Song Man
A Melodic Adventure, or, My Single-Minded Approach to Songwriting
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Song Man is the endearing sequel to Will Hodgkinson's Guitar Man, wherein our hero, having learned to play guitar (badly) in six months, endeavors to unlock the process of songwriting and ultimately record a single. Featuring pithy, humorous, and illuminating one-on-one songwriting lessons with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Ray Davies of the Kinks, Andy Partridge of XTC, Arthur Lee of Love, Chan Marshall of Cat Power, Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, and a host of others who run the gamut from unknown muses to cult icons to superstars-including Hodgkinson's lovable crew of ne'er-do-wells first introduced in Guitar Man -- Song Man is at once an investigation into the most ephemeral of arts and a highly readable journey of discovery.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hodgkinson picks up right where his previous and immensely entertaining Guitar Man left off. After learning to play the guitar and perform on stage in only six months, with the help of fret board luminaries such as the Smiths' Johnny Marr, Hodgkinson attempts to learn how to write songs and then get them recorded, although this time he gives himself a year to do it all. When his first songs are met by his friends with less than enthusiasm ("Are you going to sing 'Mystery Fox' to Hal David and Carole King?"), Hodgkinson seeks out various songwriters such as XTC's Andy Partridge who are more encouraging ("At least it's a good title"). One of Hodgkinson's most endearing features and one that his prose perfectly captures is his utter lack of fear. In his humbling, and enjoyable, musical journey, he's willing to talk with unknown songwriters as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber ("With perfect grace he found a way of agreeing with whatever inanity spewed from my mouth before explaining aspects of his craft with eloquence").
