Holiday shopping season loometh, and I wanted to make sure that when you go out to support your local, indie bookstore this weekend (because it is staffed by nice people and serves cookies and brings author readings right into your neighborhood and pays tax money to your city and state government) that you have a handy list of some of the most righteous music books I came across in the past year.

The 2014 list includes some older titles that I finally got around to this year, as well as some hot-off-the-presses music reads I loved. It does not include the Morrissey autobiography, now available in paperback, but here’s to you if you can slog through it. Heaven knows it made me miserable now.

And just to make your holiday shopping for your favorite music lit lover extra easy, I’m giving away a copy of Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man by Marcus Baram. This new biography charts the life of the cult musical genius who influenced everyone from Elvis Costello to Kanye to Prince. Want a chance to win? Leave a comment below with the name of your all time favorite music read. I’ll pick a winner at random next Friday, Dec 5 at 5 pm PT.

1.) Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s by Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein. Thirty-six songs representing ten years of music, replete with photos, insider stories, and “where are they now” section. Best when paired with an iTunes gift card so readers can download the three songs on the list that aren’t already on their iPod. Original review here.

Buy it for: anyone who first remove her reading glasses to fight you about who is the best looking member of Duran Duran, or wears her original black rubber Madonna bracelets with her yoga pants.

2.) Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Not just on my top music reads of 2014, but on my top reads overall this year. The book came out in 2013 so this is a late review, but I’ll make up with enthusiasm what I lack in timeliness. Even someone with zero understanding of rap and hip hop would come away from this book feeling informed, entertained, and above all impressed by Questlove, drummer for Jimmy Fallon’s house band The Roots. Pair it with a couple of Roots CDs and an Afro comb. Original review here.

Buy it for: anyone who’s a fan of Fallon but doesn’t know the Roots outside of that setting, and anyone who needs to be reassured that even famous people make fools of themselves if they meet Prince.

3.) Exile in Guyville by Gina Arnold. Part of the uber cool 33 1/3 Series from Bloomsbury that each focus on a single album, this short, sharp book about the impact of Liz Phair’s album on the local and national music scene is thought-provoking, with a feminist sensibility and a rock critic’s precision. How cool would a 33 1/3 gift basket look, showcasing their candy-colored book spines alongside some actual candy? Original review here.

Buy it for: anyone who lived in Chicago in the ‘90s or who thinks Taylor Swift is making a groundbreaking, like, totally feminist statement with her new album.

4.) Confidence or the Appearance of Confidence: The Best of Believer Music Interviews, from McSweeneys. A collection of interviews that originally appeared in The Believer, with people like Patton Oswalt, Miranda July, and David Eggers asking music and non-music questions of musicians from Pat Benator to Irma Thomas to Jack White. McSweeneys is transitioning from a for-profit to nonprofit, so your purchase of this book will go a long way in helping their mission to support literary “projects that take risks, that support ideas beyond the mainstream marketplace, and that nurture emerging work.” Original review here.

Buy it for: anyone who loves music but suffers from Short Attention Span Theater Syndrome. This is great writing in bite-sized chunks.

5.) Just Kids by Patti Smith. Another one pulled from the wayback machine, this memoir written in 2010 by Patti Smith chronicles her life-changing friendship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe in such beautiful prose that it could be regarded as a textbook for memoir writers. Smith’s honesty and artistic integrity leap out from the page, and the stories about her cohort of friends – Andy, Janis, Jimi, Bob – create a vivid picture of an important moment in American culture. Original review here.

Buy it for: anyone who loves good memoir or is looking forward to seeing Patti open for Pope Francis at the Vatican on Christmas Day.

6.) The Family Mix: Essays on Family Life from Midlife Mixtape – It’s my blog, did you think I wouldn’t at least mention my own book? This is a handy eBook compilation of reader’s favorite posts on the topic of family, as well as a few that were published elsewhere. When it’s Dec 24 and you still don’t have a present for someone special, a digital download of the Family Mix is the way to go. And it’s only $2.99.

Buy it for: EVERYONE! IN MULTIPLES!

Finally, an observation: the pace at which new, fabulous music-related books is coming out has picked up speed all year and, with only one review per month, I am buried in books and overwhelmed by possibilities. Here’s a short list of what I hope to get to soon, that you may also want to consider for holiday giving:

Remember: the revolution will not be televised.

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