As you well know, there are two halves that make up Backbeat: music and books. Some of our best-selling books are autobiographies and biographies about musicians…so we’re introducing a fun little series of musical and literary pairings! While reading a book about your favourite musician, why not sit back and spin some of their tunes at the same time? You may gain some deeper insight into their lyrics, learn something about their artistic process or maybe discover some new songs along the way.
We’ll recommend related books and records for you and top it all off with a fun fact.
We’re starting out with a personal favourite: Mark Oliver Everett. Also known simply as “E”, he is the cerebral, introspective and brilliant frontman to the band the Eels. While reading his autobiography “Things the Grandchildren Should Know”, why not intersperse it with his personal post-solo, pre-Eels album “KCRW Radio Special 9/25/1994”?
Alternately, you could pair the book with any Eels album of your choosing. We love all of them, but you could start out with “Daisies of the Galaxy” or “Beautiful Freak”.
Fun Fact: The Boss’ middle name is Everett, named after E himself. Yep, we love him that much.