ISBN: 9780802117830 - zappa: a biography (4 Ergebnisse)

Hardback. Zustand: Fair. Ten years after his death, Frank Zappa continues to influence popular culture. With almost one hundred recordings still in print, Zappa remains a classic American icon. Scores of bands have been influenced by (and have shamelessly imitated) his music, and a talented roster of musicians passed through Zappa's bands. Now comes the definitive biography of Zappa by Barry Miles, best-selling author of Hippie and Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, who knew Zappa personally and was present at the recording of some of his most important albums. Miles follows Zappa from his sickly Italian-American childhood in the 1940s (his father worked for the military and was used to test the effectiveness of new biological warfare agents) to his youthful pursuit of what was a lifelong dream: becoming a classical composer. Zappa brings together the many different personalities of this music legend together for the first time: the self-taught musician and composer who gained fame with the rock band the Mothers of Invention; the political antagonist who mocked presidents while being invited by Vaclav Havel to represent Czechoslovakia's cultural interests in the United States, and Zappa the family man who was married to the same woman for over thirty years.…

Zustand: Good. First Edition. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.…

Hardcover. Zustand: Very Good. Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Good-Very Good. First Edition. A biography of the founder of the Mothers of Invention. Edge wear to the DJ with .5" x 1" piece missing at the top of the spine. A very good copy.

Hardcover. Zustand: As New. Zustand des Schutzumschlags: As New. 1st Edition. First American Edition, 1st printing. 450pp. w/photos, Notes, Bibliography, Discography & Index. Bright, clean & tight copy, unread, in AS NEW condition." Pop culture biographer Miles paints an engrossing portrait of the musical genius who died of prostate cancer in 1993 at age 52. Zappa endured a peripatetic youth and an early brush with the law that fueled his trademark anti-authoritarian strain; his musical brilliance eventually transformed him from class clown into one of rock's major icons, with such landmark records as We're Only in It for the Money and Hot Rats. Miles skillfully weaves together the major beats and minor notes of Zappa's remarkable life, no small feat given the musician's many contradictions: he was a hard-rocking star, but also a meticulous, studious composer influenced by Varèse and Stravinsky; he despised drug use and the trappings of stardom, but he loved groupies. A virtuoso, a perfectionist and a shrewd businessman, Zappa alienated, sued or otherwise offended nearly everyone in his life at some point. Miles hits the ups and downs of Zappa's life like a skilled composer in his own right, and he captures the contentious eras (from the late 1950s on) in which Zappa's genius emerged. The result is a penetrating look both at Zappa and at the social and political milieu in which popular rock music stepped to the fore."--Publishers Weekly. "I really, really admire Zappa. He's at least trying to do something different with the form. It's incredible how he has his band as tight as a real orchestra. I'm very impressed by the kind of discipline he can bring to rock that nobody else can seem to bring to it."--John Lennon. "Zappa was my Elvis."--Matt Groening, the Simpsons. [jacket blurbs] Pristine hardcover w/brilliant corners & crisp edges, a square & tight binding, wrapped in an intact jacket. Quite presentable.…