Description: In his latest book, Greil Marcus, arguably the most influential music critic of all time, offers his most impassioned and intense essay yet. Steering clear of official history--encyclopedia entries, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, classic success stories--Marcus brings to the forefront 10 essential songs that, for their influence and how they have resonated throughout the decades, have surpassed a milestone of pop music. This book includes brief biographies of the songs' writers and performers and captures the essence of each pop entry--everlasting yet at the same time fleeting. Marcus's particular history of rock includes "Shake Some Action" by the Flamin' Groovies; "Transmission" by Joy Division; "In the Still of the Nite" by Fred Parris and the Five Satins, later recorded by the Slades; "All I Could Do Was Cry" by Etta James and, decades later, sund by Beyoncé; "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" by Buddy Holly; "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong, reinvented by the Beatles; "Money Changes Everything" by the Brains, years later redone by Cyndi Lauper; "This Magic Moment," written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and immortalized by Ben E. King and the Drifters; the experimental "Guitar Drag" by Christian Marclay; and "To Know Him Is to Love Him" by Phil Spector, which Amy Winehouse made her own nearly 50 years later. With his vibrant and beatnik-style spontaneous prose, Marcus gives a new music history lesson that demonstrates why pop music holds such great significance in our culture.
Review Quotes: "Marcus ingeniously retells the tale of rock and roll as the undulating movement of one song through the decades, speaking anew in different settings . . . brilliantly illustrates what many rock music fans suspected all along but what many rock critics have failed to say: rock 'n' roll is a universal language that transcends time and space and reveals all mysteries and truths." --Publishers Weekly, starred review, on the English-language edition