Daisy Jones and the Six

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid is another great read by a wonderful storyteller.

Daisy Jones grew up in Los Angeles. Her parents were rich but paid very little attention to her - including not noticing her missing after she moved out for weeks as a teen.

Growing up going to all of the hip parties and bar, Daisy joined a friend's band on stage one night. Her voice and stage presence captivated the audience. This begins the tale of Daisy making music and becoming part of the most popular rock band in US history.

Reid's tale reads like the biography - including the highs and lows of being a rockstar, living through the 70s drug haze and finding your way in a strange world of fame while trying to live your life.

Read all of Reid's books set in this timeline. She is amazing.

Reid, Taylor Jenkins. (2019). Daisy Jones and The Six. New York: Ballantine Books. 

it Goes Like This

The teen band Moonlight Overthrown was a smash hit. They were the first out, queer band and their followers will be loyal for as long as time. Unfortunately, they broke up almost two years ago. The internet is now littered with rumors and occasional sightings of one of the four band members.

Eva is in Los Angeles going to college. She still works in the recording industry, but now as a song writer. She is quite enjoying her less paparazzi filled days. She has not spoken to her band mates since the last show. They have a group text, but no one has written in a long time.

Celeste now has a solo career. She is on tour with her second album.

Gina is an actor now. She just finished filming a Netflix project.

No one has heard from Steph is.

Eva is surprised, and a bit hurt, when Celeste and Gina are photographed at an LA party together. The photo also stirs rumors of a band reunion – which seems very unlikely from the point of view of each of the band members. That is, until something happens to bring them all together…

Moreland has written a fun summer read. The characters are well thought-out. It seems like she knows a lot about the music industry. If you are looking for a great queer YA, this is the book for you.

Moreland, Miel. (2021). It Goes Like This. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

Light from Uncommon Stars

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki is a breathtakingly beautiful story and a special treat for musicians.

Shizuka Satomi is a violin teacher with a reputation of training masterful musicians who die young. That is because she has made a deal with a demon - she has to deliver the souls of seven violists in exchange for her own life.

Katrina Nguyen is a teen runaway staying with an acquaintance in the San Gabriel Valley, California. She is a mostly self-taught violinist who prefers to play gaming music. 

Shizuka meets Katrina in the park. Katrina is playing and Shizuka has returned home after many decades away. The neighborhood has changed a lot. One thing that Shizuka is pleased to see is that the giant donut still exists. 

Lan Tran and her family run Starrgate Donut. Captain Tran and her family traveled through galaxies to find Earth. Now they are setting up a stargate using the giant donut.

These three characters, plus a brilliant luthier, come together in interesting ways in this beautiful story. This is one of the best books I have read this year (a year of wonderful books)! Buy one for yourself of any musicians in your life.

Aoki, Ryka. (2021). Light from Uncommon Stars. New York: Tor.

The Gods of Tango

The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis is a beautiful story of survival during the birth of tango in Argentina.

1913. Seventeen year old Leda is about to leave Italy to marry Dante who already migrated to Argentina. He went ahead to get settled before sending for her. Leda is taking her father's violin - it has been passed from father to son for generations. Though Leda knows how to play, tradition is tradition.

When Leda arrives in Buenos Aires, she is met by a stranger who tells her that her husband Dante has died. Money has been raised for her to have a room in their tenement for a couple of months while she decides what to do next.

Her family wants her to come home to Italy. There are few jobs open to a single woman. She can join the others in her building sewing, but it will only earn her enough to share a room with a bunch of other women. A man who comes to play the violin one afternoon tells her that women cannot play - tango is played in places unsafe for a woman.

But tango calls to Leda. And her husband's clothing is in a closet in her room. Could she pass as a man to play the violin? She would have to give up everyone she knows in Buenos Aires and move away in the night, cutting off her long hair...

De Robertis's story following the growth of the tango. From it African roots, added to by other groups of migrants to Argentina - German, Italian - and influence by Paris in a cyclical loop. The music, the dancing, the characters, the whole book is a love story to both the tango and to finding you place no matter your initial circumstances. 

De Robertis, Carolina. (2015). The Gods of Tango. New York: Vintage Books.

Music From Another World

Music From Another World by Robin Talley is a discovery of new ideas as two students in California are assigned as pen pals by their conservative religious high schools. 1977

Tammy Larson, in Orange County, attends a conservative Christian school started by her aunt. To try to process what she is being asked to do, she starts a diary to Harvey Milk.

Sharon Hawkins, in San Francisco, has just found out her brother is gay. She joins him for a protest of an anti-gay bills passage in Florida. The protest is led by Harvey Milk, who is running for office. 

Sharon and Tammy find they have something in common - punk music. Sharon goes to a club in the Castro and hears local punk women and Tammy has found Patti Smith. Neither had heard music that matched their feeling before. 

Talley is a historical fiction master. She always chooses interesting times to set her novels of strong young women. 

Talley, Robin. (2020). Music From Another World. New York: Inkyard Press.

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamout Sellout

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamout Sellout by Laura Jane Grace and Dan Ozzi is an autobiography of my favorite punk singer, the front woman of Against Me!

Laura Jane Grace is as famous for being transgendered as she is for her music. But it took her a long time to come to terms that she was born into the wrong body. There were hints in her music along the way, but it was a long time before she could admit to herself who she really was. And a long road from there to coming out and transitioning.

This is a raw, wide-open, memoir. Laura has kept journals since elementary school. With the help of Dan Ozzi, she puts her story down on paper, not skipping the hard parts - including drug abuse, being called a sellout for signing with a record label, and becoming a parent.

She chose the title as a statement. Very punk of her, but as it is a bigoted slur, she now cringes to hear others used the word that has not yet been fully reclaimed by the trans community.

This may be the most honest memoir you will ever read. Also, LGJ is flawless on stage - born to play the guitar for a crowd of screaming fans. She is also the author of one of my all time favorite albums: New Wave by Against Me!

Grace, Laura Jane. (2016). Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Sellout. New York: Hatchet Books.

Music: Rogrigo y Gabriela

Rodrigo y Gabriela are an amazing duo of guitarists who will blow you away. If you don't see them live it is hard to believe there are only two musicians on stage.

With backgrounds in flamenco, jazz and rock - including being members of a metal band - Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero attract fans of all ages and musical preferences. They are both amazing musicians. Rodrigo uses the guitar in the traditional manner with skills that would rival the best of the best - even including some slide guitar. Gabriela, while playing a mean traditional guitar also uses the instrument to provide the percussion in the songs.

Go to their website or YouTube and watch one video - you will become a fan. Their latest album 9 Dead Alive came out this week. Previous albums include their self-titled Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006), 11:11 (2009), a collaboration with the 13-piece Cuban Orchestra on Area 52 (2012) and a few live albums from concerts in UK, Japan and France.

City of Lost Dreams (City of Dark Magic #2)

City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte (a pseudonym for authors Meg Howrey and Christina Lynch) is the sequel to City of Dark Magic.

Sarah Weston, a musicologist, is back in Europe. After her stay last year in Prague it is surprising she would return, but her friend Pollina needs her help. Pollina is a young music prodigy who is dying of a defect on one of her chromosomes. Sarah is back in Europe to hunt down a doctor doing experimental gene therapy.

Doing away with a linear passage of time, Flyte has created a mystery filled with long-dead musicians and alchemists, and a 400-year old dwarf, all in a setting of the amazing cities of Prague and Vienna.

While hard to fit into any one genre, the City of Lost Dreams series is bewitching and strange read that will stay in the minds of reader for a long time after they run out of pages.

Flyte, Magnus. (2013). City of Lost Dreams. New York: Penguin Books.

City of Dark Magic (City of Dark Magic #1)

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte (a pseudonym for the writing team of Meg Howry and Christina Lynch) is the first book in a series by the same name.

Sarah Weston is a PhD student in music history, focusing on Beethoven. She has been invited to Prague Castle for a summer internship cataloging and setting up a room in the castle to display original material and works of Beethoven. Sarah assumes she was offered the internship because her mentor, Professor Sherbatsky, is also working in Prague.

Though her roommate warns her that Prague is built over a hell portal, Sarah is excited about the prospect of materials that Beethoven actually touched and owned. Prague Castle is owned by the Lobkowicz family, the current heir being Max Lobkowicz Anderson. One of the previous Prince Lobkowicz was Beethoven's patron.

After Sarah arrives in Prague, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor is dead of an apparent suicide. Max is acting strange and is hiding something. Miles, who is in charge of all of the academics cataloging in the castle, acts like someone is watching him. And a mysterious dwarf who seems to be able to appear at will is either a friend or a spy.

Flyte has created a novel filled with music history, the history of Prague, magic, intrigue and humor. City of Dark Magic is a strange and wonderful read.

Flyte, Magnus. (2012). City of Dark Magic. New York: Penguin.

Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin'

Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin': A History of Musical Instruments Makers by Susan VanHecke is a beautiful look at the music makers of America.

Through a personal look at the person or family behind an instrument, this look at music, history and America is a look at our collective culture.

Makers included:
Zildjian cymbals
Steinway & Sons pianos
C.G. Conn horns
Martin guitars
Ludwig drums
Hammond organs
Fender electric guitars
Moog sound equipment

These great names in American instrument making, and the famous musicians who use them, is an interesting way to look at our country and the influence music has on us all. As a side note: if you get a chance to tour any of these factories it is totally worth it!

VanHecke, Susan. (2011). Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin'. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press.

The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights

The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman is an excellent biography.

Marian Anderson was an impressive person, not just for her amazing voice, but because of her personality. She helped to remove the racial barrier that was present in the arts world of her time. She was known the world over as having a voice that was one in a million.

At the height of her career she had a repertoire that included over 200 songs and arias in more than 9 languages.

Freedman, Russell. (2004). The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights. New York: Clarion Books.

Movie: Prey for Rock and Roll

Prey for Rock and Roll is the story of a rock band, well, it’s really about the lead singer. Jacki has known since she was twelve that she wanted to be a rock star. She learned how to play the guitar and started a band. Now, on the eve of her fortieth birthday, she is wondering if she will ever make it big, if she should keep trying, and if she quit, what would she do with her life.

When I think about this movie, I don’t find in it the aspects of a film that usually earn the label “good” or “great.” But at the same time it is a compelling story written by a woman about her own life. It feels true to the characters. If you like punk rock, some of the songs are catchy. And if you like Gina Gershon because you saw her in Bound you MUST see this movie!

Staring Gina Gershon, Drea de Matteo, Lori Petty, Marc Blucas. Written by Cheri Lovedog.

Movie: Shut Up & Sing

The Dixie Chick's documentary Shut Up & Sing was just released on DVD. It follows the story of what happened to them when they spoke out against the war in Iraq, the night before the war started. The part of the statement that was repeated through the media in the US was Natalie Maines, lead singer, stating she was ashamed that the president is from her home state of Texas. In the movie, you get to see the whole context of what was being said. Plus the fact that one of the largest protests in history was happening not far from where the Dixie Chick's were in concert.

The film focuses on what a couple of right-wing groups accomplished. Their music was boycotted by country radio. There cds were smashed. Their lives were threatened. It is an interesting commentary on the state of our freedoms and political climate at the time.

Through this experience they became a better band. (They were already the highest selling band of all time.) Their new cd, Taking the Long Way, is perhaps less country but is an emotional, well-written set of music. It is their first cd where they wrote all of the songs. It shows a side of the Chicks that was previously hidden.

I will admit that no matter what the film showed, and it is (of course) bias toward the Dixie Chicks, I would have loved it. I am a huge fan. However, the Weinstein Company who funded the film does surveys on opening day of all of the films they finance. The comments I heard from people who were not previously fans included one woman who said she was going across the street right then to buy their new cd.

I highly recommend both the documentary and the new cd. You can watch a video of the first release from Taking the Long Way here.

Music

This music category was added late because, although there are bands and musicians I adore, music is even more individual than reading tastes. It is likely this list will grow very slowly and perhaps only contain artists who are not widely known. I welcome comments on other musicians to check out!

Artist

Dixie Chicks. Shut Up & Sing.
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Laura Jane Grace. Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Sellout. [Book]
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Rodrigo y Gabriela. 9 Dead Alive.


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