JK Rowling and music

I saw a clever meme today that said basically you can tell more about a person by their choice of music than you can by their race, religion or sexual preferences. That sounds pretty right on to me.

Career of Evil

I just finished reading JK Rowling's latest book, Career of Evil (Ms Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith).  She quotes Blue Öyster Cult throughout the book in chapter headings and, well, elsewhere in the book - and that's all I'm saying about that. You'll get no spoilers from me. At any rate, I figure that Ms Rowling must like the band.

I closed the book and thought about it a moment. I could't recall a single BÖC tune, even though Ms. Rowling provided a list of song references and permissions at the end that should have prompted even my faulty memory.

If you know anything about me, you know that my musical preferences run towards the instrumental, specifically that of the genius guitarist, Jimmy Page. I don't dislike lyrics, but lyric-heavy at the expense of musical development just doesn't make it for me. Over the years I've gotten more and more picky about it. Back in the day I listened to my share of Arlo Guthry and Bob Dylan, but what really called to my soul was the melodies, the riffs, the rhythms of the instruments - with voice as instrument, not as conveyor of language. 

Real music. Not poetry set to a tune.

So over time I indulged myself more and more until now days and weeks can go by with nothing but music that features Jimmy Page coming out of the speakers. Obviously this means I haven't even thought about, much less listened to, BÖC in years. I liked the book. I figured if JK Rowling likes the band that much I should give them a listen. I tried half a dozen songs on for size this evening.

Oh boy. I won't be listening to BÖC for another 40 years or so. Maybe I'll like them better then. Enough said.

So about that meme. What does Ms. Rowling's musical choice for the novel tell me about her?

Well, BÖC is an American band, for one thing, and that means Ms. Rowling is not stuck on British music. That's nice but not earth shattering. No, what jumps out at me after listening to the band and thinking about her inclusion of their work in the book is that JK Rowling likes Blue Öyster Cult for their lyrics, not their music. 

But you probably figured that out before I did. 

Still, its nice to know this new truth about JK Rowling.  It's not earth shattering but it tells me something important about her that I didn't know before: I probably wouldn't want to be stuck in a car with her on a long trip if we had to listen to her playlist.

Book Review: Led Zeppelin: Feather In The Wind

Led Zeppelin: Feather In The Wind - Over Europe 1980
compiled by Dave Lewis
Tight But Loose Publishing, Bedford England 2012

Dave Lewis’ Led Zeppelin: Feather In the Wind Over Europe 1980 is the most awesome and comprehensive compilation of rock music tour data I’ve ever seen. In seven chapters and five Appendices, Lewis covers the 14 day final tour of the most seminal and accomplished rock band of all time as they work their way through Europe. Lewis doesn’t just provide the results of second-hand research, he gives the reader the up close and personal, first-hand reports of his own experiences as he lived with the band and listened to the performances from the stage. He provides transcripts of Page, Plant and others’ comments between songs at each performance, summaries of each day’s performance and reviews from the media as well as excerpts from Lewis’ own diaries. The photos alone are worth this 270 page tome, many of them rarely, if ever, seen before, of casual views of the band or shots of the performance from the stage itself.

Keeping with the personal nature of this book, a chapter includes Dave Lewis interviews of people who were backstage with the band – from Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, to road crew and techies, to groupies, plus a chapter of “front of stage” recollections of the lucky fans who got to hear the performances. Finally, the Appendices take on the subjects of the bootlegs, memorabilia, tour statistics (yes, finally a list of all Jimmy Page’s guitars and amplifiers in one place!), discography of the final album Coda, and a listing of notes and sources. 

An added bonus: The limited hardback first edition is individually numbered, certified and signed by the author.

This extraordinary book is a must-have for Led Zeppelin fans, be they born well past the last year of Led Zeppelin’s final performance or of an age with the band members today. If you were there, this will bring back fond memories. If you weren’t, this is the next best thing. If you don’t already have your copy, get one immediately!