The Bookman
Home Blog
The Last Party, Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock
Drawing on interviews from all the major bands of the Britpop era – including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede – and from music journalists, record executives and those close to government, John Harris charts the rise and fall of this cultural movement.
Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese
Ween now seems like a permanent fixture on the pop-cultural landscape, but when the band first hit MTV in the early ’90s, their longevity wasn’t so secure. Nearly two decades on, though, Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman and Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo preside over one of the most devoted cult fan bases in American music.
So how exactly did Ween manage to transcend joke-band oblivion? One answer is that, in the years following their MTV breakthrough, Ween gradually polished their output, turning their staunchly primitive musical sketches into hi-fi paintings.
Chocolate and Cheese, released in 1994, marked Freeman and Melchiondo’s first crucial steps in this direction. Based on new, in-depth interviews with both members of Ween, as well as producer Andrew Weiss and associates ranging from Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) to Spike Jonze, this book explores the song-by-song creation of Chocolate and Cheese and how the album served as a bridge between Ween’s original two-guys-and-a-4-track incarnation and the rich, virtuosic rock & roll force they would later become.
Chases Calendar of Events, 2012 Edition
Something’s happening every day in Chase’s Chase’s Calendar of Events is the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available in the world on special days, weeks, and months Indispensable CD-ROM holds all the book’s 12,500 entries Unique reference in the marketplace acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal, Library Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post
Blue Noise
Blue Noise is about people letting you down, how to survive your family and the amazing thrill of making music with your friends. Ash is drooling over his favourite guitar – the one he can’t afford – when he meets Charlie Novak.
One jam session later and Charlie convinces Ash to play in his band. But it’ll never work. Bands never do. Erin is wandering down a corridor at school – overthinking things as usual – when she runs into Charlie.
Literally. The guy is a fruit loop with his weird hair and hyperactive rantings. When Charlie invites her to be the band’s keyboard player, Erin can’t get a word in to say no. She’s a classical pianist.
It’ll never work. But maybe this time things will be different. Maybe blues music is just what Ash and Erin need.
