The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

It took me a lifetime to have the courage and the clarity to write my memoir. I want to tell the story of the moments - the ups and downs, the triumphs and traumas, the debacles and the dreams, that contributed to the person I am today. Though there have been countless stories about me throughout my car eer and very public personal life, it's been impossible to communicate the complexities and depths of my experience in any single magazine article or a ten-minute television interview. And even then, my words were filtered through someone else's lens, largely satisfying someone else's assignment to define me. This book is composed of my memories, my mishaps, my struggles, my survival and my songs. Unfiltered. I went deep into my childhood and gave the scared little girl inside of me a big voice. I let the abandoned and ambitious adolescent have her say, and the betrayed and triumphant woman I became tell her side. Writing this memoir was incredibly hard, humbling and healing. My sincere hope is that you are moved to a new understanding, not only about me, but also about the resilience of the human spirit. Love, Mariah ...Show more

The Tap Dancing Knife Thrower: My Life -- Without the Boring Bits (HB) by Paul Hogan

$40.00 AUD

$45.00 (11% off)

Category: Movies

The icon and legend at last tells his story his way - without the boring bits Paul Hogan first appeared on our screens in 1971 as a 'tap dancing knife thrower' on channel 9's New Faces. The then father of four and Sydney Harbour Bridge rigger from Granville did it as a dare, but when the network's switc hboard lit up, he was invited back. So popular was he with viewers, Hogan became a regular on Mike Willesee's A Current Affair. The rest, as they say, is history. In collaboration with his business partner and best friend John Cornell (who played his sidekick, Strop), he went on to become Australia's favourite TV comedian. His hugely popular comedy shows and appearances in unforgettable and ground-breaking ads for cigarettes, beer and tourism, came to personify Australia and Australians here and overseas, helping to change the perception of who we are as people and as a nation. Then, in 1986, Crocodile Dundee, the movie he conceived, co-wrote and starred in, became an international smash, grossing more than a billion dollars in today's money and earning its star an Oscar nomination. Despite the fact Hoges claimed to be 'retired', many more movies followed, including Crocodile Dundee II, Lightning Jack, Almost an Angel and Charlie & Boots. But even as his star rose ever higher, he always expected someone to grab him by the arm and say, 'What are you doing here? You're just a bloody rigger!' The Tap Dancing Knife Thrower is a funny and candid account of the astonishing life of 'one lucky bastard', as Hoges describes himself. Full of countless stories never previously shared and told in the comedian's inimitable, funny and self-deprecating style, The Tap Dancing Knife Thrower is Paul Hogan's story told his way - 'without the boring bits'. ...Show more

Impossible: My Story by Stan Walker

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

An extraordinary memoir about family, love, belief, redemption and the power of forgiveness. Everything has a reason. Everything has a purpose. Stan Walker is one of the finest singers to emerge from Australia and New Zealand Aotearoa in a generation. When Stan won Australian Idol in 2009, he was thrown head-first into the deep end of the music industry. What followed were some of the highest highs, and the lowest of lows. Few knew about the darkness in Stan's past - the violent upbringing, the sexual abuse and the struggle to be more than just a survivor. Stan Walker: My Story is a personal reflection on life growing up in a family where love and violence were horribly entwined. It's a story about forgiveness and a journey to redemption. It's a tale of a young Maori boy from Tauranga finding his place on the world stage while never forgetting who he is and where he came from. Stan's is a story of survival against impossible odds. Abuse and addiction, poverty and excess, cancer and discrimination - Stan tells it all with startling honesty and insight, and with a wonderful sense of warmth and hope. It's an important and un-putdownable read. ...Show more

My Idol Years by Mark Holden

$29.99 AUD

Category: Music

From Carnation Kid and early pop stardom, to LA songsmith and actor, to producer and manager, to Idol judge, to barrister, Mark Holden's memoir is always startlingly honest, a unique portrait of the music and TV industries, of family and ageing in the public eye. In 2006 Mark had a premonition that 2007 was going to be his last year on Australian Idol and kept a revealing record of what happened behind the scenes. That diary provides a central thread in this hugely entertaining portrait of his rollercoaster life. Yet My Idol Years covers it all, including growing up in Adelaide, the Countdown years, and the wild side of making music and living in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It is a funny, warm and generous book full of stories about personalities including Elton John, David Hasselhoff, Molly Meldrum, John Paul Young, and of course his fellow Idol presenters. Mark also tells the story behind the Bobo the Clown incident on Dancing with the Stars, something that caused a media sensation at the time. But in what is arguably one the most candid memoirs in recent times, Mark isn't afraid to reveal his own vulnerabilities, failings and challenges, as well as the triumphs. Ultimately My Idol Years is a touchdown, both a celebration of the music and the entertainment worlds and a moving testament to the value of family, friends and the many lessons learned along the way. ...Show more

The Eagles by Ben Fong-Torres

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

Eagles: Take It To The Limit is the fascinating inside story of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, written by one of music journalism's most influential voices. Ben Fong-Torres was at Rolling Stone magazine when the Eagles were a cover story in 1979. He followed the band's career, interviewed t hem himself, and even played in the now-famous Eagles vs Rolling Stone magazine softball match. Filled with anecdotes and insights spanning almost 50 years, Take It To The Limit follows the Eagles as the band changed line-up, toured the world, made the best-selling album in American history, split up, and finally reunited. Fully updated in anticipation of their 50th anniversary, this is an exceptional tribute to one of the great American bands.   ...Show more

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox

$32.99 AUD

Category: Movies

A moving account of resilience, hope, fear and mortality, and how these things resonate in our lives, by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox. The entire world knows Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, the teenage sidekick of Doc Brown in Back to the Future; as Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties; as Mike Flaherty in  Spin City; and through numerous other movie roles and guest appearances on shows such asThe Good Wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Diagnosed at age 29, Michael is equally engaged in Parkinson's advocacy work, raising global awareness of the disease and helping find a cure through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the world's leading non-profit funder of PD science. His two previous bestselling memoirs,Lucky Man and Always Looking Up, dealt with how he came to terms with the illness, all the while exhibiting his iconic optimism. His new memoir reassesses this outlook, as events in the past decade presented additional challenges. In No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, Michael shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, aging, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality. Thoughtful and moving, but with Fox's trademark sense of humour, his book provides a vehicle for reflection about our lives, our loves, and our losses. Running through the narrative is the drama of the medical madness Fox recently experienced, that included his daily negotiations with the Parkinson's disease he's had since 1991, and a spinal cord issue that necessitated immediate surgery. His challenge to learn how to walk again, only to suffer a devastating fall, nearly caused him to ditch his trademark optimism and "get out of the lemonade business altogether."   ...Show more

Hamilton: The Revolution (HB) by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Jeremy McCarter; Simon Trewin

$75.00 AUD

Category: Music

A backstage pass to the groundbreaking, hit musical Hamilton, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, including the award-winning libretto, behind-the-scenes photos and interviews, and exclusive footnotes from composer-lyricist-star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country's origins for a diverse new generation. HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages--"since before this was even a show," according to Miranda--traces its development from an improbable perfor­mance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here. Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sond­heim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by Presi­dent Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don't throw away their shot. ...Show more

Thanks a Lot, Mr Kibblewhite by Roger Daltrey

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

Roger Daltrey is the voice of a generation.That generation was the first to rebel, to step out of the shadows of the Second World War ... to invent the concept of the teenager.This is the story from his birth at the height of the Blitz, through tempestuous school days to his expulsion, age 15, for vario us crimes and misdemeanours within a strict school system. Thanks to Mr Kibblewhite, his authoritarian headmaster, it could all have ended there. The life of a factory worker beckoned.But then came rock and roll. He made his first guitar from factory off-cuts. He formed a band. The band became The Who - Maximum R&B - and, by luck and by sheer bloody-mindedness, Roger Daltrey became the frontman of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.This is the story of My Generation, Tommy and Quadrophenia, of smashed guitars, exploding drums, cars in swimming pools, fights, arrests and redecorated hotel rooms.But it is also the story of how that post-war generation redefined the rules of youth. Out of that, the modern music industry was born - and it wasn't an easy birth. Money, drugs and youthful exuberance were a dangerous mix. This is as much a story of survival as it is of success.Four years in the making, this is the first time Roger Daltrey has told his story. It is not just his own hilarious and frank account of more than 50 wild years on the road. It is the definitive story of The Who and of the sweeping revolution that was British rock 'n' roll. ...Show more

Deadly Woman Blues : Black Women & Australian Music by Clinton Walker

$49.99 AUD

Category: Music

Deadly Woman Blues, stunning, original and brimming with life, is the first of its kind. Part art book, part comic book, part biography and fully deadly, it is a unique graphic history of the black women who made Australian music. Traditional Indigenous music, spirituals, vaudeville, post-war jazz, coun try, gospel, soul, R&B and hip-hop have been made and re-made by these legendary women, some household names, some forgotten, some totally unknown until now. In this album of portraits, the long-awaited follow-on from Clinton Walker’s classic Buried Country, more than one hundred amazing artists are reborn. It’s as if a long-lost set of bubblegum cards has been found and remade for us, now. Starring Georgia Lee, Nellie Small, Candy Devine, Wilma Reading, Sibby Doolan, Ruby Hunter, Marlene Cummins, Tiddas, Carole Fraser, Christine Anu, Jessica Mauboy, Emma Donovan, Shellie Morris, Leah Flanagan, Crystal Mercy and many, many more singers and musicians, Deadly Woman Bluesis a story full of tears and joy, always beautiful and heroic. ...Show more

Boy on Fire: The Young Nick Cave by Mark Mordue

$39.99 AUD

Category: Music

 The first volume of the long-awaited, near-mythical biography of Nick Cave, by award-winning writer, Mark Mordue. A deeply beautiful, profound, profane and poetic biography of the early formative years of the dark prince of Australian rock 'n' roll, Boy on Fire is Nick Cave's creation story. This is th e story of the artist first as a boy, then as a young man. A deeply insightful work which charts his family, friends, influences, milieu and, most of all, his music, it reveals how Nick Cave shaped himself into the extraordinary artist he would become. As well as a powerfully compelling biography of a singular, uncompromising artist, Boy on Fire is also a fascinating social and cultural biography, a vivid and evocative rendering of a time and place, from the fast-running dark river and ghost gums of Wangaratta, to the nascent punk scene which hit staid 1970s Melbourne like an atom bomb, right through to the torn wallpaper, sticky carpet and the manic, wild energy of nights at the Crystal Ballroom.  Boy on Fire is a stunning biographical achievement. ...Show more

Here Comes the Sun by Jeremy Oxley

$29.99 AUD

Category: Music

Jeremy Oxley was diagnosed with schizophrenia aged 22, at the height of his fame as singer of the popular band Sunnyboys. Terrified and in denial, he tried to hide his diagnosis from family, band mates and friends, who attributed his erratic and sometimes terrifying behaviour to drug and alcohol abuse. Following harrowing experiences with the woeful mental health services of the day, Jeremy took himself off his prescription drugs and self-medicated with alcohol, gradually alienating friends and family alike till he became a hermit living in a small town in New South Wales, shut off from any kind of life or support. A Sunnyboys fan, Mary Griffiths was a nurse who had been widowed for five years with young twin boys. After being shocked to discover how Jeremy was living, she and her sons determined to find him and help him. At their first meeting, Mary was able to see through Jeremy's illness and recognise signs of the sensitive, beautiful and frightened man within. Her boys instantly loved him and he in turn was immediately calm around them. Jeremy's willingness to get well under Mary's guidance was driven by a deep desire to have the things we all mostly take for granted: a loving family, security, and control of his health and life. Slowly, painfully, but together, Jeremy and Mary put everything into reclaiming his life and building a family. That struggle is told here for the first time by Mary and Jeremy, whose distinctive voices trace Jeremy's remarkable journey from darkness to the light, and from the depths of despair to hope and love. It will move and inspire all who read it. ...Show more

Loud - A life in rock'n'roll by the world's first female roadie by Tana Douglas

$34.99 AUD

Category: Music

 What goes on tour stays on tour - unless you're the the first woman roadie in the world At just fifteen, Tana Douglas ran away to the circus that was rock 'n' roll in the 1970s, taking a job with a young and upcoming band called AC/DC. While still a teenager she headed to the UK and later the US to wor k for a who's who of bands and artists. Life on the road was exhilarating, hard work, occasionally surreal but never dull, particularly when you're the only woman in the road crew and the #metoo movement is still 40 years away.   ...Show more