Best Selling Books by Anthony DeCurtis

The essential biography of one of music''s most influential icons: Lou Reed. As lead singer and songwriter for the Velvet Underground and a renowned solo artist, Lou Reed invented alternative rock. His music, at once a source of transcendent beauty and coruscating noise, violated all definitions of genre while speaking to millions of fans and inspiring generations of musicians. But while his iconic status may be fixed, the man himself was anything but. Lou Reed''s life was a transformer''s odyssey. Eternally restless and endlessly hungry for new experiences, Reed reinvented his persona, his sound, even his sexuality time and again. A man of contradictions and extremes, he was fiercely independent yet afraid of being alone, artistically fearless yet deeply paranoid, eager for commercial success yet disdainful of his own triumphs. Channeling his jagged energy and literary sensibility into classic songs - like "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Sweet Jane" - and radically experimental albums alike, Reed remained desperately true to his artistic vision, wherever it led him. Now, just a few years after Reed''s death, Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis, who knew Reed and interviewed him extensively, tells the provocative story of his complex and chameleonic life. With unparalleled access to dozens of Reed''s friends, family, and collaborators, DeCurtis tracks Reed''s five-decade career through the accounts of those who knew him and through Reed''s most revealing testimony, his music. We travel deep into his defiantly subterranean world, enter the studio as the Velvet Underground record their groundbreaking work, and revel in Reed''s relationships with such legendary figures as Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Laurie Anderson. Gritty, intimate, and unflinching, Lou Reed is an illuminating tribute to one of the most incendiary artists of our time.

DeCurtis reveals his ongoing engagement with rock music as artistic forum, source of personal inspiration, and compelling site of cultural struggle in more than 20 years as a critic.

The chief creative officer of Sony Music presents a candid assessment of his life and the past half-century of popular music from an insider''s perspective, tracing his work with a wide array of stars and personalities.

(Book). Now in paperback! In this collection of interviews conducted between 1982 and 2004, music journalist, cultural commentator and Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis conjures themes of songwriting, spirituality, making music and filmmaking out of his subjects. They include such icons as Keith Richards, Bono, Johnny Cash, Iggy Pop, Woody Allen, Eminem, Trey Anastasio, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Spector, Martin Scorsese, and Al Pacino. "Few are as qualified as DeCurtis to take you along for the ride, be it in Harrison''s black Ferrari or in his other revealing sit-downs with pop culture''s most captivating figures." Rolling Stone

Play It Loud celebrates the musical instruments that gave rock and roll its signature sound. Seven engrossing essays by veteran music journalists and scholars discuss the technical developments that fostered rock’s seductive riffs and driving rhythms; the evolution of the classic lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums; the thrilling innovations and expanded instrumentation musicians have explored to achieve unique effects; the powerful visual impact instruments have had; and the essential role they have played in the most memorable moments of rock and roll history. Abundant photographs depict rock’s most iconic instruments—including Jerry Lee Lewis’s baby grand piano, Chuck Berry’s Gibson ES-350T guitar, John Lennon’s twelve-string Rickenbacker 325, Keith Moon’s drum set, and the white Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock—both in performance and as works of art in their own right. Produced in collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this astounding book goes behind the music to offer a rare, in-depth look at the instruments that inspired the musicians and made possible the songs we know and love.

A gallery of 179 photographs, arranged by theme, explores the variety of rock ''n'' roll styles over the years

Profiles Hall of Fame inductees and discusses the development of music scenes and genres in this companion to the awards ceremony

This companion to the annual awards ceremony profiles Hall of Fame Inductees and discusses the development of music scenes and genres.

Profiles Hall of Fame inductees and discusses the development of music scenes and genres in this companion to the awards ceremony.

Profiles Hall of Fame inductees, and discusses the development of music scenes and genres in this companion to the awards ceremony.

This companion to the annual awards ceremony profiles Hall of Fame Inductees and discusses the development of music scenes and genres.