Page Tuner: “The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie & the 1970s”

Early on in his remarkably well-researched book, “The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie & the 1970s”, Peter Doggett posits that Bowie’s seminal folk-rock song “Changes” is a thesis statement for his entire legend, a sort of musical I Ching wherein all the complexities and possibilities of David Jones the man combined to form David Bowie, the legend.

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Page Tuner: “Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove”

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson likes music criticism. A lot. Throughout the length of his impressively arch, anti-formulaic pseudo-autobiography, he nearly spends more words on the subject of music criticism than the art form itself. As a kid, he grew up worshipping not just records, but the reviews of those records. Basically, he was part of the first generation of omnivorous music nerds, the kind of which now rule the insanely divergent cultural mass that we call the internet. As a musician, writer, and curator, he was made for these times.

Page Tuner: “Just Kids” by Patti Smith

There are those brave souls who put so much of themselves into their creations that their lives become works of art in and of themselves. This book is the story of two such adventurers.

Page Tuner: “Wunderkind” by Nikolai Grozni

There’s an enigmatic quote that’s often used in critical discussions: “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.”

Dr. Tony Cicoria

As a companion to my last post about Dr.Oliver Sacks and his book “Musicophilia”, here is a full-length television show about Dr. Tony Cicoria, the surgeon who was struck by lighting and later became obsessed with piano music, teaching himself to play in his forties.

Dr. Oliver Sacks: “Bolt From The Blue”

I’m reading this amazing book about the complex relationship between music and the human brain. Without exaggeration, I can say it’s completely changing the way I conceive music and my relationship to it.