Terry Teachout

Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; US: Dec 2009)

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Most people know Terry Teachout from his theatre criticism at The Wall Street Journal and essays at Commentary, but the writer actually began his career in the arts as a professional jazz musician. Hence, he comes at the subject of America’s pre-eminent jazz artist with both a thorough knowledge of jazz performance as well as the rigorous research and smart writing of a top cultural journalist. Pops is an engaging read and the first fully-sourced biography of Louis Armstrong, featuring many photos published for the first time ever.

Teachout says, “I’m the first biographer to have had access to 650 reel-to-reel tapes that Armstrong made during the last quarter-century of his life, many of which contain astonishingly candid recordings of his private after-hours conversations.” The result is the most nuanced written work on this seminal figure in American cultural history. Indeed, this book is designed for far more than the jazz fan or Armstrong admirer; anyone interested in African-American culture and the nature of creative genius period will find this book a page turner.

—Sarah Zupko

The National Portrait Gallery in London is currently running an essential exhibition for music lovers, Beatles to Bowie: The 60s Exposed. For their fans, or those of the Rolling Stones, the Who or music in general, the exhibition book containing classic photographs would surely be unexpected and makes a beautiful gift from the other side of the pond.

Or better yet, purchase large prints of some of the unique portraits in the exhibit and build your own gallery. Print-on-demand portraits are available in a variety of sizes and likely will become the most talked about present when properly presented. Though, with over 200 images, some never previously exhibited, and vintage memorabilia at the NPG, maybe a London holiday is called for instead.

National Portrait Gallery

—Sachyn Mital

Retro Game Challenge

(Xseed; US: 10 Feb 2009)

If there’s a definitive theme to 2009’s games, it’s one of refinement. All of the major titles used familiar game designs and honed them to perfection. One DS game, Retro Game Challenge, took that theme and really created something new with it. You play a person whose been sucked back in time to the ‘80s, playing old Nintendo games until you can win your way back home. To do this you hang out at a friend’s house, reading through old magazines for tips, counting the days until games come out, and playing out new challenges. You play through eight careful parodies of old Nintendo games, all perfectly designed to be both easier to play but challenging if you want them to be. With so many games channeling the familiar at players this year, it’s refreshing to see one do this in such a unique way. By recreating the magazines and sleep-over culture of playing games in the 1980’s, Retro Game Challenge makes you into a kid again.

—L.B. Jeffries

Ethan Russell

Let It Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties

(Springboard Press; US: Nov 2009)

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Everyone knows someone who has no interest in the current music scene. Whether it’s denouncing manufactured pop like Miley Cyrus or whining about the authenticity of Kings of Leon, some people just want the Rolling Stones (and maybe some Zeppelin). This book is for that guy/gal. Let It Bleed chronicles the Stone’s 1969 tour from the perspective of rock photojournalist, Ethan Russell (who joined the group on tour). With never-before-seen photographs and interviews, this is a great coffee table browse. Apparently, when asked why the Stones wanted to give a free concert in San Fransisco (the ill-fated Altamont), Mick Jagger answered with, “Because there’s a scene there and the climate’s nice.” This book is simply full of rock-and-roll cool.

—Katharine Wray

NPR’s Cake Lady Melissa Gray offers her delectable cake recipes in her new cookbook All Cakes Considered. Gray’s recipes are easily read and practical for anyone who loves to bake. The book is divided according to each genre of baking and recipes according to techniques, ingredients, and supplies in order to make treats for the office, a party, or your family. With sensuously luscious illustrations of over 50 cakes including Brown Sugar Pound Cake, Peppermint and Chocolate Rum Marble Cake, Lord and Lady Baltimore Cakes, Dark-Chocolate Red Velvet Cake, just to name a few, this book is an essential for friends with a dessert fetish. All Cakes Considered is mmm mmm good and then some.

—Eleanore Catolico

John Cook

Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small

(Algonquin; US: Sep 2009)

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Our Noise is an oral history of Merge Records, featuring interviews from its founders (McCaughan and Ballance), it’s numerous signees (featuring members of Lambchop, Spoon, the Arcade Fire, and more), and various admirers and business partners (like Dischord Records founder/Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye). Author John Cook alternates his chapters between recounting the history of the Merge label and then profiling one particular band. In a short amount of time, the main players are firmly established: Mac is a svengali-like figure, gathering likeminded rock types around him while being in it primarily just for the music; Laura—by contrast—has a knack for the business side of things, capable of keeping people on budget even during the most dire of times.

You don’t have to be familiar with Superchunk, the label, or even any of the bands on the label to enjoy the stories told within. You don’t have to know Britt Daniel’s personal history to relate to how he wound up getting major-label cash to become an alternative rock star, only to suffer from terrible reviews and downright depressing sales figures when all was said and done.

For still being in the game after putting out two decades worth of classic albums (including such standard-bearers as the Magnetic Fields’ 99 Love Songs and Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea), it’s obvious that Merge—with its success and its struggles—is still wanting nothing more than to make some peers of its own. In our rushed digital age of today, there’s something profoundly sweet about such a simple sentiment.

AMAZON

—Evan Sawdey