Tonight the Music Seems So Loud
The Meaning of George Michael
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
He wrote one of the biggest hits of our age in ‘about an hour’ in his childhood bedroom.
He would go on to collaborate with some of the greatest musicians of all time, from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder.
He was a pop star who bleached his hair blonde, wore tiny shorts and, at the same time, critiqued his own image mercilessly.
He lived through the AIDS crisis and one of the most homophobic periods of British history and yet when he finally came out, he did so boldly and unapologetically.
Wham! were the first Western pop group to play in Communist China and he repeatedly broke boundaries in music too.
Ten years after his death, George Michael is still everywhere: the annual success of ‘Last Christmas’, new covers of his songs, and endless memes on social media.
Tonight the Music Seems So Loud is at once a kaleidoscopic portrait of one of Britain’s most beloved musicians and an account of a strange and turbulent period of British history. In his unconventional and enthralling book, bestselling author Sathnam Sanghera explores the connection between music and politics, exposes what secrecy does to the soul, and reveals how fame rots the sense of self. Throughout, Sanghera captures, joyfully and poignantly, one of Britain’s greatest artists in all his musical glory.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Novelist Sanghara (Empireworld) provides an expansive, thought-provoking reconsideration of British musician George Michael. Arguing that Michael has been denied the plaudits bestowed on contemporaries like Madonna or Prince, Sanghera embarks on a roving survey of his public and private life, covering his preternatural songwriting ability (he wrote "Careless Whisper" at 17); his controversial advocacy against the Iraq War, a stance he took "at significant personal cost"; and his refusal to be publicly shamed after being arrested in a Los Angeles bathroom in 1998 for a "lewd act" (a particularly courageous response given the "toxic" tabloid press environment of the 1980s and '90s). While the account's broad scope can make it feel overstuffed, Sanghera gives welcome due to the complexities of Michael's life, from his "mixed and changing feelings about being an LGBTQ activist" to his overwhelming perfectionism and struggles with drug addiction. Along the way, Sanghera also shines a light on less well-known corners of Michael's life, exploring how his upbringing as a child of a Cypriot immigrant father may have amplified his creative drive and openness to different types of music. It adds up to a worthy reassessment of an influential pop star.
