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129th out of 411 books
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A Cure For Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage
by
Joe Jackson
Since the release of his first best-selling album Look Sharp in 1979, Joe Jackson has forged a singular career in music through his originality as a composer and his notoriously independent stance toward music-business fashion. He has also been a famously private person, whose lack of interest in his own celebrity has been interpreted by some as aloofness. That reputation ...more
Paperback, 296 pages
Published
November 2nd 2000
by Da Capo Press
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Some of my friends probably wouldn't buy it, but I was a pretty melancholy kid. Stuff affected me pretty heavily, from the offhand comments of kids and adults who didn't know they were being mean to the scenes from movies that didn't know they were being poignant. My melancholy extended to music and particularly music videos, which I watched with cultlike devotion. Among the more resonant are a couple of Joe Jackson songs off his album Night and Day: "Breaking Us in Two," in which a wo...more
Mercury Gant climbs aboard his vintage motorcycle & leaves his life behind. Umberto Santana walks out of a bank with $314,000 in stolen cash to start anew. Traveling the same route unknowningly, Gant & Santana cross paths while "flying without wings" in the middle of a tornado. The two sojourners continue together along their road, learning about each other - & more importantly, learning about themselves & the relationships with those they love, have loved or will come to love.
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I finished reading this over the weekend. It covers Joe Jackson's childhood, troubled high school years, acceptance into the royal academy of music (where he was lettered for percussion, not piano surprisingly), his struggle in the local music scene, and assent into the public consciousness. The book is notable not only for the insight provided on one of the really great new wave recording artists, but also from the standpoint that the storytelling was pretty compelling – if Mr. Jackson ever t...more
I like this well enough. I'm glad it less about "JJ the Popstar" and more about "JJ the awkward geek and how he became a Pop Star" He does overdo the self-deprecation a bit, and can get a bit floofy with his descriptions, but he's pretty humble and funny and likeable. I always got the impression that he would be a horribly strict and difficult person to work for, but that opinion has been totally demolished. It's cute how he's all "OH MY GOD PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT TO ...more
Great title. Have to be a fan of Joe to buy this one and it mainly goes into his childhood / young adulthood / breaking in. Interested in hearing about Joe's career? Won't find it here. But I liked it.
Over the last few years, I've really enjoyed memoirs that shed light on the creative process, like Dylan's Chronicles and Steve Martin's Born Standing Up and A Cure for Gravity falls very squarely into this genre. I finished reading A Cure for Gravity today and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Lisa
is currently reading it
His autobiography of sorts. Been a huge fan since I discovered his live two-CD set in college. Should be a great summer read.
Very nice description of what is like to be a working musician before you make it big. A nice autobiography.
A surprisingly well written look at music and life as a musician.
A great songwriter, Joe Jackson may actually be a better essay writer. Most chapters could be stand-alone essatys. His craftsmanship as a songwriter shows through in the expertly constructed chapters that explore pivotal moments in his early musical career. A person favorite appears towards the end when Jackson talks about moving out of a period of depression when he lost interest - and faith? -- in music. What helped turn him around? Hearing a Crowded House song. Hey now!
Simply the most enjoyable book about music, trying to make it as an a performer and the personal importance of art I've ever read.
Good stuff. Jon Glovin lent me this book.
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