Faces Of Music

On September 29, 1967, Mr. Bonzai attended his very first recording session at the invitation of John Lennon. The location was London's EMI Studios, now Abbey Road, and the song was I Am the Walrus. In attendance were George, Paul, Ringo, producer George Martin, and engineer Ken Scott. This privileged session with the most influential rock band in history set the stage for a life exploring the world of music and recording. In 1980, Mr. Bonzai settled in Hollywood to begin this collection of photographs and words of wisdom and wit. 'Mr. Bonzai takes you through the inner sanctums of the recording industry to meet artists, producers, and engineers who have shaped modern music.' --Phil Ramone, Producer (Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra) 'In brilliant words and images, Mr. Bonzai digs deeply into the fine art of making music.' --Ray Manzarek, The Doors 'A master of modern music photojournalism, Mr. Bonzai is the future of the past.' --Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo 'Closed Session obviously means 'C'mon in!' to Mr. Bonzai.' --Chris Stone, founder of Record Plant Recording Studios 'I laughed, I cried, I evolved into a higher life form.' --Weird Al Yankovic 'We used Mr. Bonzai's photos to open the film Laurel Canyon because he has such a striking eye for musicians at work in their environments.' --Catherine Hardwicke, production designer of Laurel Canyon, director of Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown 'Part of the art of Mr. Bonzai is the ability to be invisible.... see... he's doing it now...' --Graham Nash, singer, songwriter, photographer

An album-by-album celebration of the life and music of Mac Miller through oral histories, intimate reflections, and critical examinations of his enduring work. “One of my most vivid memories of him is the way he would look at you while he was playing you a song. He tried to look you right in the eyes to see how you were feeling about it.” —Will Kalson, friend and first manager Following Mac Miller’s tragic passing in 2018, Donna-Claire Chesman dedicated a year to chronicling his work through the unique lens of her relationship to the music and Mac’s singular relationship to his fans. Like many who’d been following him since he’d started releasing mixtapes at eighteen years old, she felt as if she’d come of age alongside the rapidly evolving artist, with his music being crucial to her personal development. “I want people to remember his humanity as they’re listening to the music, to realize how much bravery and courage it takes to be that honest, be that self-aware, and be that real about things going on internally. He let us witness that entire journey. He never hid that.” —Kehlani, friend and musician. The project evolved to include intimate interviews with many of Mac’s closest friends and collaborators, from his Most Dope Family in Pittsburgh to the producers and musicians who assisted him in making his everlasting music, including Big Jerm, Rex Arrow, Wiz Khalifa, Benjy Grinberg, Just Blaze, Josh Berg, Syd, Thundercat, and more. These voices, along with the author’s commentary, provide a vivid and poignant portrait of this astonishing artist—one who had just released a series of increasingly complex albums, demonstrating what a musical force he was and how heartbreaking it was to lose him. “As I’m reading the lyrics, it’s crazy. It’s him telling us that he hopes we can always respect him. I feel like this is a message from him, spiritually. A lot of the time, his music was like little letters and messages to his friends, family, and people he loved, to remind them of who he really was.” —Quentin Cuff, best friend and tour manager

Drawing on previously unpublished sources, this groundbreaking biography of Robert Schumann sheds new light on the great composer’s life and work. With the rigorous research of a scholar and the eloquent prose of a novelist, Judith Chernaik takes us into Schumann’s nineteenth-century Romantic milieu, where he wore many “masks” that gave voice to each corner of his soul. The son of a book publisher, he infused his pieces with literary ideas. He was passionately original but worshipped the past: Bach and Beethoven, Shake­speare and Byron. He believed in artistic freedom but struggled with constraints of form. His courtship and marriage to the brilliant pianist Clara Wieck—against her father’s wishes—is one of the great musical love stories of all time. Chernaik freshly explores his troubled relations with fellow composers Mendelssohn and Chopin, and the full medi­cal diary—long withheld—from the Endenich asylum where he spent his final years enables her to look anew at the mystery of his early death. By turns tragic and transcendent, Schumann shows how this extraordinary artist turned his tumultuous life into music that speaks directly—and timelessly—to the heart.

Rebel Song is a collection of pictures and words of some of the most important musicians who changed the face of Irish Music to the international force it is today. As Irish musicians began to find international fame in the second half of the 20th century, there was a growing swell of bands like the Fureys, the Pogues and the Dubliners who transformed traditional rebel music into something with an energy and intensity that was more direct and outspoken than ever before. Irish folk music had expressed the pain of generations under colonial domination. This blossomed into a nation's resistance and rebellion, and spilled over into rock and pop, and then into a fusion with punk. Filled with passion and politics, the tunes of rebellion moved from a rallying call to resistance, and onto a global stage that continues to push back and assert Irish identity and love of life. Artists like U2, Sinéad O'Connor, Bob Geldof and the Pogues have often taken an outspoken stand on matters of global politics, while always maintaining a direct connection back to Ireland. Featuring pictures by legendary music photographer Andrew Catlin that include many taken very early in the careers of the artists, often while at their creative peak, with photographs that span more than thirty years. The book explores the connection between the traditions of Irish music, the history of Ireland, and the extraordinary power and intensity of some of the greatest songwriters and performers of the last 50 years.

This book highlights the links between politics and governance and the arts. The essays in the volume show how literature and music have challenged those in power risking political censure. In addition, they also try to delineate how patronage has been used for propaganda, or to stir up national fervour. They focus on the tension and symbiosis between the politician and the artist foregrounding how they have always tried to influence, challenge, and, in some cases, undermine one another. This volume will serve as an indispensable source for researchers and academics in political science, the humanities and performing arts.

Popular music and the people who make it, record it and produce it, has always been a fascinating subject. Whether you are trying to learn more about what it takes to succeed in the music industry or just an avid fan, there is no better way to do so than to listen to the personal stories of people who have gone through the process themselves. Their stories of artistic survival in a commercial world provide valuable lessons and insights, as well as an exciting glimpse into a very different world.

This book contains the stories you need for anyone who is preparing to travel to the Philippines or who are interested in the Philippines. I hope that this book will be helpful for many foreigners visiting the Philippines.