Central Kansas Library System

Kendrick Lamar is American hip-hop royalty, with twenty-three tracks and three albums that have sold more than a million copies and gone platinum. As a respected MC, Lamar speaks to socially conscious issues and racial injustice in his lyrics. His fans connect with his music and message, and he rocketed to star status. Born in Compton, California, Lamar witnessed hardships early in life, from seeing a shooting and racial riots to poverty. He...

Few artists of the 20th century are as intriguing as Joni Mitchell. She was a solidly middle-class, buttoned-up bohemian; an anti-feminist who loved men but scorned free love; a female warrior taking on the male music establishment. She was both the party girl with torn stockings and the sensitive poet. She often said she would be criticized for staying the same or changing, so why not take the less boring option? Her earthy, poetic lyrics ("the geese...

John Coltrane left an indelible mark on the world, but what was the essence of his achievement that makes him so prized forty years after his death? What were the factors that helped Coltrane become who he was? And what would a John Coltrane look like now--or are we looking for the wrong signs? In this deftly written, riveting study, New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff answers these questions and examines the life of Coltrane, the acclaimed band...

Yodel-odel-odel, yak yak yak! Yoko Yak can't seem to stop chatting! And it makes her classmates wonder-what do you do with a yakety yak?

Record executive, producer, band manager, club DJ, booking advisor, record store manager-few people had as deep an impact on the Twin Cities alternative and indie rock scene as Peter Jesperson. A passionate music fan since his early childhood, Jesperson found his way into Minneapolis's burgeoning music world of the 1970s and followed a path that put him at the center of the scene as it grew and blossomed over the ensuing decades. Beginning with...

In a series of lively essays that tell us much not only about the phenomenon that was Franz Liszt but also about the musical and cultural life of nineteenth-century Europe, Alan Walker muses on aspects of Liszt's life and work that he was unable to explore in his acclaimed three-volume biography of the great composer and pianist. Topics include Liszt's contributions to the Lied, the lifelong impact of his encounter with Beethoven, his influence on...

Aleix Vergés, DJ Sideral (Barcelona, 1973-2006), fue el emblema de una década, un faro involuntario y generacional que fraguó su leyenda a los platos del mítico club Nitsa y como líder, cantante y guitarrista del hype más clamoroso del pop español de los noventa: Peanut Pie. La estrella de Sideral afluyó en la encrucijada postolímpica, y su intuición, su talento y su influencia presenciaron el nacimiento de dos de los festivales de música...

ABOUT THE BOOKFrom the murder of Bobby Fuller to the ascent of Soul Asylum, A. J. Payler covered the most interesting corners of the music world during a time of unprecedented upheaval and change in the music industry. Ferreting out little-exposed corners of pop culture with the tenacity of a devotee, Trapped in This World: Pop Culture on the Edge-The Omnibus of Pop Culture Writing by A. J. Payler (writing as Aaron Poehler) is the most expansive collection...

An oral history in the vein of Please Kill Me Leftöver Crack is a band of drug abusing, dumpster diving, cop-hating, queer positive, pro-choice, crust punks that successfully blend ska-punk, pop, hip-hop and death metal genres. They've been banned from clubs, states and counties and kicked off multiple record labels. They've received teen-idol adoration and death threats from their fans. They've played benefits for a multitude of causes while leaving...

Maceo Parkers signature style became the lynchpin of James Brown's band when he and his brother Melvin joined the Hardest Working Man in Show Business in 1964. That style helped define Browns brand of funk, and the phrase Maceo, I want you to blow! became part of the lexicon of black music. He took time off from James Brown to play with George Clintons P-funk collective and with Bootsy's Rubber Band; he formed his own band, Maceo and All the Kings...