Books: Neil Young – Long May You Run (Voyageur Press, written by Daniel Durchholz & Gary Graff)

Posted: July 2, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Books | Tags: | Leave a comment

Neil Young: Long May You Run is subtitled The Illustrated History, an important part of the title of this new unofficial biography of the rock and roll legend. Released this past May, the book spans Young’s entire career, from his childhood in Winnipeg, Canada to his prolific work with Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, Crazy Horse, and every band in between to his collaborations in the grunge era with Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam to his upcoming summer tour.

Many of the quotes and interviews found within the book’s well laid out and beautifully printed pages are things you may have read before – it appears that the writers did very few interviews of their own, instead relying on previously published material. That doesn’t necessarily take away from the impact or interest of the biography, but it does leave you wondering if their access was limited. There are some interesting accounts in the book that deal with the mythology and musical connections of Young: the Bob Dylan-Neil Young connection (apparently, Dylan thought “Heart of Gold” cut a bit too close to his own work), Young’s original touring car – a hearse he called Mortimer Hearseburg, a rumored feud with Lyrnyrd Skynyrd over Young’s Southern posturing, and, most interestingly, Young’s early connection with the man soon to be known as Rick James – the two played in a band together for a short time in the ’60s. There is also an interesting account of Young’s problems with seizures early in his life, which one can’t help but compare to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis’ battles with a similar malady. Fortunately, for Young, things turned out much better.

Ultimately, the real bread and butter of the book are its pictures – concert pics, childhood snapshots, concert and movie posters, postcards, you name it. Long May You Run is an interesting read, but it’s also a good coffee table book, filled with enough visual stimuli to interest even a casual Young fan like myself with its rich photographic history.

Neil Young – Long May You Run: The Illustrated History is available from Voyageur Press.

Book Review: 33 1/3: Illmatic (Continuum)

Posted: May 25, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Books, Published Work | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

I recently reviewed Matthew Gasteier’s 33 1/3 contribution, Illmatic, about the classic Nas album, for Lost At Sea. Read it here.

Books: Q-Tip – Industry Rules

Posted: July 16, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Books | Tags: | Leave a comment

“Industry rule number 4,080: record company people are shady.” So said Q-Tip on the classic Tribe Called Quest song, “Check the Rhime.” Now he’s prepared to expand and expound upon said rule, and presumably many others, as he will release a book called Industry Rules (Ballantine Books) sometime next year.

Tip had this to say: “It was important to me to write a book, because on the whole, I feel we could all be more literate, and as an artist, I’m always looking for ways to do something cool, different, and both light and introspective at the same time. With so many influences, like Duke Ellington’s writing, or the music played by radio DJs in the ’70s, or just what you see hanging out on Linden Blvd., there’s a lot to say, and I look forward to reaching a bunch of colorful dudes and gals with the project.”