Requiem for a world war
Jeremy Eichler’s Time’s Echo shows how four great 20th-century composers captured the horrors of conflict.
ByMusic books
Discover the best music books, with the New Statesman’s expert reviews, from biographies to pop histories.
Bernie Taupin: good lyricist, bad writer
The songs he wrote with Elton John may be works of art. His bloated memoir is not.
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The women classical music forgot
Leah Broad’s Quartet restores the pioneering work and colourful lives of Britain’s finest female composers.
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Bruce Springsteen and the spectre of stardom
In 1981, the singer sensed his future fame – and retreated. Nebraska, his darkest and most personal album, was the…
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What does Rick Rubin actually do?
The star producer’s supremely vague manual on creativity does nothing to explain his craft.
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The rise and fall of the British music press
In their glory days magazines such as NME and Melody Maker defined youth culture – but the quality of the…
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Books of the year 2022
New Statesman writers and guests choose their favourite reading of the year.
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Surrender: praying in the church of Bono
In his account of being “saved” by love and religion, the U2 frontman’s sincerity overpowers the scorn of his critics.
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The 15 best books for summer
The New Statesman’s selection of essential recent releases.
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Bob Stanley’s pre-history of pop breathes life into a lost musical era
In Let’s Do It, the musician and journalist reveals how ragtime, jazz, blues and swing still shape today’s popular culture.
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Jarvis Cocker’s book Good Pop, Bad Pop reveals the sentimental side he hid in the Nineties
Taking us through the contents of his attic, the Pulp frontman shows there was always more to him than ironic…
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It’s his life: the secluded world of Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis
Uneasy with his fame and fiercely private, the post-rock pioneer left behind a musical legacy of extraordinary beauty.
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How music helps us to feel
Two new books about our relationship to song prove there will always be new ways to write about music.
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What to read in 2022: non-fiction
From politics and science to history and pop, the essential books for the year ahead.
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The New Statesman’s best books of 2021
The year's essential reading in 20 titles.
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