Memory Songs: A Personal Journey into the Music that Shaped the 90s
by James Cook
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date 17 May 2018 | Archive Date 21 Dec 2018
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Description
This is the story of a music-obsessed boy’s journey from his bedroom in Hitchin to the heart of nineties London just as Britpop is about to explode...
From James Cook’s early encounters with pop’s pioneers – Revolver heard for the first time, Led Zeppelin glimpsed on evening TV – through an adolescence in which friendships are forged on a mutual love for the Velvet Underground, to the high-stakes gamble of moving to the metropolis, the years between the assassination of John Lennon and Kurt Cobain’s suicide are mapped in musical memories. Along the way, we explore the diverse influences that fuelled the nineties guitar pop boom, from John Barry to Bryan Ferry, and follow James as he forms a band with his twin brother and releases a critically acclaimed debut album.
More than a memoir, Memory Songs stands as a testament to music’s power over the imagination, the way it punctuates our past and shapes our future. Woven through with meditations on the artists who defined the UK's last legendary scene, it delivers a passionate analysis of the music that shaped a crucial moment in British cultural history.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781783525218 |
| PRICE | £18.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Featured Reviews
Brittany S, Reviewer
“Nothing stays with you like music you loved between the ages of fifteen and nineteen.”
So true.
I was not familiar with James Cook prior to requesting this from NetGalley, but I’m a fan now. He’s so passionate, and even though I don’t share the exact same passion, reading about the music that shaped him made me happy. I was impressed by his writing and knack for storytelling.
Librarian 391714
Cook says a Memory Song is a song where one can look back at the layers of memory, when and where the song was one's companion, on which dark nights of the soul.
That seems a little too dramatic for me, but I can get his point. Sadly, that is about all I can get from this book. I didn't really connect with the book because frankly the music he discusses I had nor have any interest in and the memories he shares are neither a entertaining or visceral experience for me.
Pauline S, Reviewer
A really good read, I loved the 90's music so this definitely hooked me in. Recommended and interesting read.
Michael J, Educator
There's lots to enjoy here - an account of nearly making it as a musician amidst the rise of Suede, Pulp and (most frustratingly for Cook) Oasis in the 1990s. Alongside the bittersweet reminiscing of what might have been, there's a sharp picture of what it was like to grow up music-obsessed not quite near enough to London in the 1980s. There's also some very good critical writing about all kinds of music (Beatles and Led Zep especially) and much insightfulness about bad luck and failure. Overall, it's very engagingly written - pursue it through the opening few pages though which tend towards cliche in a way the rest of the book largely avoids.
Dawn W, Educator
This book reminded me of Dick Clark's "Music is the Soundtrack of our Lives."
As someone who grew up in the 1990s, so many of Cook's stories resonated me, even as I was across an ocean and completely musically untalented.
I loved so many of the stories, and so many of the artists and songs featured were personal favorites of mine.
Those who grew up as music lovers in the 1990s will really enjoy this book.
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