Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

An Undergrad Course on Liking Music

Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste by Nolan Gasser

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When I reviewed Sixsmith’s Russia I mentioned that it was sometimes classified as a textbook, even though the narrative style made it much easier to read than a traditional history text. Unfortunately, this book is the opposite of that. Even though the book is admittedly dry at times and full of nerdy digressions, it is still a worthwhile endeavour for zealous music fans, even if just as a collection of various philosophies and studies of music.  The biggest thing going for the book is the […]

They paved paradise But she paved the way

Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell by Selina Alko

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Our musical tastes are formed by a variety of ways. My first influence was my mother. I knew who Elvis was before I could shake my hips and dance in my blue suede shoes! I even knew old school and (then) contemporary (nowadays “classics” and the classics “that old stuff”) country music. One day my I was gifted some 45s of one of my uncles and it was all over. The Beatles were the thing. And musical experimentation of an odd teen (i.e.: I was […]

Bad a##, Kick a## and all around one damn good read

Suncatcher by Jose Pimienta

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Some plot point spoilers. I figured that Suncatcher would be about music and some sort of hard rock. Instead about being about “just music” it is about music (punk/hard rock/independent/and as it is set in Mexico, the cultural influences of the era), perfection, the obsessions we allow ourselves and the ghosts that haunt us. All the reviews I have seen seem to take the character Beatriz literally: her grandfather’s soul is literally trapped in his guitar; she is literally being haunted by him and the […]

Selena: Queen of Tejano Music

Selena: by Silvia Lopez

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Selena is a downright gorgeously illustrated book by Paola Escobar. Silvia Lopez’s text hits on the highlights of the singer’s life. Each page is a short chapter into a piece of her life. The two pieces blend together; complimenting each other and bring to life the world, the looks and the sound of Selena.  There is not only the world inside the home and on the stage, but the neighborhood and people as well. The afterwards dealing with everything from definitions and explanations of terms, […]

We built BrisVegas on rock and roll

Pig City by Andrew Stafford

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  Pig City chronicles a brief yet transformative period of Brisbane life, from the 70s through to the 90s, but this is no ordinary history book. The story is told mainly through the lens of music and politics and shows how the two influenced each other in a time when Brisbane was still coming of age.  The ‘BrisVegas’ tag jokingly likens the country town where there’s not much to do (as Brisbane was up until the late eighties) with Las Vegas. Beginning in the seventies, the […]

Please get the audiobook version

Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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I know I’m late to the game on this one and there’s nothing left to add, reviewwise. The book is entertaining and overflowing with life. It’s gloriously human. It’s going to be a 12-part limited series in the next year or so. We all know and we all love it. Nonetheless, I feel the need to hold up my lighter as Graham Dunne strums the intro chords and Daisy saunters up the mic and Karen Karen hits those atmospheric keys. Also, Warren is there! Oh, […]



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