Books
‘Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston’ Author Explains Why He Wrote the Book
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Feb. 11 marks 10 years since the death of Whitney Houston. The dualities of the multiplatinum selling singer’s life — both inside and outside of the spotlight — are explored in the new book Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston by Gerrick Kennedy, with a forward by Brandy. The book will be released on Tuesday (Feb. 1). Explore See latest videos, charts and news Here, Kennedy tells Billboard about why he wanted to take on this project: What is it about Whitney that made you want to share her story? The question I’m asked the most is why ...
‘To Hell and Back’: Here’s Where You Can Buy Meat Loaf’s Autobiography
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Meat Loaf will be remembered as a rock legend. Following news of the 74-year-old singer’s death on Thursday, friends and fans of Meat Loaf have been streaming his music and flooding social media with touching photos and memories — but if you’ve been hoping to find his autobiography, you’re in luck. To Hell and Back details Meat Loaf’s life and career from growing up in Texas to the release of his 1993 comeback album Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. The memoir shares some of the turbulent and triumphant chapters in Meat Loaf’s life story: his struggles wit...
New Book Pays Homage to the Beautiful and Chaotic Bloghouse Era
For a short time in the mid-2000s, the dream of the underground rave materialized in unique DIY fashion: bloghouse. Lina Abascal’s new book offers readers a glimpse into the chaotic, vastly undocumented era that many still cherish to this day. Never Be Alone Again: How Bloghouse United the Internet and the Dancefloor is a cultural deep-dive into the bloghouse zeitgeist of the mid-2000s. Bloghouse wasn’t simply the events that took place, but how they came to be through the power of the internet and human curiosity. Music was the centerpiece and catalyst, fueling a curiosity to learn more about obscure electro and punk through blogs, eventually leading to events that can only be described as of the “you had to be there” variety. Amazon Abascal’s book also ...
Bitcoin book for American policymakers gets 5x funding on Kickstarter
A group of eight Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish an educational book for America’s federal policymakers, to reduce their reliance on the traditional media narrative on cryptocurrencies. The campaign managed to attract $23,151 in funding, nearly five times the goal of $5,000. The book was conceptualized soon after the United States House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which mandates stringent reporting requirements for the crypto community. According to the authors: “We set out to write a book to help policymakers understand where Bitcoin users are from and what they care about. We want to dispel the notion that it’s a nerd money and show how it’s impacting so many people in America.” Possibl...
DeFi resolving the five flaws of traditional finance, book review
Writing a book on decentralized finance is a bit like describing a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, to borrow from Winston Churchill. First, one must summarize the origins of modern decentralized finance, then the mechanics of the blockchain technology that provides the sector’s backbone, and only then do you arrive at DeFi’s infrastructure. It all should be done in 191 pages, too, including glossary, notes and index. It is not an undertaking for the faint of heart. Fortunately, the authors of DeFi and the Future of Finance — Duke University finance professor Campbell Harvey, Dragonfly Capital general partner Ashwin Ramachandran, and Fei Labs founder Joey Santoro — were up to the task. After recapitulating the “five flaws of traditional finance” — inefficiency, limited access...
Avicii’s Official Biography Hits the Shelves
Fans of Avicii can now purchase his official biography, which was released today by U.K. publishing house Little, Brown. Author Måns Mosesson developed the biography using excerpts from interviews with Avicii’s loved ones and colleagues in the music industry. Titled Tim: The Official Biography of Avicii, the book “paints an honest picture” of the electronic music legend prior to his tragic and shocking death in 2018. Prevalently known as one of the most virtuosic dance music producers of all-time, Avicii took his own life at the age of 28 after grappling with mental health struggles contrived largely from a grueling touring schedule. He was said to perform upwards of 250 shows annually. Cover of “Tim – The Official Biography of Avicii.” Little, Brown and Compa...
This Dr. Seuss-Style Children’s Book Teaches Kids About Vintage Synthesizers
Because who needs Crayola, a new children’s book about synth-collecting is now available. My Daddy Has 100 Synths is the perfect book for dads looking to introduce their kids to the vintage synthesizer world. Penned by Billy Cardigan, one-half of Shy Boyz, the Dr. Seuss-style rhyming book is told from the perspective of a child whose father flaunts his encyclopedic synth collection. “This one is polyphonic and has a vocoder! This one was used by Giorgio Moroder,” reads one passage. “This is the classic mini-moog, used by Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode.” A page from Billy Cardigan’s synthesizer book for children, “My Daddy Has 100 Synths.” Billy Cardigan/Bandcamp Recommended Articles A page from Billy Cardigan’s synthesizer book fo...
New Daft Punk Book Will Detail Their Three-Decade, Transformational Career in Music
A new book written by UK-based author and journalist Gabriel Szatan will cover Daft Punk‘s transformational, nearly three-decade career. The book, titled After Daft, will chronicle the legendary duo’s influential career and the upbringing of 21st century musical styles like blog house, hyperpop and “mash-up” DJ mixes. The book explores the “teachers,” or the artists that heavily influenced Daft Punk’s sound and their Homework album. This aspect will primarily focus on Black and Latin musicians from Chicago, Detroit and the American midwest. Readers will gain exclusive access to artists and others who worked closely with Daft Punk from 1993 to 2021 as well as hear the stories about the duo’s slow removal from the spotlight ...
Dolly Parton to Release Novel and Companion Album Next Year
From music to modeling to activism and beyond, Dolly Parton has done just about everything in life, but that doesn’t mean she’s stopped trying new things. In fact, the country legend just revealed that she’s writing her first-ever novel (!) about a young woman who moves to Nashville to pursue her dreams as a musician. Even better, Parton plans on releasing it next year along with a companion album of new music. Entitled Run, Rose, Run, the 448-book is co-written by bestselling author James Patterson. Accompanying it is a full-length LP with songs based on its characters and situations. “I cannot be more excited about the release of my very first novel #RunRoseRun with @JP_Books,” tweeted Parton. “I hope you enjoy the book and the songs as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together!” Ac...
Jihadists kill all male Christians in two Nigerien towns, women flee
Jihadists in Niger Republic have killed all the male Christians in Fantio and Dolbel, two towns in the Tillabéri region in the south west. Survivors of the attack, a group of women, with small children and babies fled to the Dori region of Burkina Faso. AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED (ACN), which reported the attacks, quoted the women as saying the terrorists attacked the towns twice, killing the men. The two towns were abandoned by the rest of the inhabitants. In Fantio, the jihadists took a statue of the Virgin Mary, liturgical books and musical instruments and burned them. They then desecrated the Blessed Sacrament by throwing the sacred hosts on the ground and finally setting the church on fire. This is the third parish in this part of Niger that has been abandoned due to terrorist attacks ...
Black Thought Speaks On His Life Story In New Audible Project, “7 Years”
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Audible / Audible Tariq Trotter, a.k.a Black Thought is undoubtedly one of Hip-Hop’s greatest MCs, and over the years has only added more luster to his career with The Roots with every bar. A new creative venture will give fans a closer look into the artist that he is today. On Thursday (July 8th), Black Thought will be the subject of a new audiobook that will debut exclusively in the U.S. as part of the Words + Music series covering the intimate journeys of music artists such as Sheryl Crow, Smokey Robinson and more on Amazon’s Audible platform. 7 Years is an Audible Original that will feature Black Thought giving listeners an inside look into his journey from a rough & tumble childhood in Philadelphia to having to deal with dealing with a justice sy...
Thurston Moore’s New Memoir Sonic Life Set for Publication
With touring and most typical forms of recording shut down during the pandemic, many musicians found new ways to channel their artistic urges. Thurston Moore threw himself into writing, resulting in a new memoir called Sonic Life, which has just been picked up for publication. The Sonic Youth co-founder first mentioned work on the book while speaking with Vulture late last year. “This downtime period allowed me to do this,” he said at the time, “so I have this manuscript called Sonic Life that I probably will publish at some point in 2021.” Though publication rights for the memoir were indeed secured, Moore’s timeline was a little off — by two years. According to industry website The Book Seller, Doubleday bought the rights to Sonic Life at auction and set it for a 2023 rele...
