ready to fight. For a while there, he was the great protector. His new memoir would say otherwise, as not much of his icon status is mentioned--it's more specific events he seems to have chosen out of a hat. It's tough to imagine a conventional autobiography from America's most surprising songwriter, but the innards of Dylan's first volume were still unexpected. That's not to say the book isn't remarkable. The great songwriter invites his readers into his mind and history, and instead of boring us by analyzing his country-changing songs, he allows opinions to fly and offers some of his most personal, sincere thoughts, some unforeseen, some hoped for. He's still a great storyteller, and his stories are some of the year's best nonfiction.

Simon and Schuster, 304 pages, $24

"The Rocklopedia Fakebandica," by T. Mike Childs

What delirious fun. Check out this enjoyable, utterly useless book of imagination--Childs' encyclopedia of fake bands, non-existent musicians from film, TV and literature. Childs seems to have covered all the bases (who the hell would know if he missed something?), from "Almost Famous"'s Stillwater to Spinal Tap to the obscure--remember the ill-fated "Saved by the Bell" episode when Zack and crew form a band creatively titled Zack Attack? Totally tedious, silly and unpretentious, Childs' book amuses to no end.

Thomas Dunne Books, 243 pages, $14.95

"Da Capo Best Music Writing 2004," by Mickey Hart, Paul Bresnick, eds.

Da Capo again offers an impressive compilation of music writing from the past year that dives evenly into rock, hip-hop, jazz, pop and more. With Grateful Dead drummer Hart serving as guest editor, the book stays fairly consistent, missing on a few occasions--Andrew Bonazelli's thin karaoke road trip--but hitting on dead-on with others, like Chicago's own Jessica Hopper's funny, unrelenting slaughter of emo titled, "Emo: Where the Girls Aren't."

Da Capo Press, 360 pages, $15.95

(2005-01-03)

Also by Tom Lynch

Guide by Voices
A friend of mine once said he'd like to start a religion based on Guided By Voices' obscure b-side "Do the Earth."
(2004-12-21)

Tip of the Week
Desaulniers' book of short stories--"What You've Been Missing," a tragic set of ten stories in which each character demands unconditional affection--won this year's John Simmons Short Fiction Award, another nod to the Evanston author, who's already won numerous awards for her fiction in the past
(2004-12-21)

Tip of the Week
For all the city's improv lovers who also happen to have insomnia: This Tuesday, The Second City e.t.c. hosts its third annual "Letters to Santa" benefit, a twenty-four-hour excursion in improv that helps get children Christmas presents
(2004-12-14)

Tip of the Week
Four of the best local graphic novelists unite this week--Jeffrey Brown ("Unlikely"), John Hankiewicz (the "Tepid" series), Paul Hornshemeier ("Forlorn Funnies") and Anders Nilsen ("Dogs and Water")--for their second annual "Win, Lose, or Draw" competition, in which the novelists, thankfully, do the drawing and audience members have guessing detail
(2004-12-14)

Down with cream
(2004-12-07)

Tip of the Week
(2004-11-30)

Packer Green
(2004-11-30)

Tip of the Week
(2004-11-22)

Tip of the Week
(2004-11-22)

Back to School
(2004-11-22)

Tip of the Week
(2004-11-17)

Hungry heart
(2004-11-17)

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