rock

  • David Bowie’s Favorite Books, at your library.

    Music legend, movie star, icon, iconoclast, and yes – reader. As part of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2013 exhibit “David Bowie Is,” Bowie shared an eclectic list of 100 favorite books. Here they are, in reverse chronological order, linked to the library catalog. Still looking for a reading challenge for the next year, or five? This… Continue reading

  • Not Just Another Book About Women in Rock

    ~ posted by Abby Women have always been a part of rock and roll – as musicians, singers, songwriters, producers, promoters, critics, fans and much more. Yet their stories have often been overlooked in rock writing. Thankfully, this myopia is finally receiving a serious corrective, with more and more women writing about their involvement in… Continue reading

  • Last chance to hear: the ’90s

    Here are a couple of my favorite albums from the ‘90s which, thanks to the wear of time and the tides of fashion, have only one copy remaining in the library’s collection. Place a hold on one of these today…they’re definitely worth the wait! Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) Stereolab marries wonky vintage electronic bleeps and bloops to a… Continue reading

  • Three for Free: Stand-out songs by Bumbershoot 2012 performers

    Sure, the rain is back and we’re hunkering down for months of gray skies here in Seattle, but I’m still buoyed by the several rainless weeks that eased us into autumn. I’ve found a simple way to tap back into that sunny time–revisiting some of the outstanding music I heard at Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual music… Continue reading

  • Heavy Rotation 2011: The Year of the Mix

    For many reasons, 2011 was my Year of the Mix — as in mixtape, or more accurately, mix CD. I made about a half-dozen mixes over the course of the year for various friends and family members, and received about as many, if not more, in return. Each mix I received exposed me to music I’d never heard… Continue reading

  • Fear and Loathing in Seattle

    It was forty years ago that Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas came forth blinking and convulsing with manic, paranoid brilliance into the light, and what a long strange trip it’s been! Long acknowledged as a cult classic, as the decades pass by without lessening the immediacy and scathing volatility of Thompson’s drug-fuelled picaresque in quest… Continue reading

  • Songs for Winter

    A few months ago, my colleague Misha wrote a great post on Shelf Talk about the albums that make up her autumn soundtrack. Now that the seasons have turned, I’d like to share some of the records I can’t stop listening to when the temperatures drop, the nights grow longer and life slows to a… Continue reading