Music and Video

This week’s WNW edition focuses on music! From the long-awaited autobiography from Prince, to a handbook on recording, mixing, and mastering, and everything in between. If you need assistance locating the WNW display, please don’t hesitate to Ask a Librarian. If you would like to place a hold on any of these books, use these instructions for holds.

The Beautiful Ones / by Prince ; edited by Dan Piepenbring – “‘The Beautiful Ones‘ is the story of how Prince became Prince–a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The book is told in four parts. The first is the memoir Prince was writing before his tragic death, pages that bring us into his childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us through Prince’s early years as a musician, before his first album was released, via an evocative scrapbook of writing and photos. The third section shows us Prince’s evolution through candid images that go up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the book’s fourth section: his original handwritten treatment for ‘Purple Rain’–the final stage in Prince’s self-creation, where he retells the autobiography of the first three parts as a heroic journey. The book is framed by editor Dan Piepenbring’s riveting and moving introduction about his profound collaboration with Prince in his final months–a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique he’d so carefully cultivated–and annotations that provide context to the book’s images. This work is not just a tribute to an icon, but an original and energizing literary work in its own right, full of Prince’s ideas and vision, his voice and image–his undying gift to the world.”–Publisher description.

Janis : Her Life and Music / by Holly George-Warren – “…In these pages, Holly George-Warren provides a revelatory and deeply satisfying portrait of a woman who wasn’t all about suffering. Janis was a perfectionist: a passionate, erudite musician who was born with talent but also worked exceptionally hard to develop it. She was a woman who pushed the boundaries of gender and sexuality long before it was socially acceptable. She was a sensitive seeker who wanted to marry and settle down–but couldn’t, or wouldn’t. She was a Texan who yearned to flee Texas but could never quite get away–even after becoming a countercultural icon in San Francisco. Written by one of the most highly regarded chroniclers of American music history, and based on unprecedented access to Janis Joplin’s family, friends, band mates, archives, and long-lost interviews, ‘Janis‘ is a complex, rewarding portrait of a remarkable artist finally getting her due.”–Publisher description.

Country Music / by Dayton Duncan ; based on a documentary film by Ken Burns ; with a preface by Ken Burns – “‘Country Music‘ shows how the birth of radio in the 1920s brought these songs to an entire nation. Playing everywhere from barn dances to Hollywood cowboy films to postwar juke joints, ‘hillbilly music’ evolved into a diverse range of sounds and styles–from honky tonk to Western swing, bluegrass to rockabilly, constantly shifting and expanding its boundaries through the decades to the music’s massive commercial success today. At the heart of the story of country music are the stories of the musicians themselves, and Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns bring these beloved figures to life, from Hank Williams’s turbulent career and tragic death to Dolly Parton’s spectacular rise to fame from a dirt-poor childhood, from Merle Haggard’s earning the title of ‘Poet of the Common Man’ to Loretta Lynn’s ability to turn her experiences into songs that spoke to women everywhere. Based on years of research and interviews with the genre’s biggest stars, including Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Rosanne Cash, and Emmylou Harris, and rife with rare photographs and endlessly fascinating anecdotes, this sweeping yet intimate history will captivate longtime country fans and introduce new listeners to an extraordinary body of music that lies at the very center of the American experience.”–Book jacket.

K-Pop Live : Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance / by Suk-Young Kim – “In ‘K-pop Live,’ Suk-Young Kim investigates the meteoric ascent of Korean popular music in relation to the rise of personal technology and social media, situating a feverish cross-media partnership within the Korean historical context and broader questions about what it means to be ‘live’ and ‘alive.’ Based on in-depth interviews with K-pop industry personnel, media experts, critics, and fans, as well as archival research, ‘K-pop Live’ explores how the industry has managed the tough sell of live music in a marketplace in which virtually everything is available online. Teasing out digital media’s courtship of ‘liveness’ in the production and consumption of K-pop, Kim investigates the nuances of the affective mode in which human subjects interact with one another in the digital age. Observing performances online, in concert, and even through the use of holographic performers, Kim offers readers a step-by-step guide through the K-pop industry’s variegated efforts to diversify media platforms as a way of reaching a wider global network of music consumers. In an era when digital technology inserts itself into nearly all social relationships, Kim reveals how ‘what is live’ becomes a question of how we exist as increasingly mediated subjects, fragmented and isolated by technological wonders while also longing for a sense of belonging and being alive through an interactive mode of exchange we often call ‘live.'”–Publisher description.

The Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Reference Handbook / by Karl Pedersen and Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard – “‘The Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Reference Handbook‘ provides an easy-to-read guide for music production in the studio organized both for quick and handy practical reference while on the job and to allow for a deeper understanding of the theory behind recording, mixing, and mastering. With chapters that build in complexity and detail to keep readers engaged and challenged, the handbook’s six sections cover: the recording and mixing of almost any instrument; microphone theory and techniques; the use of processors and effects; mixing and mastering; studio acoustics; and audio standards and connectors–everything that is required for a general understanding of practical studio techniques through to a more thorough comprehension of the tools and the theories behind the processes. Whether a university student in an audio recording course, a novice audio engineer who needs to build technique, or a busy professional who requires a quick refresh on specific techniques, any reader will find an essential resource in ‘The Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Reference Handbook.’ Combines practice with essential theory in one reference handbook. Includes dozens of instructive photographs. Accompanied by a comprehensive website of audio examples. Provides instrument-specific techniques.”–Back cover.

You ever think, “I’d like to watch a movie, but I don’t want to pay for it or leave the house”? Don’t worry, the library understands. Better yet, we don’t judge.

You can stay home AND warm while simultaneously NOT violating any piracy laws by streaming video through the library! Being lawful has never been easier.

Browse movie titles in Hoopla, one of the library’s streaming services. Want to snuggle up with a good book or a graphic novel? They have those too! Music? You bet! You’ll need to create an account, but it’s free for MVCC students, faculty, and staff.

You also have access to the Swank Digital Campus, full of streaming Hollywood films just a click away.

Hoopla and Swank not your thing? Check out the classic and indie films found in Kanopy.

BONUS: these services are available even when the library is closed!

The Library has every movie adaptation of A Star is Born to suit one’s fancy! Check them out:

• A Star is Born (1937) / directed by William A. Wellman ; produced by David O. Selznick ; starring Janet Gaynor & Fredric March
• A Star is Born (1954) / produced by Sidney Luft ; directed by George Cukor ; starring Judy Garland & James Mason
• A Star is Born (1976) / produced by Jon Peters ; directed by Frank Pierson ; starring Barbra Streisand & Kris Kristofferson
• A Star is Born (2018) / directed by Bradley Cooper ; produced by Bill Gerber, Jon Peters, Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Lynette Howell Taylor ; starring Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper  

All are currently available and located either at the New Arrivals section in the lounge, or downstairs among the DVD collection. If you can’t find one of the DVDs, please don’t hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance.

A new miniseries premiered last Tuesday (April 9th) on the FX cable channel titled Fosse Verdon. It’s based on the Fosse biography written by Sam Wasson, and stars Sam Rockwell as director–choreographer Bob Fosse, and Michelle Williams as actress and dancer Gwen Verdon. Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) is one of many executive producers.

“The project tells the story of the romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse (Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Williams). He was a filmmaker and one of theater’s most influential choreographers and directors; she was the greatest Broadway dancer of all time. Together, they changed the face of American entertainment — at a perilous cost. The series will feature Fosse’s choreography and explore the hidden corners of showbiz, the price of pursuing greatness and the suffering inflicted in the name of art.”[1]

Once Gwen Verdon started working with Fosse, she became his muse. The first episode of the series depicts his almost “need” to have her around while he was choreographing Cabaret in Germany. They eventually married and separated, but Verdon remained legally married to Fosse at his death, and she was the mother of his only child (daughter Nicole Fosse, who co-executive produces).

Check out the official trailer from the series, and also check out resources available on Bob Fosse in our collection:

• Official Fosse biography
• Bob Fosse DVDs & streaming video

1. Goldberg, Lesley (July 24, 2018). “Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michelle Williams, Sam Rockwell Team for Fosse-Verdon Series at FX“. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2019.