Synopses & Reviews
THE BOY WHO CRIED FREEBIRD is compelling, humorously entertaining, creative, excellent "underground" music journalism and sonic storytelling from a fresh, evocative, and mature new voice.
Music storytelling has infiltrated contemporary pop culture with films like High Fidelity, Almost Famous and School of Rock, as well as jazz fantasies like Round Midnight and Geoff Dyer's collection of short stories, But Beautiful. In the past, esteemed writers like James Baldwin and Eudora Welty ably grappled with the form, as have modern novelists including Neil Pollack and Nick Hornby. Myers' speculative music writing echoes the revolutionary spirit of early Rolling Stone, Creem and Crawdaddy, as well as reflecting modern music journals like Mojo and The Wire. He combines fiction with traditional music journalism––artist profiles, liner notes and columns––to provide an entertaining and educational overview of 20th century music and popular culture. Myers' writing often touches on the age of rock artifacts, when music was experienced through vinyl albums, concert arenas, and underground FM radio.
In many ways, this is the real rock snob's dictionary, educating with attitude, but never surrendering the essential ingredients of delight and humor. Ultimately, THE BOY WHO CRIED FREEBIRD asks the musical question, "Do You Believe in Magic?" If you do, these stories will speak to you or people that you know.
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“Mitch Myers has an agile mind and a deft pen.” David Wally, author of NO COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL: The Life and Times of Frank Zappa and TEENAGE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN: Music and Politics in the Post-Elvis Age
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“...an insightful and entertaining look at popular music culture.” Publishers Weekly
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“Dr. Myers can tell a story...When you read his fiction, you understand the facts.” Bob BoilenDirector, All Things Considered
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“He is one of my favorite living storytellers.” Dave MarshAuthor of THE HEART OF ROCK & SOUL: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made
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“Mitch truly lives within the music.” Jason KoranskyEditor, DownBeat
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“...like an extraordinary jam session... a rhythmic nirvana that is as compelling as it is hilariously absurd.” Blogcritics.org
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“...you will love every page of THE BOY WHO CRIED FREEBIRD.” musicangle.com
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“Music journalism is a tricky animal to tame, but Myers proves hes got the touch ...” Booklist
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“Highly recommended.” Library Journal
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“Hes a stone soul groove with stories most supersonic.” Harp Magazine
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“The Boy Who Cried Freebird is a treasure trove for music lovers...Myers deserves high praise.” Associated Press
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“…Tasty musical goodness…Smashing.” Kirkus Reviews
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“Chicagos hyperliterate answer to Lester Bangs writes straightforward criticism in addition to trippy time-travel Grateful Dead adventures.” Time Out Chicago
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“Mitchs ‘Rock and Roll Fables are departures from the norm, alternately fresh, smart and unique.” Steve BloomEditor, High Times
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“[The Boy Who Cried Freebird] is a much-needed and very welcome collection. Chicago Sun-Times
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“A wonderful writer...[Myers] has a wide range of influences, and he riffs on them all.” St. Petersburg Times
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“Music fanatics will appreciate Myers expertise and imagination.” Booklist
Synopsis
Wedding the oral storytelling tradition in America with progressive music journalism, Mitch Myers presents an entertaining, instructive overview of the music and popular culture of the twentieth century—tales of history and imagination, if you will. He spoofs topics like record collecting, rock concert decorum, Sixties nostalgia, obsessive music geeks, Deadheads, rock in film, music journalism, and other related pop phenomena. Among his fables, "Back to the Fillmore" is a time-travel tale inspired by the New Journalism of Hunter Thompson and Tom Wolfe. "Tie-Die" is a rock and roll episode straight out of the Twilight Zone, and "The Mix-Tape Murder Mystery" is a whodunit in the classic mode of Dragnet and The Thin Man. Including many of the stories Myers has narrated on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, these pieces come in the unlikely form of glockenspiels, car songs, cowbells, classic rock radio, and his ubiquitous hero, Adam Coil. This is a collection of pop tales for brothers and sisters in arms, and for elders to pass on to the next generation. For anyone who believes in the magic of rock and roll, here is an engaging work that captures the essence of music and mystery in modern life.
Synopsis
Wedding the American oral storytelling tradition with progressive music journalism, Mitch Myers'
The Boy Who Cried Freebird is a treatise on the popular music culture of the twentieth century. Trenchant, insightful, and wonderfully strange, this literary mix-tape is authentic music history . . . except when it isn't. Myers outrageously blends short fiction, straight journalism, comic interludes, memoirs, serious artist profiles, satire, and related fan-boy hokum—including the classic stories he first narrated on NPR's
All Things Considered.
Focusing on iconic recordings, events, communities, and individuals, Myers riffs on Deadheads, sixties nostalgia, rock concert decorum, glockenspiels, and all manner of pop phenomena. From tales of rock-and-roll time travel to science fiction revealing Black Sabbath's power to melt space aliens, The Boy Who Cried Freebird is about music, culture, legend, and lore—all to be lovingly passed on to future generations.
About the Author
Mitch Myers is a writer, historian, and psychologist based in Chicago and New York City. His unique pop commentaries have been broadcast on NPR's All Things Consideredand published in a variety of journals, magazines, and websites. He also maintains the Shel Silverstein Archive in Chicago.