Styles

From the creators of Classic Rock Magazine: There are way more than 100 Great Rock Albums, and placing them in some kind of order is incredibly difficult. Music is not a competition and there are no hard and fast criteria by which to judge the greatness of an album. All you can do is measure popularity, the artistic currency a record currently has with critics or the public. So what, then, is the point of this, The Greatest 100 Rock Albums to Own on Vinyl? Think of it as a curation, an opinion poll, a beginner’s guide, a celebration of some of the greatest music ever made, and a snapshot of a time. Nothing here is set in stone, and if we do this again the results will almost definitely be different. But right now, in 2020, these are the 100 albums that rock fans will want to own on Vinyl. The result is this book dedicated to some of the greatest records ever made, the albums that have soundtracked the lives of generations. When we were making this, we listened to each and every one of them. Far from being a difficult slog through music we’ve listened to a thousand times, it reminded us of why we love rock music so much. We hope it will do the same for you. These Albums are chosen by the readers of Classic Rock Magazine and include all the greats AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, David Bowie, Aerosmith and many more.

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Transport yourself to the magical world of Harry Potter with this stunning collector’s edition piano anthology. Featuring an exclusive, bespoke cover by MinaLima, the graphic design studio behind the Wizarding World, with special gold foiling and a treasure trove of magical illustrations. This ultimate collection of Harry Potter piano music makes the perfect gift for pianists and Potterheads alike!

The Harry Potter Piano Anthology contains 56 of the biggest and best musical themes from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films, arranged for intermediate level piano. From the best-loved John Williams tunes Hedwig’s Theme and Harry’s Wondrous World to The Crimes of Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s Theme from the Fantastic Beasts films, this book has been created for pianists to enjoy and return to again and again.

Contents

Harry’s Wondrous World

Diagon Alley

Nimbus 2000

Voldemort

Leaving Hogwarts

Hedwig’s Theme

The Chamber of Secrets

Fawkes the Phoenix

The Spiders

Buckbeak’s Flight

A Window to the Past

Hagrid the Professor

The Quidditch World Cup (The Irish)

Neville’s Waltz

Harry in Winter

Potter Waltz

Death of Cedric

Hogwarts’ March

Hogwarts’ Hymn

Fireworks

Professor Umbridge

Dumbledore’s Army

The Room of Requirement

The Ministry of Magic

Loved Ones and Leaving

Harry and Hermione

In Noctem

Ginny

Wizard Wheezes

Farewell Aragog

When Ginny Kissed Harry

Slughorn’s Confession

Dumbledore’s Farewell

The Weasley Stomp

Obliviate

Snape to Malfoy Manor

At the Burrow

Godric’s Hollow Graveyard

Harry and Ginny

Farewell to Dobby

Statues

Lily’s Theme

Courtyard Apocalypse

Severus and Lily

The Resurrection Stone

A New Beginning

A Man and His Beasts

End Titles, Pt.2

Kowalski Rag

Newt Says Goodbye to Tina/Jacob’s Bakery

Salamander Eyes

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Dumbledore’s Theme

Leta’s Theme

Fantastic Beasts Theme

The Ceremony

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The eagerly anticipated final volume in Jonathan Sumption’s prize-winning history of the Hundred Years War, ‘one of the great historical undertakings of our age’ (Dan Jones, Sunday Times).

Triumph and Illusion is the final volume of Jonathan Sumption’s epic history of the Hundred Years War. It tells the story of the collapse of the English dream of conquest, from the opening years of the reign of Henry VI, when the battles of Cravant and Verneuil consolidated their control of most of northern France, to the loss of all of England’s continental dominions except Calais thirty years later.

This sudden reversal of fortune was a seminal event in the history of the two principal nation-states of western Europe. It brought to an end four centuries of the English dynasty’s presence in France, separating two countries whose fates had once been closely intertwined. It created a new sense of national identity in both countries. The legacy of these events would influence their divergent prospects for centuries to come.

Behind the clash of arms stood some of the most remarkable personalities of the age: the Duke of Bedford, the English Regent who ruled much of France from Paris and Rouen; Charles VII of France, underrated in both countries, who patiently rebuilt his kingdom after the disasters of his early years; the captains who populate the pages of Shakespeare – Fastolf, Montagu, Talbot, Dunois and, above all, the extraordinary figure of Joan of Arc, who changed the course of the war in a few weeks at the age of seventeen.

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– THIS IS A RENWED VERSION WITH UPDATED COVER / CONTENT / ILLUSTRATIONS –

“Take a Peek into the Psychology of Modern Korean People Through Slang”-李宇龙, SM Entertainment-

“The Kpop Dictionary is a fun mix of common slang and adages frequently found in Kpop and Korean Dramas which will help provide a base for understanding that goes far beyond subtitles. As a YouTube personality who focuses on the ever-changing world of Korean entertainment, I see this book being an extremely useful resource to anyone interested in improving their comprehension of Korean Dramas and Kpop.”- Stephanie Ishler, Hallyu Back –

“This will be the Bible of Korean Culture”-Seunghyun Shin, Funtastic Korea

Learn to understand what your favorite K-Pop idols are saying on MV, TV Shows, and Dramas!

– 500 Essential K-Pop Words and Phrases

– Pronunciation Guide for Accuracy

– Definitions and Their Cultural Background- Real Life Conversation Examples

Have you just started following K-Pop and K-Drama but can’t understand the lingo? Do you want to be a part of K-Pop and K-Drama fandom but can’t blend in because you don’t know the jargon everyone is using? Or are you an experienced K-Pop / K-Drama fan wanting to expand your vocabulary? Then this book is for you!

The K-Pop Dictionary is designed to help you learn the most up-to-date vocabulary used in K-Pop, TV shows, and K-Dramas. As the title of this book suggests, this is not an ordinary dictionary: It is specifically designed to teach you what the words mean in a K-Pop and K-Drama context, because without knowing the cultural background of the words, they are just a bunch of enigmas.

So we have included essential information such as where the words originated, plus where, when, and how they are used. Without this, you are missing out on all the news and updates other fans are talking about!We have also included real life examples of their use. You will gain a thorough understanding of the vocabulary, its nuances, and its origins. You can use this as a quick reference book any time you run into K-Pop and K-Drama lingo, or as a study reference by utilizing the conversation examples included on every page. Oh wait! We included intuitive illustrations to help your understanding!

Whatever your goal, this is a great way to expand your K-Pop and K-Drama knowledge; your window into the fascinating world of Korean culture!A dictionary of honest human interaction, Korean pop culture, and everyday K-POP life. A resource for language learners confused by real-world Korean, and a tool to help you understand the world of a K-POP fan. But more importantly, great entertainment for everyone.

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Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics and fleeting political optimism – this was ‘Cool Britannia’. Records sold in their millions, a new celebrity elite emerged and Tony Blair’s Labour Party found itself, at long last, returned to government. Drawing on interviews from all the major bands – including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede – from music journalists, record executives and those close to government, The Last Party charts the rise and fall of the Britpop movement. John Harris was there; and in this gripping new book he argues that the high point of British music’s cultural impact also signalled its effective demise – If rock stars were now friends of the government, then how could they continue to matter?

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‘A Christmas cracker’ – Record Collector

So here it is…

The perfect gift for music lovers of all ages, The Official Christmas No. 1 Singles Book is jam-packed with facts, figures and photos to get your toes tapping along to the sounds of seven decades of festive chart-toppers.

Have you ever wondered how many Christmas number ones actually have the word ‘Christmas’ in their title? Or how many TV talent-show winners have claimed the festive top spot?

Do you know which artist has racked up the most Christmas number ones? Or which single is the biggest-selling seasonal chart-topper of all time?

Can you name the only song to have topped the Christmas chart twice by two different artists? Or the only artist to have been Christmas number one twice with the same song?

The answers to all these questions – plus many more – can be found in this exclusive festive companion, published in conjunction with the Official Charts Company.

With a fully illustrated double-page spread for every year since the UK singles chart began in 1952, Michael Mulligan’s fun and authoritative journey through the Christmas archives will delight curious browsers and dedicated pop nerds alike. Featuring top-ten countdowns, fascinating trivia about the highest-charting Christmas singles and plenty of entertaining infographics, this is the ideal family stocking-filler, celebrating all that is wonderful, whimsical and unpredictable about the festive season’s most hotly contested musical event.

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This book is part jazz historiography, part autoethnography and part memoir. It sets forth a grounded theory of ‘authenticating’ as a basic socio-political process, with reference to Richard Ekins’ participation in the social worlds of New Orleans jazz, and his life as a social constructionist social scientist and cultural theorist.

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An updated edition of the most comprehensive account of the Rolling Stones’ work yet published, with the full story of every recording session, every album, and every single released during their nearly 60 year career.

The Rolling Stones have been recording and touring since 1963, selling more than 200 million records worldwide. While much is known about this iconic group, few books provide a comprehensive history of their time in the studio. In The Rolling Stones All the Songs, authors Margotin and Guesdon describe the origin of every song the band has released, details from the recording studio, what instruments were used, and behind-the-scenes stories of the great artists who contributed to their tracks.

Organized chronologically by album, this massive, 760-page hardcover begins with their 1963 eponymous debut album recorded over five days at the Regent Studio in London; through their collaboration with legendary producer Jimmy Miller in the ground-breaking albums from 1968 to 1973; to their later work with Don Was, who has produced every album since Voodoo Lounge. Packed with more than 500 photos, All the Songs is also filled with stories fans treasure, such as how the mobile studio the group pioneered was featured in Deep Purple’s classic song “Smoke on the Water” or how Keith Richards used a cassette recording of an acoustic guitar to get the unique riff on “Street Fighting Man.”

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The second in this new series, The Virgin Book of Hit Singles is the most-up-to-date and comprehensive record of the music charts available today and a perfect, collectable complement to The Virgin Book of Hit Albums and The Virgin Book of Top 75 Charts.
Now improved and fine-tuned, and drawn from the Official Charts Company Data since 1952, The Virgin Book of Hit Singles features the most comprehensive, easy to read and accessible music chart data and information. It’s all here — expanded artist biographies, side notes of interest, label and catalogue numbers, peak positions, number of weeks on chart and weeks at number one. Also includes EP charts.
The Virgin Book of Hit Singles is essential reading, and reference, for any music lover.

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The Work is a book of lyrics and illustrations by the late Scott Hutchison, lyricist, vocalist and songwriter of Frightened Rabbit. This paperback follows the sold-out limited hardback edition and presents the band’s complete lyrics (including B-sides and rarities) with handwritten excerpts by Scott, alongside his illustrations. The book is meant both as a celebration of and tribute to Scott’s unbridled creativity. It aims to fulfil his wishes by being the book that he wanted to create and had spoken of creating before his death.

Readers are advised that The Work includes content about topics that some may find upsetting, including references to suicide.

“Seeing this book come to life has been something of a bittersweet experience. Reading the lyrics without music really brings home the stark reality of what Scott was going through and at the same time highlights the talent of someone who I consider to be one of the best songwriters in the world. This would’ve been a different release had Scott been involved but we all felt it was important that his lyrics be celebrated and given the spotlight they deserve. As Scott has said, these words were always meant to be accompanied by music, but the impact of digesting them without is no less great. Pick up this book of words, hold it, share it and immerse yourself in the world Scott created by opening not only his heart but his whole soul to the world.” Grant Hutchison (Scott’s brother and drummer of Frightened Rabbit)

Contents:

The Greys

Music Now

Yawns

Be Less Rude

Go-Go Girls

Behave!

Square 9

Snake

It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop

The Modern Leper

I Feel Better

Good Arms vs Bad Arms

Fast Blood

Old, Old Fashioned

The Twist

Head Rolls Off

My Backwards Walk

Keep Yourself Warm

Poke

Floating In the Forth

Who’d You Kill Now?

Don’t

Soon Go

Things

Swim Until You Can’t See Land

The Loneliness and The Scream

The Wrestle

Skip The Youth

Nothing Like You

Footshooter

Not Miserable

Living In Colour

Yes, I Would

Fun Stuff

Learned Your Name

Scottish Winds

Fuck This Place

The Work

State Hospital

Boxing Night

Home From War

Off

Wedding Gloves

Acts of Man

Backyard Skulls

Holy

The Woodpile

Late March, Death March

December’s Traditions

Housing (In)

Dead Now

Nitrous Gas

Housing (Out)

The Oil Slick

If You Were Me

Snow Still Melting

Escape Route

Today’s Cross

Architect

Default Blues

Radio Silence

Candlelit

Death Dream

Get Out

I Wish I Was Sober

Woke Up Hurting

Little Drum

Still Want to Be Here

An Otherwise Disappointing Life

Break

Blood Under the Bridge

400 Bones

Lump Street

Die Like a Rich Boy

The Wreck

Wait ‘Til the Morning

A Lick of Paint

Roadless

How It Gets In

Rained On

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2023

‘Profoundly moving.’ EDMUND DE WAAL
‘A work of searching scholarship, acute critical observation, philosophical heft, and deep feeling.’ ALEX ROSS
‘A rare book: extraordinarily powerful – magisterial, meticulously rich and unexpected, deeply affecting and human.’ PHILIPPE SANDS

A remarkable and stirring account of how music acts as a witness to history and a medium of cultural memory in the post-Holocaust world.

When it comes to how societies commemorate their own distant dreams and catastrophes, we often think of books, archives, or memorials carved from stone. But in Time’s Echo, Jeremy Eichler makes a revelatory case for the power of music as culture’s memory, an art form uniquely capable of carrying forward meaning from the past.

Eichler shows how four towering composers – Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Benjamin Britten and Dmitri Shostakovich – lived through the era of the Second World War and the Holocaust and later transformed their experiences into deeply moving works of music, scores that carry forward the echoes of lost time. A lyrical narrative full of insight and compassion, this book deepens how we think about the legacies of war, the presence of the past, and the profound possibilities of art in our lives today.

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#2 UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national consciousness as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born.

2 Tone was black and white: a multi-racial force of British and Caribbean island musicians singing about social issues, racism, class and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and took fight against right wing extremism.

The music of 2 Tone was exuberant: white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae; and crossed with a punk attitude to create an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, masterminded by a middle-class art student raised in the church. Jerry Dammers had a vision of an English Motown. Borrowing £700, the label’s first record featured ‘Gangsters’ by The Specials’ backed by an instrumental track by the, as yet, unformed, Selecter. Within two months the single was at number six in the national charts. Dammers signed Madness, The Beat and The Bodysnatchers as a glut of successive hits propelled 2 Tone onto Top of the Pops and into the hearts and minds of a generation. However, soon infighting amongst the bands and the pressures of running a label caused 2 Tone to bow to an inevitable weight of expectation and recrimination.

Still under the auspices of Jerry Dammers, 2 Tone entered in a new phase. Perhaps not as commercially successful as its 1979-1981 incarnation the label nevertheless continued to thrive for a further four years releasing a string of fresh signings and a stunning end-piece finale in ‘(Free) Nelson Mandela’.

Told in three parts, Too Much Too Young is the definitive story of a label that for a brief, bright burning moment, shaped British culture.

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