The Los Angeles Times has an interesting piece on the influence of Ray Bradbury, the science fiction writer who died this week at age 91, on contemporary music. The ten pieces cited as being written with his work in mind include Rocket Man by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Deadmau5’s The Veldt, The Rocket Man by Pearls Before Swine, Rush’s The Body Electric and others. Here is a similar story at The Dallas Morning News.
Ray Bradbury’s Influence on Modern Music
Reading Music
The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.
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Here are some books to check out.
Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").
David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.