Martin Bandyke Under Covers | Ann Arbor District Library

From John Bonham and Keith Moon to Sheila E. and Dave Grohl, the pulse of rock’n’roll—the drummer—finally gets its due in this unique, all-encompassing inside look at the history, artists, instruments, and culture of drumming. Playing a drum kit is hard, sweaty, demanding work. Yet instead of being showered with respect, drummers are often viewed with derision—stereotyped as crazy, borderline psychotic, or just plain dumb. But as every musician knows, to have a great band you need a great drummer: Ginger Baker. John Bonham. Chad Smith. Stewart Copeland. Mitch Mitchell, Bill Bruford. British journalist Tony Barrell shines a long overdue spotlight on these musicians, offering an exciting look into their world, their art, and their personalities. In Born to Drum, Barrell explores the extraordinary history of the world’s most primitive instrument and the musicians who have made it legend. He interviews some of the most famous and revered and well-known drummers of our time—including Chad Smith, Ginger Baker, Clem

West Germany after World War II was a country in shock: estranged from its recent history, and adrift from the rest of Europe. But this orphaned landscape proved fertile ground for a generation of musicians who, from the 1960s onwards, would develop the strange and beautiful sounds that became known as Krautrock. Eschewing the easy pleasures of rock and roll and the more substantive seductions of blues and jazz, they took their inspiration from elsewhere: the mysticism of the East; the fractured classicism of Stockhausen; the grinding repetition of industry; the dense forests of the Rhineland; the endless winding of Autobahns. Kraftwerk, Neu!, Faust, Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Düül II, Can—the influence of these groups’ music on Western popular music is incalculable. They were key to the development of movements ranging from post-punk to electronica and hip-hop and have directly inspired artists as diverse as David Bowie, Talking Heads, and LCD Soundsystem. Future Days is the brilliantly reported, deeply re

They hold a place in history and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They helped spawn jam bands and social networking. Just in time for the fiftieth anniversary of a band that changed rock & roll musically and culturally, David Browne’s So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead takes us deep into the world of the Dead in ways that will be eye-opening even to the group’s most rabid fans. By way of an altogether unique and striking structure – each chapter centered around a significant or pivotal day in their story – Browne, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone who has written extensively on the band for that magazine, lends this epic musical story a you-are-there feel unlike any other book written on the Grateful Dead. David Browne’s previous book Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970, was called “one of the most entertaining and informative books of the year” by NPR. The interview with David Browne was originally recorded on June 10, 2015.

Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don’t tell half of Cobb’s tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: “Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam,” one columnist wrote. When the Hall of Fame began in 1936, he was the first player voted in. But Cobb was also one of the game’s most controversial characters. He got in a lot of fights, on and off the field, and was often accused of being overly aggressive. In his day, even his supporters acknowledged that he was a fierce and fiery competitor. Because his philosophy was to “create a mental hazard for the other man,” he had his enemies, but he was also widely admired. After his death in 1961, however, something stra

During twelve unforgettable months, in the middle of the turbulent sixties, America saw the rise of innovative new sounds that would change popular music as we knew it. In his new book, music historian Andrew Grant Jackson chronicles a groundbreaking year of creativity fueled by rivalries between musicians and continents, as well as sweeping social and technological breakthroughs. In 1965 there was incredible music being made by an incredibly wide variety of artists, including the Beatles, the Temptations, the Rolling Stones, John Coltrane, James Brown, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Vince Guaraldi, Otis Redding, and dozens of others. Andrew Grant Jackson’s comprehensive coverage of this unforgettable year in music is a terrific, fascinating read. The interview with Andrew Grant Jackson was originally recorded on April 8, 2015.

George Hodgman is a veteran magazine and book editor who was worked at Simon & Schuster, Vanity Fair, and Talk magazine. His writing has appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Interview, W, and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications. A few years ago, Hodgman returned to his hometown of Paris, Missouri, for his mother Betty’s ninety-first birthday, for what he thought would be a brief visit. He soon discovered that his mother had lost her driver’s license and her in-home help, and desperately needed the assistance she would rather die than ask for. Despite his doubts and total lack of cooking skills, Hodgman left New York City and moved back in with his mother, facing the juncture that every son or daughter understands, the reversal of roles that rarely goes smoothly as a parent grows older and both struggle to hold on to what once was. Bettyville is an exquisitely written memoir about the complicated but deeply genuine love a son feels for his courageous, headstrong, vulnerable mother in the twilight of her

A nonprofit publisher of classic American literature, the Library of America was founded in 1979 and has published well over 200 hundred volumes by a wide range of authors, including Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, Flannery O’Connor, and Kurt Vonnegut. Geoffrey O’Brien has served as Editor-in-Chief at the LOA since 1988 and is also an accomplished poet, book and film critic, translator, and cultural historian. Bandyke spoke to O’Brien about three recently issued titles from the Library of America: a collection of Elmore Leonard novels from the 1970s (including Fifty-Two Pickup, Swag, Unknown Man No. 89 & The Switch); Art in America: 1945-1970 (which includes writings from the age of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art & Minimalism); and President Lincoln Assassinated! (which recaptures the immediacy of Lincoln’s assassination, the hunt for the conspirators and the nation’s mourning for the martyred president). The interview was originally recorded on January 21, 2015.

Martin talks to author Gareth Murphy about his new book Cowboys and Indies: The Epic History of the Record Industry. While music is an integral part of our daily lives, very little is known about the revolutionary men and women on both sides of the Atlantic who founded and shaped this enduring industry. From the invention of the earliest known sound-recording device in 1850s Paris to the CD crash and digital boom today, Murphy takes readers on an immensely entertaining and encyclopedic ride through the many cataclysmic musical, cultural and technological changes that shaped a century and a half of the music business. The interview was recorded on January 19, 2015.

Martin talks to internationally known artisan perfumer Mandy Aftel about her new book Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent. An evangelist for the transformative power of scent, Aftel explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, and make us fully alive. A riveting initiation into the history, natural history, and philosophy of scent, Fragrant also includes simple recipes for fragrances and edible and drinkable concoctions that reveal the imaginative possibilities of creating with – and reveling in – aroma. The interview was recorded on December 23, 2014.

Martin talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Rick Bragg about his new book Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, a biography about the wildest and most dangerous of the early rock and rollers. Lewis electrified the world in the 50s with hit records such as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Breathless,” then lost his place in the music world after the British press uncovered salacious details about his personal life. Lewis came back in the 60s to become the biggest star of country music, and is still electrifying audiences around the world. Lewis’s story is told in full for the first time in Rick Bragg’s new biography, which is full of incredible stories and anecdotes. The interview was recorded on November 25, 2014.

Martin talks to author Paul Trynka about his new book Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones. Former editor of the essential English music magazine Mojo, Trynka has also written critically-acclaimed biographies about David Bowie and Iggy Pop. His latest book focuses on the brilliant but deeply flawed musician Brian Jones, whose deep love of the blues and endless creativity in the studio helped give the Rolling Stones their distinctive sound. The interview was recorded on October 8, 2014.

Martin talks to playwright, essayist, and critic James Harvey about his new book Watching Them Be: Star Presence on the Screen from Garbo to Balthazar. With great perception and insight, Harvey explores how charisma is created in the movies, writing about Greta Garbo, Robert De Niro, Charles Laughton, John Wayne and many other stars, concluding with a strikingly moving passage about director Robert Bresson’s masterpiece Au Hasard Balthazar, whose star is a donkey! Hopwood Award winner James Harvey, who graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master’s Degree in English, has written a deeply personal and extraordinarily compelling account of the films that have changed his life and will also change yours. The interview was recorded on September 24, 2014.

Martin talks to Bill Morris about his long-in-the-works new book Motor City Burning. From the critically acclaimed author of Motor City, Detroit comes alive in a powerful and thrilling novel set amidst the chaos of the race riots and the serenity of Opening Day. Bill Morris is currently a staff writer with the online literary magazine The Millions, and his writing has appeared in Granta, the New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Popular Mechanics and numerous other newspapers and magazines. Bill grew up in Detroit and now lives in New York City. The interview was recorded on August 13, 2014.

Martin talks to award-winning author and journalist David Giffels about his new book The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches From the Rust Belt. For David, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Grantland, Ohio has always been home. He was born in Akron in the 1960s and has seen the once-thriving rubber and tire industry in his part of the country crumble. As a kid, he watched adults lose their jobs. As an adult, he's watched friends leave one by one. Yet a devoted tract of the population, David included, remains in the Rust Belt, committed to celebrating their singular Midwest culture and carrying it forward. David's insights ring true to us Michigan residents as well.

In this episode, Martin talks to author Murray Carpenter about his new book Caffeinated: How Our daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us. Caffeinated leads us on a fascinating, sometimes disturbing tour of America's favorite drug, with stops at the coffee farms of central Guatemala, a synthetic caffeine factory in China, an energy shot bottler in New Jersey, and beyond. A well-researched look at the additivie that flows under the radar, Carpenter delivers a compelling compendium of facts and figures on this largely unregulated drug. Grab a venti latte, Red Bull and/or Mountain Dew and enjoy!

Martin talks to award-winning music writer Holly George-Warren about her new biography of Alex Chilton, A Man Called Destruction. A thoroughly researched account of the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter's life and musical career, the book covers Chilton's time in the Box Tops, in Big Star, and eventually becoming an alternative and indie rock icon who influenced bands like Wilco, R. E. M., the Replacements and Yo La Tengo. George-Warren's book is also the story of the changes in Rock & Roll over the past forty years -- from the golden days of AM radio singles and Southern soul; to albums created as personal artistic statements; to the industry changes wrought by indie rock in the 80s, 90s and into the 21st century.

In this episode, Martin talks to legendary music journalist Lisa Robinson about her new book There Goes Gravity: A Life in Music. Robinson has interviewed the biggest names in music - including John Lennon, US, Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones, Eminenm & Michael Jackson - and is rightfully considered as rock journalism's ultimate insider. In There Goes Gravity she shares tons of informative and fascinating insights about her time spent on the road during her astounding career. She is currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, where she has produced music issues and written numerous artist profiles over the past fourteen years.

In this episode, Martin talks to New York Time culture reporter Dave Itzkoff about his new book Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies. "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!" Those words, spoken by the unhinged television anchorman named Howared Beale, the 'mad prophet of the airwaves,' took America by storm in 1976, when Network because a sensation. With a superb cast (William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch and Robert Duvall) directed by Sidney Lumet, the film won four Academy Awards and indelibly shaped how we think about corporate and media power. Itzkoff's fascinating book recounts the incredible story of how Network made it to the screen, and gives us an in-depth view of the man responsible for the film, the uncompromising screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky.

Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Martin talks to author Robert Gordon about his new book Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion. Not to be confused with the rockabilly singer-songwriter of the same name, Gordon has been writing about Memphis music and history for over three decades and is also the author of Can't Be Satisfied, King of the Road, and The Elvis Treasures. Respect Yourself tells the tale of the legendary Stax Records label in Memphis, where Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MG's, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett and many others recorded their greatest songs. A history which unfolds like a Greek tragedy, Stax went from the highest highs in the music industry to a tragic demise. You may already know the story of Motown, but you also need to know the story of Stax!

In this episode, Martin talks to University of Michigan graduate Joe Henry, the accomplished singer-songwriter and music producer, about his new book Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him. Written by Joe and his brother David, the book is a highly personal exploration into the life and times of the legendary comedian, a man who set the stage for the likes of Eddie Murphy, Louis C.K. and Chris Rock. Joe Henry also talks about plans for his next solo album, due out later in 2014, and shares his thoughts about the current state of the music industry.