LeftyBassist.com

At Christmas I was given a few things to read. I thought I'd share the selections here and ask what y'all have been reading this year.

1st up: Quadrophenia, the directors cut. [hey, what do you expect with a member name like mine?]. This was about a 4 or 5 hour read. The package contained a wonderful essay by Pete on the Quad years and how he put it together. Worth buying just for the included demos.

2nd: Won't Get Fooled Again (from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia) http://www.amazon.com/Fooled-Lifehouse-Quadrophenia-Genuine-Jawbone/dp/1906002355/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333689211&sr=1-1
A great read for all Who fans, maybe less so for others. Goes into incredible detail from post LALera to the post-release era of Quad. I always wondered what Pete did in those years, and now I know! Written with an obvious pro-Pete bias, but hey did you expect anything less?

3rd: Steve Marriott: All Too Beautiful http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Marriott-All-Too-Beautiful/dp/1905139276/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333689458&sr=1-1 . Another rock bio of one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated musicians of the early rock years. Pretty brutal and honest depiction, but then so was Steve. Delves into his dark side more than one would expect, but not so much as to smear the memory of his greatness.

and this is what's up next: Tom Wheeler "The Dream Factory: Fender Custom Shop". Pretty hefty book with lots of Fender porn. A quick skimming revealed only one lefty. Of course it was Elliott Easton's early CS.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dream-Factory-Fender-Custom/dp/1423436989/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333689727&sr=1-1

The majority of my reading these days is primarily online articles, magazines, and the occasional manual. But I just started reading Patti Smith's autobiography, Just Kids, and so far it's excellent. After that, I've got the Howard Cosell biography waiting.

The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited
The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem

Zappa - by Barry Miles

(http://www.amazon.com/Zappa-A-Biography-Barry-Miles/dp/080214215X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333731828&sr=1-1)

I thought this was a really good biography and was fair an honest for the most part. It especially comes into focus if you also read the "autobiogaphy" and miscellaneous rantings that Zappa put out himself in "The Real Frank Zappa Book" back before he died.

(http://www.amazon.ca/Real-Frank-Zappa-Book/dp/0671705725)

I read them both again recently. The two books aren't totally juxtaposed but they do conflict enough to let you read between the lines and get a good feel for what he was really like.

And boy, did that man know how to squeeze every last drop of ability out of his players!

yeah, he was a squeezer allright!

I saw Frank and the Mothers in Montreal just before Overnite Sensation was released. It was an outdoor summertime gig. We toodled by the venue around 1PM when they were just starting the soundcheck. In those days, they just left the doors open and anyone could walk in, so we did.

Well, the band did not stop playing from 1PM to the end of the gig! Basically it was Frank and the gang for 10 hours straight. Band members would take 1/2 hour breaks along the way until the official start time. Except for Frank. He ducked out for less than 15 minutes to, i'll assume, "recharge" himself.

One of the best damn concerts I ever got to see for $3 CDN.

rereading house of leaves for the 4th time, great book that defies any sort of description.I have to say it might possibly be one of the best works of fiction I have ever read, the author created a whole new genre with it. Future readers beware, the first time you read it, it will make you question your sanity http://www.amazon.com/House-Leaves-Mark ... 0375703764

and also DC comic's Allan Moore Universe, a hard cover collection of some of the best one off storys that the legendary writer wrote for DC going from the 70s all the way to 98.....yea I'm a giant comic book geek

I just picked up Modern Humanism: Living Without Religion. After that it's The God Delusion by Richard Hawkins. I read fairly regularly, but almost no fiction at all.

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
and
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Just finished "Life" by Keith Richards. A lot of history and insight shared. Highly recommend. This is coming from someone who has not been into the RS a lot. I checked it out of the library but it would have been worth buying if that tells you anything.

Currently reading Manias, Panics, and Crashes by Charles Kindleberger...