Memory Songs: A Personal Journey Into the Music That Shaped the 90s : A Personal Journey Into the Music That Shaped the 90s

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. "This is a story about how a music-obsessed boy went from his bedroom in Hitchin to the heart of nineties London as Britpop was about to explode ... We follow James Cook from his early encounters with pop's pioneers - Revolver heard for the first time, Led Zeppelin glimpsed on evening TV - through an adolescence where taste is everything, and friendships are forged on a mutual love for the Velvet Underground, to the high-stakes gamble of moving to London, signing a record deal and releasing an acclaimed debut album with cult indie act Flamingoes. Drawing on elements of both criticism and literary memoir, with a timeline that spans the assassination of John Lennon in 1980 and Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994, Memory Songs is a testament to music's power over the imagination. It combines James' account of the murky years preceding Britpop with meditations on the artists who influenced the now-legendary scene he was there to witness. Woven into this are explorations of the author's best-loved 'memory songs' - those songs that seem to punctuate our lives, defining and colouring our impressions of a particular time. But the book goes well beyond autobiography to deliver an accessible, passionate analysis of the music that shaped a crucial moment in British cultural history."--Publisher's description This is a story about how a music-obsessed boy went from his bedroom in Hitchin to the heart of nineties London as Britpop was about to explode... We follow James Cook from his early encounters with pops pioneers Revolver heard for the first time, Led Zeppelin glimpsed on evening TV through an adolescence where taste is everything, and friendships are forged on a mutual love for the Velvet Underground, to the high-stakes gamble of moving to London, signing a record deal and releasing an acclaimed debut album with cult indie act Flamingoes. Drawing on elements of both criticism and literary memoir, with a timeline that spans the assassination of John Lennon in 1980 and Kurt Cobains suicide in 1994, Memory Songs is a testament to musics power over the imagination. It combines James account of the murky years preceding Britpop with meditations on the artists who influenced the now legendaryscene he was there to witness. Woven into this are explorations of the authors best-loved memory songs those songs that seem to punctuate our lives, defining and colouring our impressions of a particular time. But the book goes well beyond autobiography to deliver an accessible, passionate analysis of the music that shaped a crucial moment in British cultural history. 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... 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.