A Bob Dylan children's book anyone?
Of all the Bob Dylan songs in his back catalogue, the lyrics for Forever Young are probably the best bet for a children's book... which is exactly what's happened in a book called, you guessed it, Forever Young.
Due to be published in October, the illustrated lyrics are a "heart warming and meaningful story about the importance of doing good" according to the Simon and Schuster publishers' press release. The synopsis of the tale is: "May you build a ladder to the stars/ And climb on every rung/ May you stay forever young."
The 40 page picture book is illustrated by artist Paul Rogers and is aimed at children aged three and up. Publication date is set fot October 6, 2008. I can't wait for the Maggie's Farm book... or maybe Leopardskin Pillbox Hat? So many options... click here to preorder.
Echo and The Bunnymen warbler Ian McCulloch is all ready and raring to publish his memoirs next year.
Some publisher has recently paid-up the rights to McCulloch’s memoirs from Mayer Benham and hopes to publish them in summer 2009.
This comes on the back of the news about the Echo and The Bunnymen birthday party (
As Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds unveil their latest album Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, Black Spring Press announces the arrival in stock of its limited collectors' editions of Nick Cave's novel And the Ass Saw the Angel.
Ever read Nightshift by Pete McKenna? You should do - it's a great read if you have an interest in life in the early 70s, the original northern soul scene and particularly, the Wigan Casino.
Thurston Moore is one of those people you can't help but love. I mean, the bloke still looks like a snotty teen, even though he's been making records for 60 years, and when he's not making ears bleed with distort-o-riffs, then he's off doing something really fuckin' interesting. Jeez. Now you mention it, I hate him. 
What's this? Classical music? Wasn't Wagner a bit of racist? Who cares. Check the title. That's a pun worthy of Confessions of a Conductor.
People are always saying 'if you remember the '60s, you weren't there'. That's bollocks. Someone who was there, notebook in hand, stood in a nice tailored suit was Tom Wolfe. When LSD first ghosted into the world, Wolfe was stood by scribbling notes like a nark while Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters planned a revolution in the head. 
Without question, The Music Library: Graphic Art and Sound is one of the finest books I've ever read. The book features gloriously gonzoid covers from gloriously gonzoid LPs. For those that need an introduction, Library Music is the name for the music made for people who needed cheap background music for commercials, animations and TV programmes. Basically, that means a bunch of producers experimenting with synths, funk breaks, fuzz guitars and anything else they can lay their hands on. Think Cecil Leuter... think Roger Davy... think the most brilliantly bonkers futuristic music you've ever heard in your life.
He might be a dour old bugger now, but Slow Hand has been through the mill, mixed with the most important, made great records, sexed on beautiful women, snorted half his body weight in coke and ingested more acid than Syd... so if you wanna read about someone, you could do far worse than flailing around in the world of Eric Clapton.
Interesting new book release for November if you happen to be a Beatles fan - Can't Buy Me Love by Jonathan Gould.
Another nostalgia-driven football book? Possibly, but Punk Football by Andrew Vaughan is as much about life and music in the mid-70s as the beautiful game.
All the muso types amongst you are probably aware of Julian Cope's Krautrocksampler book from a few years back - a detailed and fascinating history of the weird and wonderful music produced in Germany in the late 60s and 70s. Well, he's now doing the same thing for Japanese music with the Japrocksampler from Julian Cope.
Claimed to be 'the frankest and most honest portrait of Paul Weller ever written', The Changing Man is a new biography of Paul Weller by Paolo Hewitt - and it's set for release by Bantam Press on 24th September 2007 in hardback for around £18.99.
Do you read Mojo? Have you ever read Mojo? Once upon a time, Mojo was an indispensable read for me. There weren't many places I could read up on the life and times of Syd Barrett, Arthur Lee and stumble across great lost folk and psych LPs. It was my pleasant flick through decent music both new and old. The half decent free CD didn't hurt either. However, of late, I've stopped spending my cash on it. 
If you don't own a copy of The Look by Paul Gorman, you really should. It's just about the best book around on the modern history of fashion, from the 1950s to the present day. And the reasoning behind that is soon to be turned into a monthly club night in London.
Once upon a time, the word 'punk' struck fear into civil society. These days it's simply ancient history and always good for a book or two - the latest of which is Babylon's Burning by Clinton Heylin.
Whilst his name might not be as synonymous with 60s music as George Martin, Andrew Loog Oldham or even Simon Napier-Bell, say - the latter two having written some pretty interesting books on that period of late themselves - Joe Boyd had his fingers in as many artist's pies as anyone and was behind some incredible music throughout the second half of the decade and beyond, so I was delighted when I heard earlier in the year that he was writing a book.
The modern-day Manchester music scene didn't start with Oasis, or the Stone Roses, or the Smiths, or New Order, or Joy Division or indeed, the Buzzcocks. It effectively started on June 4th 1976, when the Sex Pistols took to the stage at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.
