Showing posts with label The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era now in ebook format!

On the back jacket of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999, I noted that many well-known music publications – including Billboard, the Grammys, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone magazine – have all put their stamp on best-of-all-time song lists. Then I claimed they all got it wrong. Well, at least a little wrong. As I said then, those lists all have some bias. With my book, I averaged lists from more than 100 sources to create a far more objective, cream-of-the-crop list.

The print edition of that book came out just over a year ago. Now Dave’s Music Database is proud to introduce the book in e-book format. The book is available through Lulu.com as a PDF which should be accessible through any e-book reader or without a reader at all! For less than half the price, you get all the content of the print edition and more! Check out links on every song page to videos, lyrics, and downloads. The annotated bibliography now includes more than 200 sources to which you can directly link via the e-book. More than 500 links in all. 140 pages. $5.99 in U.S. dollars.

If you prefer the print edition, you can purchase it through DavesMusicDatabase.com:

It is also available through Amazon.com.

Here’s what people have said about The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999:

“Music and lists are so subjective because what I think, what she thinks, what he thinks or what the 738,000 weekly listeners of the Fox think – there’s no real right answer…You need to check it out for yourself. It is an interesting read.” – Slacker, morning DJ for 101 The Fox, Kansas City’s Classic Rock Station

My Interview with Slacker

“It certainly must have been a daunting job to pick only 100 songs from such a broad timespan. There's plenty to debate and I'm sure your readers will bombard you with what you left out or the positioning of some of the songs....wink...Oh, be warned... I'll be ‘borrowing’ some of your factoids as well...You did a great job.” – Donald Riggio, author of Seven-Inch Vinyl

Excerpt from review on Amazon.com:
“I've never met Dave Whitaker personally but I consider him a friend. We started our Facebook pages at around the same time and somehow through the combined influence of extreme music nerdism and cyberspace we found each other. Unlike myself, Dave’s main purpose has been more studious and inquisitive. How else can you explain the mania behind gathering up lists from goodness knows how many publications, putting that data together to create a gestalt that makes more than a little sense out of a myriad of styles, genres, and biases? Ultimately though, this is a book for the common man and I don't use that phrase in jest. Every song here is not only well known but entrenched deeply within our culture…Congratulations Dave. You book is a triumph for all us music nerds.” – Michael Crawley, administrator for Facebook page Todays Song Is…

You can learn more about this book at thetop100songsoftherockera.com.

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Monday, May 21, 2012

My Interview on 101 The Fox

This page last updated 3/15/2021.

This year I’ve been determined to more aggressively market my books. In researching effective marketing techniques, I found plenty of mentions of radio interviews. They allow the writer to have free advertising, are quick and easy to do, and can hit a widespread audience. Also, radio stations – especially talk show formats – are always looking for content.

I’ve spent most of my life in the Kansas City area and one of the radio station staples from my high school years on has been KCFX 101.1 FM (“The Fox”). They originated in 1983, playing album rock. In 1985, they became the first classic rock station in a major market, playing artists from the late 1960s through the 1980s. In 1990, they switched frequencies with Carrollton’s KMZU, moving from 100.7 to 101.1 on the dial. That was also the year they became the first FM music station to carry play-by-play for an NFL team when they became the official home for the Kansas City Chiefs radio broadcasts.

The station, which is owned by Cumulus Media, is housed in an office complex in the Overland Park, Kansas area within walking distance from my house. Where better to start marketing my book, The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, than via the radio station in my back yard which I’ve listening to for more than 25 years?

I shot off an email describing the book and offering up a short bio. The program director shot the email to Slacker, the morning DJ. At their request, I brought in a review copy of the book and a couple more for giveaways. I sent a list of possible questions and within a couple weeks of the initial email, we’d booked a time for the interview.

Slacker, image from 101thefox.net

I went in Friday morning, May 18 and taped the interview with Slacker in the studio. We talked about a half hour about my book, our kids, and how radio has changed over the years. Sandwiched in between our chatting, we squeezed in a roughly five-minute interview. Slacker asked me how the book came about and ran down the top 10 songs from the book, asking for commentary on some of them. I had a blast. I felt more like I was talking to a buddy about music than doing an interview. I’m ready for more.

Click to play my interview with Slacker at 101 The Fox

As an added bonus, I came back the next week with my kids. I assumed they'd just get to see the radio station, but Slacker put them on the air as well!

Click to play my kids' interview with Slacker

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Reading at Boozefish: How to Spot Music Geeks

April 19, 2012: Rachel Ellyn (aka The Disfunctional Diva) and I did a reading at Boozefish Wine Bar in the Westport area of Kansas City. My selections were from various pieces I’ve written about music, tied together around the theme “How to Spot Music Geeks.” Earlier in the week, I posted my planned reading, but it underwent some transformation by the time Thursday night rolled around so I thought I’d repost. You can see the original post here.

My name is Dave and I have a problem. I am a music geek. This is a terrible affliction which may render its victims unable to have a conversation without slipping in bits of music trivia. Today I feel it is my responsibility to teach you “How to Spot Music Geeks.” If you know the warning signs, maybe you can help a music geek become a semi-functional human being who is a somewhat productive member of society. Please help – before it’s too late.

1. Seek them out in their natural habitats.
Music geeks can be found at concert venues and bars featuring local bands. They often hang out in basements downloading songs on the computer. Depending on their station in life, it may be in their mother’s house – even if they’re well into their thirties.

Once upon a time, the best place to find music geeks was in a record store. Sadly, the digital age has shuttered many a store, but some do still exist. Even those which have closed, however, still hold fond memories for music geeks. My first reading is taken from my in-the-works music themed novel Music Lessons from The Pit. While The Pit is a fictional store, it is modeled after my own fond memories of shopping at used record stores. Read the excerpt at the Writ by Whit Facebook page or read the full chapter from which the excerpt is taken.

“My advice is, don’t spend money on therapy. Spend it in a record store.” – German film director Wim Wenders

2. They take their love of music to obsessive levels.
Everyone can relate to having a favorite group or song, but Music geeks don’t just love music; they love it obsessively so. As evidence of the extremes to which music geeks will go, check out the title piece from my collection of essays, No One Needs 21 Versions of “Purple Haze”. Read the excerpt at the Writ by Whit Facebook page or check out the original post on the DMDB blog.

“Music is my religion.” – Jimi Hendrix

3. Music geeks believe if it sells, it sucks.
This reading is an excerpt of an article I penned for my PopMatters.com column “Aural Fixation.” In the piece, entitled “Waxing Nostalgic: The Mantras of the Music Geek,” I recounted some of the discussion between three friends over dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. Read the excerpt at the Writ by Whit Facebook page or check out the original article in its entirety at PopMatters.com.

4. They believe any advancement in technology is crap.
Within the “Waxing Nostalgic” piece, I also broke down the changes in music technology over roughly the last 60 years and showed how diehard music geeks have steadfastly resisted any changes to come along, preferring to faithfully stick to vinyl. Read the excerpt at the Writ by Whit Facebook page or check out the original article in its entirety at PopMatters.com.

5. They bore everyone around them with music trivia.
Think of music geeks as savants. They may lack the skills to carry on normal conversation or be functioning members of society, but they excel in one area – the ability to completely bore the average adult with incessant music trivia. The most severe cases even write entire books devoted to the stuff.

For my book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, I actually used a very objective method for determining which songs were featured. I aggregated hundreds of best-of lists along with chart data, sales figures, and awards to determine the top songs of the last half of the 20th century. Read a few snippets on the Writ by Whit Facebook page.

There is hope, however.
Even the staunchest of music geeks is capable of reform. They can learn to recognize that anyone’s musical interests are valid. Read the excerpt on the Writ by Whit Facebook page or read the original post on the DMDB blog. Also available in No One Needs 21 Versions of “Purple Haze”.

“Without music life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Dave’s Music Database: April 19 Reading

Dave Whitaker of Dave’s Music Database

Thursday, April 19, 2012, 7:00pm: I will be reading selections from my music books The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era and No One Needs 21 Versions of “Purple Haze” at Boozefish, a wine bar in Kansas City. For those in the Kansas City area, drop by! Here are the details as posted in the original Facebook invitation. For those who can’t attend or those who want a sneak preview, I am offering up a glimpse of the performance here. Enjoy!

My name is Dave and I have a problem. I am a music geek. This is a terrible affliction which may render its victims unable to have a conversation without slipping in bits of music trivia. We embarrassingly dress like we still think we’re teenagers – jeans and rock T-shirts – even if we’re well into our forties. We can be found at bars, concert venues, or in basements huddled in front of computer screens downloading songs. Today I feel it is my responsibility to teach you “How to Spot the Music Geek.” If you know the warning signs, maybe you can help a music geek become a semi-functional human being who is a somewhat productive member of society. Please help – before it’s too late.

1. Ways to Spot a Music Geek: Seek them out in their natural habitats.

Once upon a time, record stores were the easiest place to find music geeks. Sadly, many music stores have closed. My in-the-works music-themed novel tentatively titled Music Lessons from The Pit is tied around the closing of a music store. In 2007, “The Pit” could no longer compete in the digital age. As a last hurrah, the main character (Gil) and his college friends from the ‘80s are reuniting to celebrate their favorite hangout from 25 years ago. While driving there he plays songs from the era which bring back old memories. Think of this book as a sort of High Fidelity meets The Big Chill. The chapter, “Blue Monday”, introduces the reader to “The Pit.” Read it here.

“My advice is, don’t spend money on therapy. Spend it in a record store.” – German film director Wim Wenders

2. Ways to Spot a Music Geek: They often huddle in groups.

Music geeks often travel in packs, largely because of their inability to form normal relationships with everyday human beings. My second reading focuses on a dinner I had with three friends. I turned it into an article for my Aural Fixation column for PopMatters.com. Read it here.

3. Ways to Spot a Music Geek: They cannot go five minutes without inserting music trivia into conversation.

Think of music geeks as savants. They may lack the skills to carry on normal conversation or be functioning members of society, but they excel in one area – the ability to completely bore the average adult with incessant music trivia. The most severe cases even write entire books devoted to the stuff. It should be noted that music geeks don’t necessarily have any actual music talent.

“I haven’t understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it.” – Igor Stravinksy

Here’s what I say in the introduction of my book, The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era.

I couldn’t find middle C on a piano if my life depended on it. In instrumental music in 5th grade, I failed to grasp that the intent was not to saw away at all the violin strings at once. Even the recorder exceeded my abilities. Some people are born to play an instrument. Others are born to play the radio. I had no hope of ever joining a band, but would become adept at babbling about bands more than any normal human being would ever care to know.

For that book, I actually used a very objective method for determining which songs were featured. I aggregated hundreds of best-of lists along with chart data, sales figures, and awards to determine the top songs of the last half of the 20th century. As a sample, read here to see what I said about The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

4. Ways to Spot a Music Geek: Plain and simple, they love music.

This is the most universal aspect of the music geek. We can all relate to having a favorite song or favorite group. It’s just that the music geek takes it to dangerous levels. For example, check out the title essay of my collection No One Needs 21 Versions of “Purple Haze”.

“Music is my religion.” – Jimi Hendrix

5. Ways to Spot a Music Geek: They can be pretentious snobs.

One of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is to try not to attack someone’s musical tastes. Frankly, I think it is more dangerous than discussing religion, politics, and sex. Music is ingrained in who we are and to criticize one’s music is to criticize that person’s very soul. In that spirit, I wrote “The Styx Defense,” which is also featured in No One Needs 21 Versions of “Purple Haze”. Read here.

“Without music life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

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