Friday, June 6, 2014

New book about Goth music


I recently received an email from a publisher notifying me of a new Goth music book called Goth: The True Story of Post-Punk by John Robb.
The book has not been published yet, and it's in the kickstarter format meaning that you pledge an amount of money to receive the finished product if the money goal is reached. I've always liked this way of buying items, because it shows how many people are interested in the product and you pre-pay for your item. When the goal is reached, the money gets taken out of your bank account and you'll (hopefully) get the item once it has been published. Note: There has been a few times when projects have been funded and fallen through, the organiser might not give your money back.

Anyway, so the publisher contacted me about this book and I wondered to myself "how is this book going to be different from other Goth music books?"
Last year there was a kickstarter for the book "Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace". The goal was reached, and the book is going to be published at the end of this year. This book is about New Wave, Post-Punk and the early Goth scene, with some nice photographs too (I'll be buying it once it has been published).

Mick Mercer has also written a ton of books about Goth music. The one that springs to mind is "Music to Die For" which is a book filled with every Goth band imaginable. I find it to be more of a reference books, with the whole book being a list of Goth bands with a description of what type of style they play. Mick Mercer has written a lot of other books about the Goth scene, he also released an awesome 3 cd Goth compilation album which I really enjoy.

Now, this new book I'm not too sure about yet. The summary explains that there will be loads of interviews from important people in the scene, along with an explanation of influences on Goth music (Bowie, Iggy Pop, etc). I'm really interested in reading this new book and seeing how it'll turn out, I love reading about the Goth scene and I think interviews will be awesome! Although it might be hard getting the bands to admit they're Goth! :P
Visit the website and see if you like the idea of the book, you can even pledge if you want to. I think I'll be buying this book!

Here is a video by the author, John Robb 

7 comments:

Fiona C. said...

Strangely, I don't own any goth books - not even Gothic Charm School. I intend on buying 'Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace' as soon as I possibly can, but this does sound interesting.

SarahWalrus said...

Oooh, I just posted on this too! I agree completely with the "not to sure about this yet". :3

5th Avenue Goth said...

publishers are funding their projects through kickstarters? yeesh. personally i think there should be a writing sample somewhere...seems like a text-heavy book.

Maria Alexander said...

sound interesting, I am dying to get my hand on Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace!! there is also a nice book about scene from 1980-1989 that I forgot how it´s called..

linnea-maria said...

I have a couple of books wich staples clichees on to another. I would prefer books with the musical history, so I find these very interesting.

Unknown said...

Both of these books sound interesting and as a history student I've been eagerly awaiting the day that post-punk specifically goth subculture becomes fodder for social historians. Unfortunately my interests take into other areas entirely.

Jurassic Goth said...

I'm just catching up on blogs so am commenting on this pretty late but I reckon this book will be pretty good. John Robb is a music journalist and musician (The Membranes and Goldblade) and he's been around the music scene for a long time and knows pretty much everyone. He's Manchester based and well respected and, like Mick Mercer, really knows his stuff and can write. It's a sign of the times that this book is being funded through kickstarter but if John has anything to do with it, it'll be a good quality product and you'll definitely see your book if you pay for it. I'll be interested to read it when it comes out.