From highly anticipated tell all memoirs to the investigation of a decade, 2023 has been a remarkable year for music enthusiasts
There has been no shortage of standout releases this year. In a perhaps historic turn of events, we were able to hear from one of the greatest yet silenced pop artists of all time.
An overlooked sub-sect of punk was brought to light, and multiple living legends had their careers immortalised in print. From Britney to Barbra, let’s take a look at some of the best music book releases of 2023.
Britney Spears – The Woman In Me
Perhaps one of the most anxiously awaited memoirs of the decade, Britney Spears finally broke free of the chains placed upon her life, career and happiness.
Beginning with her childhood – and her profound experience of feeling God through music – Britney tracks her meteoric rise to global stardom, and her crushing downfall facilitated by those closest to her.
For the first time the world is able to experience Britney’s dramatic highs and lows through her own eyes.
Illuminating the toxicity of fame culture, the misogyny that permeates creative industries – let’s be real, all industries – and the unforgivable deeds of her family, The Woman In Me is a testament to one woman’s irrefutable strength, and her immense love of her children and life itself.
Inspiring, horrifying and long overdue, The Woman In Me is required reading for anyone who has ever participated in fame culture. And of course, anyone who has ever enjoyed the buttery timbre of Britney Spears.
BRITNEY SPEARS
THE WOMAN IN ME
BUY HERE
Chris L. Terry & James Spooner – Black Punk Now
Released in October, Black Punk Now is an anthology of non-fiction, fiction, art and comics that aim to collectively depict the state of punk today while shining a spotlight on punk’s of colour, something that has been egregiously underrepresented.
Highlighting the identities of Black punk that are trailblazing, thriving and carving out more space for those to come, Black Punk Now is a call to action, as well as an ode to the past.
Curated from Black voices inside the world of punk, the combination of various art forms creates a world of unseen magic.
Working to de-center whiteness by giving rise to other voices and perspectives, Black Punk Now fills a gaping void in both our history and our current climate.
CHRIS L. TERRY & JAMES SPOONER
BLACK PUNK NOW
BUY HERE
Barbra Streisand – My Name is Barbra
Over almost a thousand pages, has there ever been a memoir so representative of its subject? My Name is Barbra is full to the brim of vulnerability, admissions and at times overwhelming honesty.
With nothing left behind, Barbra offers all she has to the pages of her life. She writes in the same way she sings – full of abandon and yet so tightly controlled that her emotion is forced to exit through the creases in her mouth.
This dichotomy has been present throughout the original Broadway diva’s entire career.
From immense stage fright to the addressing of long standing rumours, Barbra covers it all and then some.
An insatiable hunger for fame and the ambition to make it happen, My Name is Barbra strips away all the accolades and show stopping voice and instead focuses on the intricacies of the woman beneath it all.
BARBRA STREISAND
MY NAME IS BARBRA
BUY HERE
Rob Harvilla – 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s
A companion to the number one podcast, Rob Harvilla commits his deadpan comedic investigations of his favourite musical decade to the page.
Taking readers and listeners alike through the songs that defined an undefinable decade, Harvilla seeks to unpack the success of the greatest hits of a decade.
From Pavement to Fiona Apple and over to TLC, Harvilla is thorough and hilarious. His voice translates delightfully to the page, his off-beat rants and chaotic scene setting make for a compelling retelling of the songs that made the 90s so unforgettable – even if we have forgotten some of the songs that made it so.
Educational and endlessly enjoyable, 60 Songs That Explain the 90s is a force. Harvilla has created his own community of music lovers, and a following that trails him from the recording booth to the page.
ROB HARVILLA
60 SONGS THAT EXPLAIN THE 90’S
BUY HERE
Rick Rubin– The Creative Act: A Way of Being
ProducerRick Rubin is full of infinite wisdom, much of which many artists, if not all, are in desperate need of inheriting.
Focusing on what all artists regardless of genre or tradition can offer as individuals and collectively, Rubin examines where creativity really originates from.
Rather than creativity being about output and statistical success, Rubin argues it is much more to do with each artists relationship to the world.
Insisting there is a place for creativity in everyone’s life – artist or no – Rubin suggest that said place should be enlarged, considering it is perhaps our most important responsibility as humans.
A study of a more favourable, fulfilling and spiritual artistic path, Rubin places the focus on love and transcendence.
A guidebook to be wielded as a force for good, Rubin gets to the root of creativity and all that it intersects with. The Creative Act: A Way of Being is a bible for those seeking the truth in artistic creation.
RICK RUBIN
THE CREATIVE ACT: A WAY OF BEING
BUY HERE
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