The Beach Boys Faq

Author : Jon Stebbins
Publisher : Backbeat Books
ISBN 13 : 1458429148
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.48/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Beach Boys FAQ written by Jon Stebbins and published by Backbeat Books. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Book). A half-century after their first single release, "Surfin'," the Beach Boys continue to define California popular culture and the sunshine-infused sound that will forever be its living soundtrack. But beyond innocent harmonies touting the delights of catching waves and cruising to the drive-in, the Beach Boys are responsible for some of the most sophisticated pop/rock music ever made. Brian Wilson's acclaimed production, the 1966 LP Pet Sounds , was both a creative triumph that inspired The Beatles' best work, and a commercial disappointment that was widely misunderstood by the band's U.S. fans. The Beach Boys followed that with perhaps the greatest three-minute rock single ever, "Good Vibrations," which wowed the critics, was a worldwide number one hit, and ushered Brian Wilson down the path of substance abuse and mental illness. Brian then leapt into the abstract madness of Smile , his epic psychedelic masterpiece that was ultimately scrapped in a 1967 sea of paranoia that nearly drowned the Beach Boys as an act. As the 1970s dawned, the endless summer of nostalgia designated the Beach Boys as its favorite sons. They recorded a critically lauded string of albums even while coping with the knowledge that their creative leader, Brian Wilson, had become a semipermanent recluse and a casualty of his own excess. Still, the Beach Boys continued through controversy, conflict, and death, rising again and again to find more popularity and more commercial peaks into the 1980s and beyond. As the new millennium unfolds, the Beach Boys are still here and continue to be a popular concert attraction and one of rock's most compelling and important stories. In The Beach Boys FAQ , Jon Stebbins explains how the band impacted music and pop culture. This entertaining, fast-moving tome is accompanied by dozens of rare images, making this volume a must-have for fans.

Author : Ian Rusten
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781617134562
Total Pages : 407 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Beach Boys in Concert written by Ian Rusten and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronicles the concerts, successes, tragedies, dramas, and adventures of the legendary American band, collecting rare photographs and never-before-seen memorabilia images.

Author : Tom Smucker
Publisher : Univ of TX + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1477318763
Total Pages : 182 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Why the Beach Boys Matter written by Tom Smucker and published by Univ of TX + ORM. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An excellent introduction to the band that might have evolved, [the author] suggests, into the Beatles.” —New York Journal of Books Of all the white American pop music groups that hit the charts before the Beatles, only the Beach Boys continued to thrive throughout the British Invasion to survive into the 1970s and beyond. The Beach Boys helped define both sides of the era we broadly call the sixties, split between their early surf, car, and summer pop and their later hippie, counterculture, and ambitious rock. No other group can claim the Ronettes and the Four Seasons as early 1960s rivals; the Mamas and the Papas and Crosby, Stills and Nash as later 1960s rivals; and the Beatles and the Temptations as decade-spanning counterparts. This is the first book to take an honest look at the themes running through the Beach Boys’ art and career as a whole and to examine where they sit inside our culture and politics—and why they still grab our attention.

Author : Thomas A. Christie
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1493050842
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book John Hughes FAQ written by Thomas A. Christie and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looking for a comprehensive chronicle of the films of legendary director, screenwriter, and producer John Hughes? You’re holding it in your hands. Covering the entirety of Hughes's career, from his earliest features through to his mainstream box-office successes, John Hughes FAQ explores the key factors that contributed to his legendary status in the world of cinema. While Hughes has become especially well known for the eight films that he directed between 1984 and 1991—including Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)—he made a considerably greater contribution to cinema through the dozens of high-profile screenplays that he developed for production throughout the '80s and '90s. John Hughes FAQ investigates many different aspects of Hughes's prolific career in film—discussing his distinctive flair for creating entertaining and engaging characters, his enthusiasm for new technology and eventful road trips, and his insightful social commentary on class and culture. Considering the entire sweep of Hughes's work behind the camera, John Hughes FAQ focuses not only on the popular classics of his filmography but also on many of his movies that have achieved a certain cultural prominence over the passing years.

Author : Tom Rowan
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 154000497X
Total Pages : 424 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rent FAQ written by Tom Rowan and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007-09-01 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After opening in a small Off-Broadway theater, Rent, a modern adaptation of Puccini's La Bohème, quickly became a worldwide phenomenon with a more zealous and devoted fan base than had any musical in history. Rent FAQ includes biographical info on the musical's brilliant creator, Jonathan Larson, who tragically passed away at age 35 the night before the show began preview performances. Other chapters focus on the creative team and original cast; the development of the script and score from early drafts and workshop performances to the version we know and love today; the movie version, tours, and much more. The section “Rent Cultural Literacy” is a guide to all the titles and real people referenced in the show and the East Village and Alphabet City locations that Rent helped make famous; another chapter provides clues to the characters and tips for anyone thinking about auditioning for the musical, or putting on a production! A final chapter provides a rundown, with numerous photos, of revivals and local productions all over the country, including regional, community, and dinner theaters, and high school and college versions. Rent FAQ is a treasure trove of information, background, and fun facts for the show's devotees as well as anyone who might be lucky enough to be discovering the musical for the first time!

Author : Brian Solomon
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1495093999
Total Pages : 377 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Godzilla FAQ written by Brian Solomon and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He is the Lizard King – well, the King of the Monsters – he can do anything. Since he first romped onto the silver screen in 1954, no other character in all of international cinema has been as beloved by American audiences as Godzilla. Despite the modern film industry's affinity for franchises and cinematic universes, he remains one of its most enduring and popular characters, with a total of twenty-eight motion pictures (not even including two American reboots!) under his massive belt. From his home base in Japan, where the legendary Toho Pictures first put him on the map, Godzilla has gone on to become an international phenomenon, a pop culture avatar, a movie monster unrivaled in both size and appeal. The latest installment in Applause Theatre and Cinema Books' FAQ series, Brian Soloman's Godzilla FAQ is a broad and varied exploration of the monumental, fire-breathing radioactive lizard that has roared his way into our hearts over a sixty-year reign of terror. By pairing a colloquial text with a wide array of illustrations and visual media, this 400-page survey encourages readers to drop in and out of the book, as every chapter serves as a self-supporting article on a given subject. Written by a lifelong Godzilla fan and pop culture critic, Godzilla FAQ offers a comprehensive rundown of every Godzilla film ever made, in-depth biographies of major players in the franchise's history, and enough raw information to rebuild a ravaged Tokyo. Don't miss out on this ideal gift for cinema fans, lizard lovers, and pop culture fiends of all ages!

Author : Tom DeMichael
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 161713659X
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.97/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Baseball FAQ written by Tom DeMichael and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BASEBALL FAQ: ALL THAT'S LEFT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICA'S PASTIME

Author : Bruce Pollock
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1617136964
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bob Dylan FAQ written by Bruce Pollock and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-05-01 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In October 2016, the Swedish Academy finally conceded to a quarter-century's worth of clamorous petitions and sustained lobbying enacted by a chorus of poets, novelists, songwriters, and academics. At long last, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, his vast corpus spread out like Highway 61 behind him. How is a Dylan debutante to make sense of the song and dance man's six decade career? How might a diehard Dylan fanatic stumble upon something they didn't know they didn't know? Why, with award-winning journalist Bruce Pollock's Bob Dylan FAQ, of course! Bob Dylan FAQ, the latest installment in Backbeat's FAQ series, condenses the life and times of America's premier songster into an addictively vivacious 400-page brick jam-packed with critical analysis, minutiae, photographs, ephemera, and period history. Every aspect of Dylan's life and career, from his ever-expanding discography, touring history, fallow periods, literary and visual artistic efforts, peers, influences, and legacy to his devoted fanbase and their, is explored. Best of all, the book's structure invites perusing at any random point, as each chapter serves as a freestanding article on its subject. Dive into Dylanana with Bob Dylan FAQ!

Author : Donald Gibson
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1617137022
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Elton John FAQ written by Donald Gibson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-09-15 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This month, as Sir Elton John celebrates his seventieth birthday, Backbeat Books is thrilled to announce the release of Donald Gibson's Elton John FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Rocket Man. An exploration of Sir Elton's accolades alone could span several volumes: in a career spanning nearly five decades, he has sold over 250 million records worldwide, appeared in nearly 4 000 live performances, been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received multiple awards and nominations from the Academy, GRAMMYs, Oscars, and Tonys. How can one possibly hope to examine the life and times of this peerless singer-songwriter, the most successful solo artist Great Britain has ever produced and the third-most successful artist overall in American music history? Why, with Backbeat's acclaimed FAQ format, of course! Like every other volume in the FAQ series, Elton John FAQ is overflowing with enlightening data, compact histories, rare photographs and period ephemera, all organized into chapters equally suitable for a straight-through read or random perusal. Gibson touches on every major episode from Sir Elton's life, from his humble, and at times disheartening, childhood in the North London suburb of Pinner to his serendipitous meeting with lyricist Bernie Taupin, with whom he'd form a songwriting partnership that would ultimately rank alongside Lennon and McCartney in its success, and beyond. Scrutinizing the highs and lows of a life crammed with musical phases and sartorial changes, the book underscores not only the renowned musician's talents, but the truth behind tales that are familiar only to diehard fans.

Author : Dale Sherman
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1493050869
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book John Waters FAQ written by Dale Sherman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than 50 years John Waters has been staging a coup against the good taste of the American public. From the ultimate gross-out in Pink Flamingos to the amazing general-audience rating of his biggest hit Hairspray, Waters has been subverting viewers' expectations with comedies that stretch past the boundaries of even today's jaded audiences. A provocateur of bad taste in a glorious way, Waters started out as an outsider with a camera and a small circle of fellow delinquents. In tearing down icons of the silver screen, Waters would create his own that are used still by others in movies and television. And that's only part of the tale. John Waters FAQ looks at how a nice boy from the right side of the tracks would end up becoming a demon of society and the influences that drove his ambition in moviemaking. Also featured are biographical information of the Dreamlanders -- the actors and crew members who would join Waters on his adventures in filmland over the years, including Waters's best-remembered find Divine. Beyond chapters dedicated to the making of each of his films -- from Hag in a Black Leather Jacket to his most recent A Dirty Shame -- there are those covering his career as a writer and artist. Also reviewed are his acting career in other people's television shows and movies over the years, Water's interest in music, and projects that never were to be. John Waters FAQ covers it all in the career of a man who started out with a dream of becoming an underground filmmaker and became so much more.