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Mix Tape's History Remix

The Fail of the Music Industry

This summer I’ve been reading and reviewing books about musicians and the music industry. I read Twilight of the Gods by Steven Hyden and You Never Give Me Your Money by Pete Dogett. 

What do these titles have in common other than the music theme? Both books are about the industry and its downsides.

In Twilight of the Gods, Hyden writes about classic rock. Was Lou Reed, who was not a famous as other musicians more relevant than David Bowie. Was Nine Inch Nails, the Fragile, the end of the classic rock era? What is classic rock? Bob Dylan has a chapter. Rock festivals. 


Rock music has changed. Twilight isn’t a long thesis, but a series of essays, with the concept being they are parts of a longer album. The essays were really enjoyable. I can't say this was overly scholarly, but the author knows about the subject. There was more opinion than analysis. 

This wasn’t all about classic rock. He goes into Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Delta Blues, punk, country, disco, modern rock as well as Led Zep, the Stones, Beatles. Several chapters on the definition of classic rock. 

I enjoyed this from beginning to end, even the chapter on Phish.


The Pete Doggett book is another story about the end of the Beatles. I know several books have been done. Most come to the conclusion that Paul’s ego and/or Yoko Ono ended the Beatles. This has that, but there was a long simmering undercurrent for half the band’s career. The book starts in the mid-1960s when the Beatles were at their creative peak. There are early fights laying the groundwork. 


I think John Lennon comes off as the worst. Paul broke away from management and aspects of Apple, but John made it public. John was a hypocrite about being a minimalist auteur. He was very rich living in America to avoid taxes. 

George was hypocritical about morality and religion toward the end of his first marriage. 

Paul was hypocritical about wanting a band when Wings were treated as a backup band. 

Management lawsuits all over the book. Shady deals. Anger played out in public. It’s all here. 

The author also doesn’t care for any of their post Beatle work. Even though Wings had a lot of great songs, the author dismisses most of it. The author likes Lennon’s post Beatle work. I think this imbalance is unfair to some good songs. 

I learned a lot about the band and the artists and the management machinations that can ruin the artist. 

Here’s a link to the Dogett book:

https://www.amazon.com/You-Never-Give-Your-Money-ebook/dp/B003H4VYRE/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=peter+doggett&qid=1564314585&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

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