Five music books every creator should have on their shelf.
From artist autobiographies to songwriting guides, oral histories to industry breakdowns, there’s no shortage of music books. Whether you’re after a little motivation, a look back at a defining era, or a sharper take on the state of modern music, here are five recommendations worth picking up.
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Meet Me in the Bathroom – Lizzy Goodman
Meet Me in the Bathroom is the the oral history of the New York rock scene from 2001 to 2011, told entirely through the voices of the people who lived it, including The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, and more. It’s a long read, but an absorbing one, and it captures a time and place that’s so distinctive. If you’re a fan of 2000s indie and alternative rock, you know you didn’t have to be there to experience the phenomenon, but Meet Me in the Bathroom will take you even closer.
Mood Machine – Liz Pelly
Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine is a sharp and timely look at how Spotify has reshaped the music industry, and not always for the better. Pelly digs into the platform’s influence on how music is made, marketed, and consumed, raising questions that anyone releasing music today should probably be sitting with.
How Music Works – David Byrne
Part memoir, part musicology, and part cultural theory, David Byrne’s wide-ranging exploration of how music is shaped by the spaces and contexts it’s made for is one of the more curious books about the subject. It’s the kind of read that makes you think differently about creative decisions you might otherwise make on autopilot.
The Creative Act – Rick Rubin
Less a how-to guide and more a meditation on what it means to create, Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act has found its way onto a lot of desks for good reason. It won’t teach you how to mix a record, but it might change how you think about why you’re making one.
How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back – Jeff Tweedy
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy makes a convincing case that songwriting doesn’t have to be a mystical or torturous process in How to Write One Song – you just have to start. Practical, warm, and unpretentious, this one is particularly good for anyone who feels uninspired or unmotivated. Even if you already know how to write one song, or two, it’s a reminder of why we make music in the first place.
