Rock And Rhapsodies

"Rock and Rhapsodies is the first book-length musicological study of British rock band Queen. It primarily addresses the material written, recorded, and released between 1973 and 1991. The text provides readers with a nuanced analytical account of the group's songs and illuminates the varied the stylistic and historical contexts in which Queen's music was created. The key conceptual basis for the analysis is an idiolect, which refers to the distinct musical style of a single artist. Having documented the key features of Queen's idiolect, the book further explores the nature of specific musical characteristic and uses them to respond to a range of wider analytical and discursive issues as pertaining to style, genre, form, time, voice, and historiography. Rock and Rhapsodies comprises twelve chapters. The introduction documents Queen's place in scholarly literature and unfolds the principal analytical methodology. The following three chapters address the structural details of Queen's idiolect and songs, before analyzing the voices of Queen's singers. The vocal techniques are related to discourses of authenticity and, in the case of Freddie Mercury, the queer voice. The five subsequent chapters identify the changing and myriad stylistic influences on Queen, as well as relate the band to the major rock movements of the 1970s: hard, glam, and progressive. The final chapter explores the replacement singers, Queen in wider popular media, and the influence of the band, since Mercury's death in 1991"--

Since 1973, Queen have captivated listeners through the intense sonic palette of voices and guitars, the sprawling and epic journeys of songs, and charismatic splendour of their live performances. Rock and Rhapsodies is the first book to undertake a musicological study of the band's output, with a fundamental aim of discovering what, exactly, gave Queen's songs their magical and distinct musical identity. Focusing on the material written, recorded, and released between 1973 and 1991, author Nick Braae provides readers with an in-depth and nuanced analytical account of the group's individual musical style (or "idiolect"), and illuminates the multifaceted stylistic and historical contexts in which Queen's music was created. Aspects of Queen's songs are also used as a springboard for exploring a range of further analytical and discursive issues: the nature of a musical style; the conceptual relationship between an artist, style, and genre; form in popular songs; and the character and identity of a singing voice. Following an introduction and "primer" on Queen's idiolect, Rock and Rhapsodies presents ten further chapters, each of which offers a snapshot of a particular musical element (form, the voice), a particular subset of repertoire (Freddie Mercury's large-scale 1970s songs), or a particular era (post-1991), thus painting a rich overall picture of both the band's history and their ongoing presence in popular culture. Along the way, there is an underlying focus on interrogating and substantiating the themes and ideas that emerge from the writing, documentaries and other media on Queen, using a variety of analytical tools and close readings of songs, to demonstrate how aspects of critical reception align (or not) with musical details. Rock and Rhapsodies will reward any reader who has been enchanted by the myriad and complex musical components that make up any Queen song.

RHAPSODY IN BLACK: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF ROY ORBISON

Dive into this no-holds-barred group autobiography of the critically acclaimed feminist punk-rock group, The Lunachicks—featuring never-before-seen materials from the band's private archive. Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks is a coming-of-age tale about a band of NYC teenagers who forged a sisterhood, found salvation, and fervently crashed the gates of punk rock during the '90s, accidentally becoming feminist icons along the way. More than that, this is a story about the enduring friendship among the book's three central voices: Theo Kogan, Sydney Silver, and Gina Volpe. They formed the Lunachicks at LaGuardia High School (of "Fame" fame) in the late '80s and had a record deal with Blast First Records as teenagers, whisked into the studio by Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore. Over the course of thirteen-ish years, the Lunachicks brought their brand of outrageous hard-rockin' rebelliousness around the world countless times, simultaneously scaring conservative onlookers and rescuing the souls of wayward freaks, queers, and outcasts.Their unforgettable costume-critiques of pop culture were as loud as their "Marsha[ll]" amps, their ferocious tenacity as lasting as their pre-internet mythology. They toured with bands like the Go-Go's, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt, Rancid, and The Offspring; played the Reading Festival with Nirvana; and rocked the main stage at the Warped tour twice. Yet beneath all the makeup, wigs, and hilarious outfits were three women struggling to grow into adulthood under the most unorthodox of conditions. Together onstage they were invincible B-movie superheroes who kicked heaps of ass—but apart, not so much. Depression, addiction, and identity crises loomed overhead, not to mention the barrage of sexist nonsense they faced from the music industry. Filled with never-before-seen photos, illustrations, and ephemera from the band's private archive, and featuring contributions from Lunachicks drummer Chip English, founding member Sindi B., and former bandmate Becky Wreck, Fallopian Rhapsody is a bawdy, gripping, warts-and-all account of how these city kids relied on their cosmic creative connection to overcome internal strife and external killjoys, all the while empowering legions of fans to shoot for the moon. For readers of Carrie Brownstein's Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Kim Gordon's Girl in a Band, and Chrissie Hynde's Reckless, Fallopian Rhapsody is the literary equivalent of diving headfirst into a moshpit and slowly but surely venturing up to the front of the stage.

"First published in the UK in 2018 by Carlton Books Limited"--Page facing title page.

Love marches to its own passionate beat in these four sexy stories of rock 'n' roll icons and the independent women who fall for them. Discover the true heroes behind the spotlights in these steamy contemporary romances. Rock Her: Small-town nurse Kate Gibson rescues rock music's most infamous guitarist, Alec Sawyer, in more ways than one. A 2013 finalist in the Chicago RWA Fire and Ice contest. Rock Him: Front man Asher Lowe turns to college student Maddy Anderson to help him cope with fame and a dysfunctional family. Winner of the 2014 RomCon Readers' Crown for single title contemporary. Spiraling: Amy Astor, America's ice princess, shows boy-band-heartthrob-turned-Hollywood-leading-man Shane Marx that love is stronger than addiction. Bloom: L.A.'s charity fundraising maven Ava Bennett discovers Nathaniel Robinson is more than a surly organic farmer, but can she trust him with her heart? Sensuality Level: Sensual

Blue-blooded Amelia “Amy” Astor was a champion, America's sweetheart, and on track to give the US Olympic medal glory before she gave it all up to join skating's equivalent of the circus. Now she's a professional princess, the lead in Enchanted Ice. But in an industry that values young, cheap, and healthy, her age, salary, and injuries are a liability. So when she's offered a job teaching Hollywood heartthrob Shane Marx to skate for a role in a hockey film, she leaps at the opportunity. Maybe with the right kind of exposure, she can survive one more season and put off decisions about her future a little longer. If she invites the wrong kind of exposure . . . well, there's that pesky morals clause waiting in the wings. Shane Marx traded his boy band dance moves in TruAchord for acting lessons years ago. His blonde, blue-eyed gorgeousness makes him the most sought after romantic comedy lead in the movie industry. But lately his clean-cut image has been tarnished by one sex scandal after another. When America's ice princess meets Hollywood's hottest leading man, what could go wrong? Inside that sequined costume is a woman of steely determination who has conquered many of her demons. And beneath his sinfully attractive exterior, Shane Marx is a man still battling his. Sensuality Level: Sensual

Asher Lowe, rock god, notorious womanizer, and rebellious son of ruthless billionaire Sterling Lowe, has spent two decades building Spade into the most successful rock band of the era and living down to his father's expectations. His antics on and off stage are the stuff of fantasy and legend. Fiercely independent Maddy Anderson doesn't back down from a challenge, even when it hurts. She's spent ten years dealing with chronic illness and is succeeding on her own terms, just a semester away from finishing her degree and starting her lifelong dream of a career in education. When tragedy strikes, Asher's life is torn apart. He hires Maddy to care for his dead sister's child, and discovers he has a lot to learn about love and commitment. She makes him want to be the kind of man who can care for them both. But can this rock star make the leap from sexy front man to family man or will their bright future be sacrificed to the past? Sensuality Level: Sensual