An aural and visual immersion like no other, showing the dimensions that “books” can explore onscreen that they can’t in...
A visionary e-book exploring the medium’s multimedia possibilities while offering meditations on the sounds of New York and the life and work of the late street composer Moondog.
Though Kunzru has earned international acclaim for his novels (Gods Without Men, 2012, etc.), he has never written anything quite like this—and neither has anyone else. In fact, “written” might be the wrong word, for this melding of sense, sound and illustration might as well be described as having been constructed, designed or curated. The content of the 6,200-word “immersive essay” can’t be separated from the way readers apprehend the words on the screen. Often, a page of text reveals itself in sections, with different typography, all the while accompanied by the sounds of the city and the percussion of Moondog. As a newcomer to the city transplanted from England, Kunzru chose Moondog as his guide, notwithstanding the fact that the musician was blind and had died in 1999. The author, whose brother is blind, thought that what some might see as a handicap could be a virtue: “The blind develop an appreciation for precision, repetition, knowability.” Though Moondog left New York in 1974 for Germany, his music, influence and legacy live on. As someone who once lived in the spare room of composer Philip Glass and performed with musicians as disparate as Charlie Parker, Peter Seeger and Tiny Tim, the composer and percussionist embodied something essential and ineffable about New York for the newcomer. Kunzru’s meditation reflects not only what remains of Moondog’s legacy, but what has changed so profoundly over the city’s subsequent decades. This work reflects the experience of Kunzru’s first six months in the city, six years ago; he has now married and moved to Brooklyn.
An aural and visual immersion like no other, showing the dimensions that “books” can explore onscreen that they can’t in print.Pub Date: May 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-937894-34-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Atavist Books
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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