The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an impressive impersonation of Bob Dylan
What is music for?
ANDY HEDGECOCK revels in an open-minded exploration of music that provokes reflection on the determinants of musical taste
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Here, Vermiglio, William Tell and Wolf Man
New releases from Thorpe and Morrison, Daria Kulesh, and Will Finn and Rosie Calvert
RINA ARYA confronts the brutal operation of Francis Bacon’s approach to portraiture
Emphasising his continuous engagement in labour movement struggles, ALISTAIR FINDLAY salutes John Foster’s contribution as activist, strategist, intellectual and defender of the Morning Star
ANDY MIAH advocates the use of AI to assist people by expanding access to global literature and culture
EWAN KOTZ relishes a veteran Glasgow band that have lost none of their verve for live performance
Listen (On Music, Sound and Us)
Michel Faber, Canongate, £20
MICHEL FABER has near-perfect recall of the lyrics and contributing musicians of Leo Sayer’s Just a Boy, an album he hasn’t listened to for 45 years. On the other hand, he forgets the names of outstanding artists he has heard more recently.
Listen is not a book of music criticism, nor does its author want to influence your taste. His focus is the psychology, sociology and phenomenology of our engagement with sound as a mode of expression.
More from this author
Two books and a film that examine cultural excavation and the impact of place on behaviour
ANDY HEDGECOCK invites readers to contribute short fiction to our arts pages, offers some guidance and picks a few favourites
ANDY HEDGECOCK explores the implications of a recent statistical study of music lyrics that highlights the role of monopoly capital in silencing complexity
ANDY HEDGECOCK is compelled by a novel that challenges the assumption that atomic science is pure, objective and politically neutral
Similar stories
Daring Scottish gothic, a murderer in their midst, the best spy story of the year and a classic list of clues
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes a novel by a dazzling prose stylist and a subtle player of literary games
Tony Burke speaks to music producer JOE BOYD about his new book, and his career promoting world music
ANDY HEDGECOCK explores the implications of a recent statistical study of music lyrics that highlights the role of monopoly capital in silencing complexity