One of the coolest, and least promoted (and previously difficult to find) books I've come across is Too Hot to Handle: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Recording Studios of the 20th Century. Author Randy McNutt is a huge fan of classic American music and the regional studios that used to record the hits (and misses) of yesteryear. I recently stumbled across his Home of the Hits blog, and wanted to let others know that it's well worth visiting. Randy is dedicated to preserving the memories and history of the music biz, and importantly understands that it was the people and their vision that makes all of this so fascinating.
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The solution, clearly, is more dissonance
by Vijith Assar
It's not Idol, technically, but America's Got Talent and its dentally-impaired overseas cousin are still franchises helmed by Simon Cowell, who I think we can all agree has become somewhat of a figurehead for shitty pop music and...