howie_marisson's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
anetq's review against another edition
4.0
Det er præcis det titlen siger: En minutiøs gennemgang af 'hvordan musik virker' og dermed mener han det hele: hvordan lyd påvirker os, hvor meget kontekst spiller ind, hvordan teknologiudviklingen former musikken, hvordan man skaber musik, samarbejder kreativt, performance, optagelser og ikke mindst businesssiden: hvordan tjener artisterne penge, hvad gør pladeselskaberne osv. (og vi får hans egne regnskaber for et par plader for at anskueliggøre forskellige forretningsmodeller). Der er også en handy opskrift på at skabe en kreativ musik scene a la CBGBs. Men vi kommer også omkring vigtigheden af amatørerne og at lære at lave musik selv - og dermed musikundervisning (eller manglen på samme nu om dage) og sidst men ikke mindst den spirituelle side af musik og universets og menneskekroppens lyde - og sådan lærte jeg at universet spiller blues!!
David Byrne kommer rundt om de fleste processer og kontekster for det han elsker: musikken - og han slipper godt fra at bruge sine egne erfaringer som eksempler på sine mere generelle pointer, for dette er ikke en rockstjernes memoirer, det er en seriøs bog om hvordan musik skabes og hvad det er. Det er en super nørdet bog, men tilgængelig - selv om vi kommer langt ned i detaljerne er de enkelte kapitler ikke så lange at det bliver for meget - og det slog mig hvor modulær bogen er. Som kultur-, business- eller musikunderviser kan man let tage et enkelt kapitel ud af sammenhængen og få en fin gennemgang af fx klubscener, deals med og uden pladeselskaber eller musikalske skalaer på tværs af kulturer. Og det er forfriskende for en amerikansk musiker, hvor internationalt et blik han også har på musikken.
David Byrne kommer rundt om de fleste processer og kontekster for det han elsker: musikken - og han slipper godt fra at bruge sine egne erfaringer som eksempler på sine mere generelle pointer, for dette er ikke en rockstjernes memoirer, det er en seriøs bog om hvordan musik skabes og hvad det er. Det er en super nørdet bog, men tilgængelig - selv om vi kommer langt ned i detaljerne er de enkelte kapitler ikke så lange at det bliver for meget - og det slog mig hvor modulær bogen er. Som kultur-, business- eller musikunderviser kan man let tage et enkelt kapitel ud af sammenhængen og få en fin gennemgang af fx klubscener, deals med og uden pladeselskaber eller musikalske skalaer på tværs af kulturer. Og det er forfriskende for en amerikansk musiker, hvor internationalt et blik han også har på musikken.
ajkessel's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful and eclectic - should be interesting to anyone who enjoys music, whether you are a professionally trained musician or just a fan.
diegomp's review against another edition
5.0
Si te gusta la música debería ser obligación que leyeras este libro.
jheinemann287's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, it just feels like this didn't age especially well, even though it's only been eight years. It's not David Byrne's fault, obviously, but to a 2020 reader, it feels wrong to talk about the evolution of music without talking about, like, soundcloud rap and Billie Eilish. He does discuss the history of recording devices and the fate of the record studio, so I guess we can all just infer.
Something I Liked: Byrne sees music and lyrics as generators of emotions, not as expressions of it. The meaning of a song doesn't originate with the songwriter or composer but in the listener. Since I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about books, this way of thinking about art resonates with me. Similarly, the context really matters: how you're making the music and with whom and for whom and what tools you use to make it and what tools the listener will use to listen to it--this all impacts what you create. I guess that's probably obvious, but it seems kind of easy to view a recording (or any piece of art) as sacred and exactly what it was always, like, meant to be, rather than a product of somewhat arbitrary circumstances.
Something I Rolled My Eyes At: Bryne has a long TED Talk-style section that imagines a world in which all the youths put down their guns and drugs and pick up guitars. His points is a good one: Fund the arts! Especially in schools! But the idea that music, alone, can fix the world kind of sidesteps the point that it's government policies and equitable allocation of resources that can actually change people's lives. Also, the very last line about how Byrne enjoys a good story AND listening to the waves and WHY CAN'T HE HAVE BOTH is like, calm down, David, no one's saying you can't. It just feels like he's really stretching to say something profound about the cyclical nature of music and time and humanity, and it just rings false.
In sum, this kind of felt like a really, really long episode of Song Exploder about a song (or in this case, a lot of albums) I'm not that interested in. But I guess it's probably relevant to note that I don't really care about Talking Heads (or 80's music in general--with the exception of Bruce Springsteen--I'm not a monster), so I guess I'm (literally) just not the intended audience.
Something I Liked: Byrne sees music and lyrics as generators of emotions, not as expressions of it. The meaning of a song doesn't originate with the songwriter or composer but in the listener. Since I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about books, this way of thinking about art resonates with me. Similarly, the context really matters: how you're making the music and with whom and for whom and what tools you use to make it and what tools the listener will use to listen to it--this all impacts what you create. I guess that's probably obvious, but it seems kind of easy to view a recording (or any piece of art) as sacred and exactly what it was always, like, meant to be, rather than a product of somewhat arbitrary circumstances.
Something I Rolled My Eyes At: Bryne has a long TED Talk-style section that imagines a world in which all the youths put down their guns and drugs and pick up guitars. His points is a good one: Fund the arts! Especially in schools! But the idea that music, alone, can fix the world kind of sidesteps the point that it's government policies and equitable allocation of resources that can actually change people's lives. Also, the very last line about how Byrne enjoys a good story AND listening to the waves and WHY CAN'T HE HAVE BOTH is like, calm down, David, no one's saying you can't. It just feels like he's really stretching to say something profound about the cyclical nature of music and time and humanity, and it just rings false.
In sum, this kind of felt like a really, really long episode of Song Exploder about a song (or in this case, a lot of albums) I'm not that interested in. But I guess it's probably relevant to note that I don't really care about Talking Heads (or 80's music in general--with the exception of Bruce Springsteen--I'm not a monster), so I guess I'm (literally) just not the intended audience.
cvrvyrvbvrts's review against another edition
3.0
Some portions of it were really interesting, others were boring blabbering.
shayneh's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, and great to get from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Fun to read as a memoir, but also a very perceptive view of music in its forms both ancient and modern.
tannercurtis's review against another edition
2.0
Some really interesting points about why music has evolved in the way it has, but a bit overstuffed for my taste. Lost interest about 2/3 of the way through and gave up.
iainbertram's review against another edition
3.0
This is a curates egg. Good in parts.
I really enjoyed the introductory sections on how constraints effect the form and content of music. The how to guide on recording is also fascinating.
Unfortunately it gets metaphysical and sucks quite a bit towards then end. Worth picking out the good bits.
I really enjoyed the introductory sections on how constraints effect the form and content of music. The how to guide on recording is also fascinating.
Unfortunately it gets metaphysical and sucks quite a bit towards then end. Worth picking out the good bits.