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The much-repeated quote, that writing about music is akin to dancing about architecture, has been attributed to many luminaries from the music world including Frank Zappa, Laurie Anderson and Elvis Costello. Whoever said it, and whether there's any truth to this assertion or not is unimportant - because reading about music can be, quite simply, a lot of fun. And if you have an interest in pop music that goes beyond listening to the radio occasionally, you'll be spoilt for choice by the number of books available to order online from retailers such as Waterstones and Amazon. There is such a wide scope of these books available that for the purposes of simplicity, we'll focus on the books available online from Waterstones. So without further ado, let's take a look at four of the best of these pop music books that can be purchased from the Waterstones website: 1. Rip it Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds Reynolds is a highly respected journalist amongst certain circles of music fans - and this is, by many, considered to be his finest work. Available in paperback from Waterstones, the book looks at the post-punk years of pop music, when the initial rush of punk had died down, leaving the window open for all manner of artistic innovators to make their way in. It traces the development of the genre from early luminaries such as Talking Heads to the New Romantic era of the 1980s. If you order this book from Waterstones and want to read more on the same subject, then you'll be pleased to know that one of Reynold's other books, Totally Wired: Post-Punk Interviews and Overviews is also available from the site. 2. Lost in Music by Giles Smith Giles Smith was once in a little-known DIY psychedelic pop band called the Cleaners from Venus. In this autobiographical work - available from Waterstones - Smith looks back on his time with the band, and also his own journey as he grew up obsessed with pop music. It's a highly personal and anecdotal account, but anyone with a deeper-than-average interest in pop music will find much to connect with - and laugh along with, too! Giles Smith is better known as a sports writer, so those interested in checking out some of his football writings should consider ordering We Need to Talk About Kevin Keegan from Waterstones. 3. Song Man by Will Hodgkinson Song Man is essential reading for anyone who's tried to write a song. Another personal account - this time of the author's struggle to write a song, having never even attempted it before - this book nonetheless takes a more journalistic approach than Smith's work. It's peppered with interviews with top songwriters such as Ray Davies, so is a great read for anybody that wants to get an insight into how the best songwriters go about creating their instantly-hummable melodies. Song Man is the sequel to Guitar Man, which looks at Hodgkinson's attempts to learn to play guitar. Guitar Man is also available from Waterstones online. 4. The Music Instinct by Philip Ball We're cheating slightly here because The Music Instinct isn't strictly a book about pop music. It's actually a science book - one of many available from Waterstones. What makes this book interesting for pop music fans, however, is the intriguing, detailed information that it provides about the way our brains process musical sounds. If you've ever asked yourself why humans listen to music, then you simply must order The Music Instinct from Waterstones! Pop music fans will find many great books to get lost in when they browse sites such as Waterstones and Amazon. This article looks at four of the most interesting pop music-related books available from the Waterstones website.
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