Somebody that I Used to Know by Dana L. Davis

My latest read unexpectedly mentioned places in Iowa that I was already familiar with: Davenport, NorthPark Mall, and the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines.  Since I already knew the author, I should have guessed she would have thrown mentions to this area in her book. Young adult romance author Dana L. Davis grew up in the Midwest and was born in Davenport. She put those unexpected mentions of Iowa in her latest book, Somebody That I Used to Know, the story of a young aspiring musician whose ex-best friend has popped back up in her life out of nowhere.

Dylan Woods has her life planned out completely. She has been obsessively practicing for her Juilliard audition. Juilliard is her destiny. As her audition gets closer, Dylan’s parents throw a wrench in her plans. Her ex-best friend Langston is coming for a short stay.

Dylan hasn’t seen Langston in years. He moved to Los Angeles years ago to make his dreams come true and become a musician. Now Langston is Legendary, the biggest teen R&B artist in the world. He’s going to crashing in Dylan’s basement for a couple weeks. Everyone is excited, except for Dylan. She has no desire to share space with Langston, especially since he’s now a ‘bad boy’. Plus – it’s weird. Why would Langston willingly choose to crash at her house in Iowa when he could literally go anywhere in the world?

When Langston shows up though, Dylan starts having doubts. Maybe he hasn’t changed much from her childhood friend. He still has the bucket list they made years ago. And he wants to start crossing things off the list with her! The more the two talk, the more Dylan sees that Langston isn’t as shallow as she thought. Her memories of their older times together come flooding back, reminding her of their shared love of music and how she has changed through the years. Langston may not be that bad. In fact, she might be catching feelings for him, her ex-best friend, the one who ghosted her so long ago.

Music Selector’s Choice: Dropkick Murphys

An long-standing punk band with outspoken pro-union political views, Dropkick Murphys has been an icon of the punk scene and a voice for the workers’ perspective since its founding in 1996. In all that time, however, only bassist Ken Casey has been a constant member; one of the original founders Mike McColgan left as early as 1998, reportedly because he wasn’t dedicated enough to the band’s punk movement and the causes they spoke for. In an example of the band’s continuity, the name came from an alcohol detoxification facility run by Dr. John “Dropkick” Murphy, and in 2017 their album 11 short stories of pain & glory was heavily influenced by the opiate epidemic.

If you, like me, are intrigued by this angrily activist music group but haven’t gotten the chance to discover them yet, start here — your Rivershare libraries collect 5 of their 11 albums:

Going out in style 2011

Signed and sealed in blood 2013

11 short stories of pain & glory 2017

Turn up that dial 2021

This Machine Still Kills Fascists 2022

This newest album is unique in several respects, particularly its more acoustic, country music style; it’s structured around unused material from socialist and anti-fascist singer-songwriter icon Woody Guthrie.  Even the title is from a slogan Guthrie used to write on his guitars.

If only for my own (apparently lacking) education, leave your favorite band-with-a-cause in the comments – and come grab This Machine Still Kills Fascists today to catch up with the Dropkick Murphys.

I’m with the Band

To celebrate the release of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book Daisy Jones & the Six as a television miniseries on Amazon Prime, we have gathered a list of some of our favorite music themed novels! Let us know your favorite music novels in the comments below!

Have you read Daisy Jones & The Six ? If not, check out the previous blog written by one of our librarians about this book.

The descriptions listed below were provided by the publishers.

Music Themed Novels!

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. Coming of age in Detroit, she can’t imagine settling for a 9-to-5 job—despite her unusual looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar’s amateur night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records.

In early seventies New York City, just as she’s finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal’s bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth.

Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo’s most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything.

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The Violin Conspiracy  by Brendan Slocumb

Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.

When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he’s lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

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Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Utopia Avenue is the strangest British band you’ve never heard of. Emerging from London’s psychedelic scene in 1967, and fronted by folk singer Elf Holloway, blues bassist Dean Moss and guitar virtuoso Jasper de Zoet, Utopia Avenue embarked on a meteoric journey from the seedy clubs of Soho, a TV debut on Top of the Pops, the cusp of chart success, glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a fateful American sojourn in the Chelsea Hotel, Laurel Canyon, and San Francisco during the autumn of ’68.

David Mitchell’s kaleidoscopic novel tells the unexpurgated story of Utopia Avenue’s turbulent life and times; of fame’s Faustian pact and stardom’s wobbly ladder; of the families we choose and the ones we don’t; of voices in the head, and the truths and lies they whisper; of music, madness, and idealism. Can we really change the world, or does the world change us?

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Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie

A scintillating debut from a major new voice in fiction, Songs in Ursa Major is a love story set in 1969, alive with music, sex, and the trappings of fame.

Raised on an island off Massachusetts by a mother who wrote songs for famous musicians, Jane Quinn is singing in her own band before she’s old enough to even read music. When folk legend Jesse Reid hears about Jane’s performance at the island’s music festival, a star is born–and so is a passionate love affair: they become inseparable when her band joins his on tour. Wary of being cast as his girlfriend–and haunted by her mother’s shattered ambitions– Jane shields her relationship from the public eye, but Jesse’s star power pulls her into his orbit of fame. Caught up in the thrill of the road and the profound and lustful connection she has with Jesse, Jane is blind-sided by the discovery she makes about the dark secret beneath his music. Heartbroken and blackballed by the industry, Jane is now truly on her own: to make the music she loves, and to make peace with her family Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early 70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?

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The Ensemble by Aja Gabel

Jana. Brit. Daniel. Henry. They would never have been friends if they hadn’t needed each other. They would never have found each other except for the art which drew them together. They would never have become family without their love for the music, for each other.

Brit is the second violinist, a beautiful and quiet orphan; on the viola is Henry, a prodigy who’s always had it easy; the cellist is Daniel, the oldest and an angry skeptic who sleeps around; and on first violin is Jana, their flinty, resilient leader. Together, they are the Van Ness Quartet. After the group’s youthful, rocky start, they experience devastating failure and wild success, heartbreak and marriage, triumph and loss, betrayal and enduring loyalty. They are always tied to each other – by career, by the intensity of their art, by the secrets they carry, by choosing each other over and over again.

Following these four unforgettable characters, Aja Gabel’s debut novel gives a riveting look into the high-stakes, cutthroat world of musicians, and of lives made in concert. The story of Brit and Henry and Daniel and Jana, The Ensemble is a heart-skipping portrait of ambition, friendship, and the tenderness of youth.

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Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

In 1970s Baltimore, fourteen-year-old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mother, singing in her church choir, and enjoying her family’s subscription to the Broadway Showtunes of the Month record club. Shy, quiet, and bookish, she’s glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. A respectable job, Mary Jane’s mother says. In a respectable house.

The house may look respectable on the outside, but inside it’s a literal and figurative mess: clutter on every surface, Impeachment: Now More Than Ever bumper stickers on the doors, cereal and takeout for dinner. And even more troublesome (were Mary Jane’s mother to know, which she does not): the doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important job—helping a famous rock star dry out. A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in.

Over the course of the summer, Mary Jane introduces her new household to crisply ironed clothes and a family dinner schedule, and has a front-row seat to a liberal world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (not to mention group therapy). Caught between the lifestyle she’s always known and the future she’s only just realized is possible, Mary Jane will arrive at September with a new idea about what she wants out of life, and what kind of person she’s going to be.

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The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith

Right after the sudden death of her mother—her first and most devoted fan—and just before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta James falls apart on stage. The footage quickly goes viral and she stops playing, her career suddenly in jeopardy—the kind of jeopardy her father, Conrad, has always predicted; the kind he warned her about when he urged her to make more practical choices with her life.

Months later, Greta—still heartbroken and very much adrift—reluctantly agrees to accompany Conrad on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. It could be their last chance to heal old wounds in the wake of shared loss. But the trip will also prove to be a voyage of discovery for them both, and for Ben Wilder, a charming historian, onboard to lecture about The Call of the Wild, who is struggling with a major upheaval in his own life. As Greta works to build back her confidence and Ben confronts an uncertain future, they find themselves drawn to and relying on each other.

It’s here in this unlikeliest of places—at sea, far from the packed city venues where she usually plays and surrounded by the stunning scenery of Alaska—Greta will finally confront the choices she’s made, the heartbreak she’s suffered, and the family hurts that run deep. In the end, she’ll have to decide what her path forward might look like—and how to find her voice again.

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The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

It is 1988. On a dead-end street in a run-down suburb there is a music shop that stands small and brightly lit, jam-packed with records of every kind. Like a beacon, the shop attracts the lonely, the sleepless, and the adrift; Frank, the shop’s owner, has a way of connecting his customers with just the piece of music they need. Then, one day, into his shop comes a beautiful young woman, Ilse Brauchmann, who asks Frank to teach her about music. Terrified of real closeness, Frank feels compelled to turn and run, yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems, and Frank has old wounds that threaten to reopen, as well as a past it seems he will never leave behind. Can a man who is so in tune with other people’s needs be so incapable of connecting with the one person who might save him? The journey that these two quirky, wonderful characters make in order to overcome their emotional baggage speaks to the healing power of music—and love—in this poignant, ultimately joyful work of fiction.

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If you have any favorite music books, let us know below! We can’t wait to see what you’ve read and what you plan to read!

Music Selector’s Choice: Lindsey Stirling

If you see a violin and think “classical music is boring”, then you need to discover more artists like Lindsey Stirling. While she may lose points for technique (according to some other musicians I know) she definitely gets top marks for showmanship, enthusiasm, genre-bending, and creativity. If nothing else, her social media presence showing behind-the-scenes looks at her stunts, rehearsals, concerts, and more is funny, fascinating, entertaining and informative.

Intrigued? All these Lindsey Stirling albums are available for checkout:

Lindsey Stirling: 2013

Shatter Me: 2014

Brave Enough: 2016

Warmer in the Winter: 2018

Artemis: 2019

Snow Waltz : 2022

Looking for more unconventional players of classical and string instruments? Try the four-cello rock group Apocalyptica, rock violinist David Garrett, or creative instrumentalists The Piano Guys (though if you haven’t yet checked out this powerhouse group, what are you waiting for??)

Music Selector’s Choice: Native American music

Experience Native American music with these albums recently added to the collection!

Northern Cree Singers’ Drums in the Pines

Joe Rainey’s Niineta

R. Carlos Nakai’s Nocturne: Music for Native American Flute

Pow Wow: Round Dances & Sacred Ceremonies by various artists

What kind of folk or world music do YOU enjoy? If you don’t know, stop in and check out the Global genre music CDs to discover something new!

Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo & Juan Cavia

Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia’s graphic novel Ballad for Sophie is, for lack of a better word, a masterpiece. A truly and completely stunning masterpiece. 

The story is set in two worlds, one in 1933 and one in 1997, and follows a young journalist on a quest to unearth the questionable history of retired world famous pianist Julien Dubois. Through a series of sit-down interviews with the reclusive musician, the journalist extracts an epic story of fame, rivalries, loss, and music. 

What I found to be so striking about Melo and Cavia’s book is the way the illustrations seemed to leap off the page and hug me. They’re warm, both in color and in what they depict. Melo is a masterful storyteller, his narrative sending readers back and forth in time and wonderfully building tension and suspense at all the right moments. Alongside the language, Cavia’s illustrations are pungent with emotion, texture, and pigment. Coursing through the story are splashes of gold that give the often depressing story an atmosphere saturated with warmth. 

As if this book was lacking in atmospheric elements, Filipe Melo wrote an original piece for Ballad for Sophie that beautifully accentuates the ending of the story. You can listen to it on Spotify.  

The visual experience of this graphic novel is refrshing; I often find that while a graphic novels’ images may be high quality, the story they depict is not. That is not the case with Ballad for Sophie. Also, it’s being adapted into a television series, so get your hands on it before they release the show!

 

Music Selector’s Choice: Snarky Puppy

I love the band name Snarky Puppy. Like all good band names it’s a great hook to get you to check out the music, and see if it measures up.

Snarky Puppy is an instrumental group (no vocals here) founded in Texas which has now won five Grammy awards for its blend of jazz, world, rock, and funk music styles. Around forty musicians have played in the group over the course of its existence but on any given album the number of musicians is between ten and twenty, drawn from a rotating roster that still includes founder Michael League.

If you want to trace this group’s development through its albums, you can find these through our Rivershare consortium:

Culcha Vulcha (2016)

We Like It Here (2018)

Immigrance (2019)

Empire Central (2022)

Other albums including their first, 2006’s The Only Constant, are available through Spotify and YouTube. What’s your favorite cool band name?

Music Buzz: Bad Bunny

As a big music person, I’ve heard more and more about artist Bad Bunny in recent years, and I finally decided to do some digging to find out what the story is and why he’s so popular.

If you’re like me, you first heard the name Bad Bunny as a contributor on the song I Like It, from Cardi B’s album Invasion of privacy in 2018. When the song exploded Bad Bunny’s star began to rise, and debut album X 100pre was released in 2019. Later that same year, however, a collaborative album Oasis was released with J Balvin. Most recently Bad Bunny came out with another solo album, Un verano sin ti in 2022, which has done very well on the charts.

But why should he have been so successful, and be so beloved? Well, as it turns out Bad Bunny’s public image is positive and nuanced; as the first non-English language act to be Spotify‘s most streamed artist of the year in 2020 and 2021 he has made a massive contribution to Spanish-language music becoming popular in the US and worldwide markets. In terms of his visual look, Vanessa Rosales of CNN has opined that “in pink, florals and short shorts, Bad Bunny champions a new masculinity”. Moreover, in a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bad Bunny stated he sees sexuality as fluid. He said, “At the end of the day, I don’t know if in 20 years I will like a man. One never knows in life. But at the moment I am heterosexual and I like women.”

He has been an LGBTQ advocate in other ways as well. During a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2020, he called attention to the murder of transgender woman Alexa Negrón Luciano in Puerto Rico by wearing a shirt with the words “They Killed Alexa. Not a Man in a Skirt.”, referencing news reports that had misgendered the victim. Ricky Martin has stated that Bad Bunny “has become an icon for the Latin queer community” due to his outspoken support of gay and transgender Latinos as well as his embrace of drag culture. And he’s also been a general activist for his native Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny was openly critical towards the lack of humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island of Puerto Rico. He established the Good Bunny Foundation, which distributes toys to children living in poverty in Puerto Rico.

Studies have shown that Gen Z and younger listeners care not just about musical style and content but also ethics and accountability, which means the answer to my question is that Bad Bunny is so popular because his lifestyle and activism back up his catchy and infectious musical work. Whether you’re a longtime fan, or newly curious about this international icon, you should give his albums a try, available today from your Rivershare library.

25+ Years of Tegan and Sara

Like most aging people I’m starting to realize just how long my favorite artists have been around. For example the iconic band Tegan and Sara have been making music since 1995, recording on cassette tapes. If you don’t know them, Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin have been vitally important to building a more mainstream LGBTQ music scene. Their music has the earworm elements of pop music and an unapologetically sapphic core – and recently they’ve grown more reflective about their public image.

Their early music, starting in about 2002, quickly gained popularity in Canada and with teen listeners, featuring albums The Con and Sainthood. Both albums were generally acclaimed as their sound both matured and experimented. It was the seventh album that was perhaps the most successful, and the one I know best: Heartthrob in 2013, followed by Love You to Death in 2016. This is where their indie pop sound really hit its stride with songs like Boyfriend and Closer, featuring danceable beats mixed with melancholy feelings. Incidentally this is also where I heard I’m Not Your Hero, whose hook will forever live in my head rent-free: “I’m not their hero / but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t brave”.

This is a band that doesn’t forget its past: in 2017 their big tour and promotion was celebrating 10 years since the release of The Con (including the creation of an album of other artists’ versions called The Con X: Covers) and in 2019 they released Hey I’m Just Like You, which shares recordings of songs they initially wrote as teenagers. The influence of rock and punk bands like Nirvana, Hole, or the Smashing Pumpkins is more apparent here, and the album as a whole reads more pop-punk than their more recent compositions. In the same spirit they made an all-acoustic version of their 2004 album, So Jealous, which was released as Still Jealous in February.

But the big news of recent years was the release of High School, a memoir about their experiences coming-of-age, which was adapted into a TV series on Amazon Freevee. Viewers are offered a glimpse into a teenager’s life in the early 2000s including the pains of exploring your sexuality and deciding who you want to be. This is definitely a band for you if you’re someone into memoir, legacy, and writing your own history. They’re also politically engaged, passionate activists for causes including cancer research and LGBTQ rights.

This year they released the all-new Crybaby with a new record label. Written during the pandemic, this is the album that nearly wasn’t: originally they were recording standalone singles I Can’t Grow Up and All I Wanted, but were inspired to spin the two into a whole album — luckily for all of us that need more T&S in our lives.

If you like indie music, are a longtime fan, or want exposure to more LGBTQ music artists, definitely listen to some Tegan and Sara today.

My Favorite Books as Taylor Swift’s New Album

Recently Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights snagged all top ten spots on the US Billboard charts, a major and unprecedented coup. On a more personal note, I’ve had at least one of the songs from the album stuck in my head on and off since I first listened to the album — and you probably have too, if you’ve listened to it. So I decided to make lemonade from lemons and tell you how my English major brain has associated songs from Midnights with different books. All the books (and very soon the album) are available for checkout from our library, so you can double-check my findings for yourself.

“So real, I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say / No deal, the 1950s shit they want for me / I just wanna stay in that lavender haze”

When I listen to Lavender Haze I hear love that pushes against expectations and conventions for what a relationship should look like, and therefore think immediately of The Love Study by Kris Ripper, which is only the first of a trilogy all about relationships outside of conventional norms, and about customizing your relationship to what works for you.

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“The burgundy on my t-shirt when you splashed your wine onto me / And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet, it was / The mark you saw on my collarbone, the rust that grew between telephones / The lips I used to call home, so scarlet, it was maroon”

Maroon to me is about a vivid, passionate love that ended, and is remembered, as vividly as it lived. For sheer emotional power, and the strength of love and memory, this song has to be The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay FayeThis book is an unforgettable Hamlet retelling with a powerful (and, spoilers, doomed) love at its core.

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“It’s me / Hi! / I’m the problem, it’s me / At teatime / Everybody agrees / I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror / It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero”

Antihero is the song I (and many others) can’t get out of our heads — it’s catchy, self-aware, self-destructive, and self-deprecating, with paranoid fear of losing relationships and (for me anyway) a hint of glamour. What it made me think of is my favorite romance book of all time, Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (the sequel, Husband Material, works as well) because of its self-deprecating humor, self-destructive tendencies, and an unforgettableness not unlike an earworm.

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“Are we falling like / Snow at the beach / Weird but it was beautiful / Flying in a dream / Stars by the pocketful / You wanting me / Tonight / Feels impossible / But it’s comin’ down, no sound, it’s all around”

Snow on the Beach is all dreamlike, surreal vibes, with a star-crossed type romance running through it, which for me echoes the magical realism in One Last Stop by Casey McQuistonOur lovable leads in that book find themselves in a similarly bizarre situation which they end up embracing.

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“What’s a girl gonna do? A diamond’s gotta shine / Best believe I’m still bejeweled when I walk in the room / I can still make the whole place shimmer”

Now, I fully believe you’ll have a better pick for this one, but Bejeweled‘s theme of claiming your power from a repressive relationship made me think of In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens, because among other things this book is about the main character embracing his power and identity and breaking free from fear and repression, and I just love to see it.

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“Sweet like honey, karma is a cat / Purring in my lap ’cause it loves me / Flexing like a goddamn acrobat / Me and karma vibe like that”

Okay, another unconventional pick, but the smugness of Karma, waiting for the other shoe to drop, reminded me of An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten. Our elderly protagonist is similarly convinced of the justice of her actions – to very entertaining effect.

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“Everyone’s up to somethin’ / I find myself runnin’ home to your sweet nothings / Outside, they’re push and shovin’ / You’re in the kitchen hummin’ / All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothin'”

Sweet Nothing is about finding a haven and home in someone who doesn’t burdern you with the expectations and pressure you receive everywhere else, which for me had to be The Bookseller’s Boyfriend by Heidi CullinanAlso a cautionary tale about celebrity and social media, the romance in this book is all about an overworked, overwhelmed person finding rest in another’s company.

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“So I told you none of it was accidental / And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me / I laid the groundwork and then saw a wide smirk / On your face, you knew the entire time / You knew that I’m a mastermind / And now you’re mine”

Not exactly the same vibe, but Mastermind‘s ending, when the singer realizes that though they thought they were being subtle, they were actually transparent to their partner, reminded me of Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann, in which another scheming narrator discovers the joy of being known and accepted for all your faults.

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Let us know, do you agree with my associations? Which books would you pick?