Books
Today my wife asked me to come up with some ideas for christmas presents.
Well at first said software but she said she wanted me to have something to wrap up.
Man I’m nearly 40 what the hell.
Well it’s better to concede early and hope for the best.
I’ve decided to make a post out of some of my wanted items.
First up books: I believe in books – why? – one smidgen of information that gets you thinking, gives you insight, inspiration, solidifies an idea already present – a book that gives you this is worth it’ s cover price.
I have a shelf full of this kind of reference material, I don’t neccesarily read them cover to cover – it’s hard to do that – but I dip in and out – digest the info.
It’s also nice to get a take on how others go about things, the two books following are a collection of interviews, anecdotes etc by established producers talking about their music.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these books will tell you how to do something but there may be a snippet in an anecdote that may just open a door for you.
Veteran journalist and record producer/engineer Massey provides inside stories packed with trade secrets from recording masters. He takes the reader into the studio with about 30 top producers who have worked with the most famous major artists.
Behind the Glass: Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits
“Behind the Glass, Volume II” presents another prime collection of firsthand interviews with the world’s top record producers and engineers, sharing their creative secrets and hit-making techniques – from the practical to the artistic. In these pages you’ll find Daniel Lanois (“U2″, Bob Dylan) discussing the future of digital recording; T-Bone Burnett (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss) sharing his unique view of creating complex low end; and Hugh Padgham (“Police”, “Genesis”) analyzing the state of the business today. For real-world advice on everything from home recording to mixing to coaching a nervous singer, check out author Howard Massey’s conversations with Mark Ronson (“Amy Winehouse”), Tony Brown (“Reba McEntire”), Gus Dudgeon (“Elton John”), John Simon (“The Band”), Russ Titelman (“Steve Winwood”), Bruce Swedien (Michael Jackson), Rodney Jerkins (Mary J. Blige), Simon Climie (Eric Clapton), Matt Serletic (“Matchbox Twenty”), and more.
Behind the Glass: v. 2: Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits
The following book is more about technique and ideas, great reviews so this goes on my list.
In explaining the aesthetic side of what makes a great mix, he introduces a framework that will help you understand everything that an engineer does. Once you know what can be done, you have the power to be truly creative all on your own.
The Art of Mixing (Mix Pro Audio Series)
Related Reading:
Not being a big fan of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers this book was not really one to read for me, in fact it should have been a massive turn off.
I’ve never really dug the way they create music or their standpoint of music.
That said I do love that time in the 70s and early 80s where an awful lot of America was in a sort of flux.
Drugs, Music, Sex on all points skewed.
Life had become one long party, bring your kids!
Then it got dark.
And that seems how Anthony Kiedis’s life ended up.
One long party that in the end got very dark indeed, but lucky for him it all ended well.
If like me you grew up around this time when music was a big bag of contradictions you’ll probably love it.
You really don’t have to be a fan of the Chilli Peppers.
Really easy to read and very interesting memoir of the hedonistic LA we all really would have loved to have seen.
‘In SCAR TISSUE Anthony Kiedis, charismatic and highly articulate frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recounts his remarkable life story, and the history of the band itself. Raised in the Midwest, he moved to LA aged eleven to live with his father Blackie, purveyor of pills, pot, and cocaine to the Hollywood elite. After a brief child-acting career, Kiedis dropped out of U.C.L.A. and plunged headfirst into the demimonde of the L.A. underground music scene. He formed the band with three schoolfriends – and found his life’s purpose. Crisscrossing the country, the Chili Peppers were musical innovators and influenced a whole generation of musicians.
But there’s a price to pay for both success and excess and in SCAR TISSUE, Kiedis writes candidly of the overdose death of his soul mate and band mate, Hillel Slovak, and his own ongoing struggle with an addiction to drugs. SCAR TISSUE far transcends the typical rock biography, because Anthony Kiedis is anything but a typical rock star. It is instead a compelling story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption.’
Related Reading:
Another great reason to get Computer Music magazine is the CM-505.
‘The CM-505 is a 24 note-polyphonic VST drum synthesizer. The instrument is designed specifically for creating synthetic drum sounds; no samples are used to create its sounds, not even a single cycle. The sounds created by the CM-505 have their roots in classic analogue drum machines. Although the CM-505 can replicate many of the sounds of these classic analogue drum machines, it also extends them into new sonic territory.’
The CM-505 comes bundled with loads of other free vst plugins on the disc that comes free with Computer Music every month.
Also the articles, reviews and tutorials make the magazoine worth it’s cover price alone.
The DVD disc crammed with lot’s of music making goodies just makes the magazine a great buy.
Related Reading:
DAW Masterclass
Getting to know your DAW better will not only help you make music more effectively, it can also spark your creativity. Mark Cousins and Hollin Jones show you around in this 13-page special feature.
Ten Minute Masters
Step Sequencers
Despite having only a few notes at their disposal, step sequencers are still an essential tool for electronic music production. We explain why.
Condenser Microphones
Condenser microphones are a popular choice within the studio, but what difference does the capsule design make? Grant Bridgeman goes beneath the grille.
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The seventhMusic Tech Focus edition is on sale now. This 132-page special edition magazine concentrates purely on Guitar Technology and features:
- 132 pages of pure Guitar Technology
- Recording electric, acoustic and bass guitars
- Live performance and hardware recording
- Getting started, choosing the right software and emulation
- Compression, delay, distortion and mixing and loads more
- PLUS – Free DVD with full version NI Guitar Rig Go, 120 minutes of video tutorial, plug-in demos and all the workshop resources
Related Reading:
Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
by John Lydon, Kent Zimmerman, and Keith Zimmerman.
The Guardian, January 31, 2004
‘Rotten… captures the rancid flavour of Lydon’s punk and pre-punk life… a good read’
Kerrang!, January 24, 2004
‘Lydon’s story is one of struggle and an almost foolhardy courage… for sheer eye-of-the-storm authenticity, this is hard to beat.’
Untidy Music Review>>>>
Being a huge fan of John Lydon, I’ve wanted to read this book for years.
Yet for some reason I’ve avoided doing so and can’t put my finger on why.
My admiration for the former Sex Pistols and PiL front man goes beyond music,
It’s his ethos, his compassion and his passion and his pure bloody pithe…
Recent controvercies and butter adverts aside (oh come on Racist?
And why should he not make some bleedin money for once?).
Anyways I finally got this book as a present and read it pretty much straight away.
I love the way it’s written, taking a completely honest stance on all the events, and even allowing
fellow travellers to say their peace on the same events is a fantastic way of giving the reader
a real minds eys of what it was like in the mid 70′s punk boom…
There’s also the way he talks about music, his parents and his friends…
If you’re a fan of music read this book,
If you’re a fan of punk read this book,
If you want a snapshot of 70′s britain read this book.