Download or read book The Worst Songs in the World written by David Pate and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best-known songs in the world are violent, sexist, and religious — so why do we celebrate national anthems when we should be rewriting them? “Fascinating and thoughtful ... showcases how anthems divide us even as they promise to bring communities together.” — MARK CLAGUE, author of O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of The Star-Spangled Banner This fascinating popular history of national anthems begins in a London theatre in 1745 when the modern idea of anthems was born. They started out as triumphant expressions of national superiority by glorifying violence, claiming the support of God, and mostly ignoring women. David Pate has experienced the violent side of anthems firsthand: as a schoolboy in Scotland, he was caned for refusing to sing “God Save the Queen.” He says it’s time to dump lyrics about cutting throats, watering fields with blood, building walls with the bodies of enemies, and celebrating the sound of machine guns. The Worst Songs in the World looks at the origins of many of the world’s anthems, from the movie theme song that became China’s national anthem to the English tune used for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This wide-ranging and deeply researched narrative combines politics, personalities, humour, and vivid storytelling to argue for better national songs.
Download or read book The World s Worst Records Volume One written by Darryl W Bullock and published by Bristol Green Publishing. This book was released on 2015-02-04 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An affectionate look at some of the worst recordings ever made, The World’s Worst Records tells the extraordinary but true stories behind some of the most appalling audio crimes ever committed. Extensively researched, and featuring music by major stars, ‘outsider’ artists and almost forgotten singers and songwriters, read about how Elvis Presley came to record a rock ‘n’ roll version of the nursery rhyme Old Macdonald; discover the truth behind actor Peter Wyngarde’s one attempt at pop immortality; meet the beautifully bonkers Florence Foster Jenkins – possibly the most deluded singer in history; fi nd out which Paul McCartney record is most hated world over. Puzzle over why 60’s flower-power icon Donovan would record a song about the toilet habits of astronauts.
Download or read book Dave Barry s Book of Bad Songs written by Dave Barry and published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-06 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The humorist asked his readers to share their least favorite tunes and chronicles the hilarious responses. When funnyman Dave Barry asked readers about their least favorite tunes, he thought he was penning just another installment of his weekly syndicated humor column. But the witty writer was flabbergasted by the response when over 10,000 readers voted. “I have never written a column that got a bigger response than the one announcing the Bad Song Survey,” Barry wrote. Based on the results of the survey, Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs is a compilation of some of the worst songs ever written. Dave Barry fans will relish his quirky take. Music buffs too will appreciate this humorous stroll through the world’s worst lyrics. The only thing wrong with this book is that readers will find themselves unable to stop mentally singing the greatest hits of Gary Puckett. Praise for Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs “Barry is his usual puckish self, but the real surprise here is how funny many of the survey respondents are.” —Kirkus Reviews “Who can resist such a book?” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book This Day in Music written by Neil Cossar and published by . This book was released on 2014-08 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Births, deaths and marriages, No1 singles, drug busts and arrests, famous gigs and awards... all these and much more appear in this fascinating 50 year almanac.Using a page for every day of the calendar year, the author records a variety of rock and pop events that took place on a given day of the month across the years.This Day in Music is fully illustrated with hundreds of pictures, cuttings and album covers, making this the must-have book for any pop music fan.
Download or read book The Worst Band in the World written by Liam Newton and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 10cc chalked up more Top 10 singles and albums in the UK than virtually any other band of their generation: their most famous creation, 'I'm Not In Love', is a pop classic that has been played more than 3 million times on American radio; their records have been covered by everyone from The Pretenders to the Fun Lovin' Criminals; and their admirers include REM. Yet 10cc's enormous contribution to pop music consistently gets overlooked.
Download or read book Oh Calcutta written by Kenneth Tynan and published by Hal Leonard Corporation. This book was released on 1969 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Applause Books). Featuring rumpled PIs, shyster lawyers, corrupt politicians, double-crossers, femmes fatales, and, of course, losers who find themselves down on their luck yet again, film noir is a perennially popular cinematic genre. This extensive encyclopedia describes movies from noir's earliest days and even before, looking at some of noir's ancestors in US and European cinema as well as noir's more recent offshoots, from neonoirs to erotic thrillers. Entries are arranged alphabetically, covering movies from all over the world from every continent save Antarctica with briefer details provided for several hundred additional movies within those entries. A copious appendix contains filmographies of prominent directors, actors, and writers. With coverage of blockbusters and program fillers from Going Straight (US 1916) to Broken City (US 2013) via Nora Inu (Japan 1949), O Anthropos tou Trainou (Greece 1958), El Less Wal Kilab (Egypt 1962), Reportaje a la Muerte (Peru 1993), Zift (Bulgaria 2008), and thousands more, A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir is an engrossing and essential reference work that should be on the shelves of every cinephile.
Download or read book The Worst Class in the World Gets Worse written by Joanna Nadin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-07 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Deliciously silly, with hilarious catchphrases... a great cheer-up book' The Guardian 'HILARIOUS! Proper laughs!' Pamela Butchart ______________________________ A laugh-out-loud young fiction series from bestselling author Joanna Nadin, perfect for fans of Horrid Henry. According to head teacher Mrs Bottomley-Blunt, 4B is the WORST CLASS IN THE WORLD. She says school is not about footling or fiddle-faddling or FUN. It is about LEARNING and it is high time 4B tried harder to EXCEL at it. But Stanley and Manjit didn't LITERALLY mean to flood the toilets when they should have been monitoring the playground. And they definitely didn't LITERALLY mean to bring a penguin home from the zoo on their school trip. These things just happened even though they had a FOOLPROOF plan to get away with them.
Download or read book The Worst Band in the Universe written by Graeme Base and published by Picture Puffin. This book was released on 2001 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Planet Blipp, beyond the stars, beyond the sun and moon, The world was ruled by music - but tradition called the tune. The Ancient Songs of ages past were all that could be heard, And no one was allowed to change a single note or word...
Download or read book I ve Been Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart written by Colin Bowles and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2014-06-17 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A side-splitting examination of the 100 worst songs ever written - from Achy Breaky Heart to You Light Up My Life , as well as many that will have you sending rude emails to the publisher like Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da (a song that proves that psychedelic drugs aren't good for you) and Paul Simon's unbearably pretentious Sounds of Silence .
Download or read book Changing Our Tunes written by David Pate and published by Dundurn Press. This book was released on 2024-10-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best-known songs in the world are violent, sexist, and religious — so why do we celebrate national anthems when we should be rewriting them? This fascinating popular history of national anthems begins in a London theatre in 1745 when the modern idea of anthems was born. They started out as triumphant expressions of national superiority by glorifying violence, claiming the support of God, and mostly ignoring women. The author has experienced the violent side of anthems firsthand: as a schoolboy in Scotland, he was caned for refusing to sing “God Save the Queen.” He says it’s time to dump lyrics about cutting throats, watering fields with blood, building walls with the bodies of enemies, and celebrating the sound of machine guns. Changing Our Tunes looks at the origins of many of the world’s anthems, from the movie theme song that became China’s national song to the English tune used for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This wide-ranging and deeply-researched narrative combines politics, personalities, humour, and vivid storytelling to argue for better national songs.
Download or read book Under My Thumb written by Rhian Jones and published by Watkins Media Limited. This book was released on 2017-10-17 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women write about their experiences of loving music that doesn’t love them back – a feminist 'guilty pleasures'.e - a kind of feminist guilty pleasures. In the majority of mainstream writing and discussions on music, women appear purely in relation to men as muses, groupies or fangirls, with our own experiences, ideas and arguments dismissed or ignored. But this hasn’t stopped generations of women from loving, being moved by and critically appreciating music, even – and sometimes especially – when we feel we shouldn’t. Under My Thumb: Songs that Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them is a study of misogyny in music through the eyes of women. It brings together stories from journalists, critics, musicians and fans about artists or songs we love (or used to love) despite their questionable or troubling gender politics, and looks at how these issues interact with race, class and sexuality. As much celebration as critique, this collection explores the joys, tensions, contradictions and complexities of women loving music – however that music may feel about them. Featuring: murder ballads, country, metal, hip hop, emo, indie, Phil Spector, David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, 2Pac, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, AC/DC, Elvis Costello, Jarvis Cocker, Kanye West, Swans, Eminem, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Combichrist and many more.
Download or read book New Book of Rock Lists written by Dave Marsh and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1994-11 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dave Marsh has been an editor and columnist at Creem and Rolling Stone. His books include Born to Run, Behind Blue Eyes: The Story of the Who, Glory Days, and Louie Louie. This virtual Methusaleh of rock critics currently serves as a music critic at Playboy and as editor of Rock and Rap Confidential.
Download or read book The Worst Gig written by Jon Niccum and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "WORST GIG is Music Appreciation 225, taught by that cool professor everyone wanted to have beers with after class. One fun nugget after another. It was harder to close than my Twitter app."—Matthew James, McSweeney's "Tawdry tales of concert catastrophes!"—Buzzfeed "Musicians' 'Worst Gig' makes for best read ever."—Salon What is the worst show you've ever played? Sometimes the worst shows inspire the best stories. After hundreds of interviews with national headliners and beloved indie acts alike, entertainment journalist Jon Niccum has crafted a collection that chronicles the most embarrassing, most hilarious and most insane live show moments ever. THE WORST GIG features outrageous stories from stars such as Wilco, Def Leppard, Tenacious D, Rush, John Mayer, and The Sex Pistols. Be it nature's wrath, equipment breakdowns or even military intervention, get the wild scoop on what really happened, straight from the artists themselves.
Download or read book Notes on the Writing of A Gentleman s Guide to Love and Murder written by Robert L. Freedman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-05-15 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most frequently asked question about writing musicals is, "Which comes first, the music or the lyrics?" As anyone on Broadway will tell you, the answer is, "The book." Tony-winning book writer Robert L. Freedman takes you through the process of writing a new musical, including story structure, song placement, dialogue, character development, and more that led to the creation of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, the 2014 Best Musical Tony winner. With candor and insight, Freedman describes the challenging and rewarding growing pains of what the critics called "Hilarious!" and "Ingenious!" and said "Ranks among the most inspired and entertaining new musical comedies I've seen in years."
Download or read book The Worst Songs of All Time written by Eddie Flash and published by . This book was released on 2017-02-22 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Worst Songs Of All-Time, Eddie Flash investigates the tracks that have been considered the worst ever made by music critics, television broadcasters, radio stations, composers and public polls.
Download or read book We Sold Our Souls written by Grady Hendrix and published by Quirk Books. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A gloriously over-the-top scare fest that has hidden depths. Readers will root for Kris all the way to the explosive, poignant finale.”—Publishers Weekly From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Only a girl with a guitar can save us all. Every morning, Kris Pulaski wakes up in hell. In the 1990s she was lead guitarist of Dürt Würk, a heavy-metal band on the brink of breakout success until lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career and rocketed to stardom, leaving his bandmates to rot in obscurity. Now Kris works as night manager of a Best Western; she’s tired, broke, and unhappy. Then one day everything changes—a shocking act of violence turns her life upside down, and she begins to suspect that Terry sabotaged more than just the band. Kris hits the road, hoping to reunite Dürt Würk and confront the man who ruined her life. Her journey will take her from the Pennsylvania rust belt to a celebrity rehab center to a satanic music festival. A spine-tingling horror novel, We Sold Our Souls is an epic journey into the heart of a conspiracy-crazed, pill-popping, paranoid country that seems to have lost its very soul.
Download or read book Cool Town written by Grace Elizabeth Hale and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2020-02-13 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1978, the B-52's conquered the New York underground. A year later, the band's self-titled debut album burst onto the Billboard charts, capturing the imagination of fans and music critics worldwide. The fact that the group had formed in the sleepy southern college town of Athens, Georgia, only increased the fascination. Soon, more Athens bands followed the B-52's into the vanguard of the new American music that would come to be known as "alternative," including R.E.M., who catapulted over the course of the 1980s to the top of the musical mainstream. As acts like the B-52's, R.E.M., and Pylon drew the eyes of New York tastemakers southward, they discovered in Athens an unexpected mecca of music, experimental art, DIY spirit, and progressive politics--a creative underground as vibrant as any to be found in the country's major cities. In Athens in the eighties, if you were young and willing to live without much money, anything seemed possible. Cool Town reveals the passion, vitality, and enduring significance of a bohemian scene that became a model for others to follow. Grace Elizabeth Hale experienced the Athens scene as a student, small-business owner, and band member. Blending personal recollection with a historian's eye, she reconstructs the networks of bands, artists, and friends that drew on the things at hand to make a new art of the possible, transforming American culture along the way. In a story full of music and brimming with hope, Hale shows how an unlikely cast of characters in an unlikely place made a surprising and beautiful new world.
