Lemuria Bookstore Blog

Dear Listener, I have never understood the quite spoken rivalry between The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.  I remember being a ten year old who loved the White Album.  I was frequently chastised by stupid petty adults for being anti-Rolling Stones.  Why would liking The Beatles make me anti-Rolling Stones?  Why would anyone have to [...]

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Dear Listener, With Christmas season nearly upon us, I have been hard at work making our music section something quite shoppable and convenient.  Being well aware that most people have at least one music lover as a family member or friend, I thought I could take this post to outline some of the best books [...]

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Dear Listener, Recently I was listening to the NPR show On Point hosted by Tom Ashbrook.  The second hour of the show heard indie/pop songstress Ingrid Michaelson discussing her music and career.  Alexandra Patsavas was also briefly featured on the show.  She is a music supervisor for Chop Shop Music Supervision who helps television shows [...]

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When Preston Lauterbach set out to write The Chitlin’ Circuit I’m sure he never intended for it to be a “secret history” of Mississippi, but that’s what it feels like to me. As the dust jacket marketing says, The Chitlin’ Circuit is “The first history of the network of black nightclubs that created Rock ‘N’ [...]

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From the projects hustlin’ crack to the top of hip-hop to board room executive, Jay-Z has been around. For me, as a white boy who was raised in what felt like the heartbeat of the suburbs, I didn’t exactly grow up feeling like hip-hop was the voice of my experience in the world; but neither [...]

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“The night I met Billy Joe Shaver, my hair caught on fire. I kid you not. The year was 1971. The place was Nashville, Tennessee.” So begins the reading with Marshall Chapman for her new book They Came to Nashville. And after a song, another funny story of her initial unwillingness to accept Willie Nelson’s [...]

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I have heard it said that writing about music is a perpetual challenge, mostly because there is really no way to describe music unless you can hear it for yourself. Think about it. Can you imagine telling someone what the opening sequence of Kashimir sounds like? Can you really describe the sounds of seeing a [...]

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Up From the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Music Since World War II dives into one of the city’s most alluring and charming qualities. The authors explain the culture from the origins of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues to the aftermath of Katrina.  Musicians mentioned are: Professor Longhair, Eenie K-Doe and his Mother in Law [...]

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Scott Barretta has a great review of Barry Mazor’s new book on Jimmie Rodgers. Barry will be here Thursday night.

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Emily here again. I know this has nothing to do  with books, but I have learned that booklovers almost always love good music and I just had to share. If you have not hear of the Fleet Foxes yet, shame on you! This small band out of Seattle hit it big last summer when they [...]

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