Tag Archives: music

An UnderratedRead Revisited: I Buried Paul – Bruce Ferber

Posted on September 6, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned This is the story of forty-nine-year-old Jimmy Koslowski and his uncertain life as a struggling musician. It starts off with his family, where his father is an orchestra leader, and his older brother is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Beatles, music, rock music | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited : Songs by Honeybird: Peter McDade

Posted on August 16, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) #CommissionsEarned “Find your focus and the story may write itself: music and drugs, race and gender, a tragic barn fire and a missing body. It’s all much more dramatic than one usually sees in a dissertation….” … Continue reading →

Posted in Revisited | Tagged friendship, history, music, philosophy, sexism | Comments Off

Song Noir: Tom Waits and the Spirit of Los Angeles – Alex Harvey

Posted on September 24, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned My first introduction to Tom Waits was in Jim Jarmusch’s 1985 film, “Down By Law”. I found him quite enigmatic, and as a singer/songwriter was drawn to his authenticity. While reading Song Noir, I realized … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Culture, History | Tagged beat generation, film noir, Los Angeles, music, songwriting | Comments Off

I Buried Paul: A Novel: Bruce Ferber

Posted on June 19, 2022 by J D Jung

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Our Best | Tagged Beatles, music, rock music | Comments Off

Songs by Honeybird – Peter McDade

Posted on March 27, 2022 by J D Jung

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Our Best, Romance | Tagged friendship, history, music, philosophy, Romance, sexism | Comments Off

Sins in Blue – Brian Kaufman

Posted on May 21, 2020 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) “Audiences like their blues singers to be miserable,” said Janis Joplin. Sins in Blue is a story of an unhappy bluesman who is rediscovered by a young college student trying to revive his career. Willie Johnson … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Historical Fiction, Jazz & Blues | Tagged blues, depression-era, music | Comments Off

Everybody Wins (Except for the Losers): A Record Store Day Story – Steve Murphy

Posted on September 21, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) In this digital age, you would think that record stores are a thing of the past. But this particular record store is full of passionate employees who love what they do. After all, their world revolves … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor & Satire, Modern Literary Fiction, Skinny reads | Tagged dark humor, music, novella, vinyl records | Comments Off

The Ghetto Swinger: A Berlin Jazz-Legend Remembers – Coco Schumann (Author), John Howard (Translator)

Posted on May 18, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I am a musician, a musician who was imprisoned in a concentration camp, not a concentration camp inmate who also plays some music. The camps and the fear fundamentally changed my life, but it was shaped … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Jazz & Blues, Non-fiction, Our Best, WWII | Tagged anti-antisemitism, Berlin, Germany, jazz, music, Nazism | Comments Off

Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way – Ryan White

Posted on July 4, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) There are so many interesting tidbits in this book about the life of Jimmy Buffett, but it is different than most biographies. It’s written by an outsider who has been fascinated by this man, since both … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs | Tagged Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, music, sailing | Comments Off