A Celebration of Bold Voices and Unforgettable Stories
At Rough Trade, books and music are intertwined, each telling stories that resonate with our emotions and shape our understanding of the world. Our Books of The Year list for 2024 shines a spotlight on the music-related books that captured our imaginations, from deep dives into iconic albums to the untold stories behind legendary artists. These titles explore the intersection of culture, creativity, and personal transformation through the lens of music, offering readers a mix of biography, history, criticism, and memoir.
This year’s list amplifies the voices and stories of artists like Radiohead, De La Soul, Kathleen Hanna, Blondie, MF DOOM, and more. We’re confident you’ll discover a must-read among our picks—each offering fresh, eye-opening perspectives that deepen our connection to the music we love.
Whether it's the electrifying journey of a music icon or the exploration of a genre-defining moment, our Top 10 books are a celebration of the voices that made the music—and the stories that make it unforgettable.
Colin Greenwood - How to Disappear: A Portrait of Radiohead
Hachette
Signed by Colin Greenwood, accompanied by an exclusive photo print photographed by Colin Greenwood. Housed in a cloth slipcase.
‘For years now, I’ve been taking fugitive snaps of my band, Radiohead. I’ve tried to catch out my friends with my small black Yashica T4 Super. They are so lost in their own moment of performance that they don’t see me with the camera.’ - Colin Greenwood
How to Disappear is bassist Colin Greenwood’s stunning portrait of Radiohead in his own photographs. Two decades in the making, he takes us on a journey into the heart of the 21st-century’s most influential band, a maverick collective who have vastly broadened our musical landscape while they dominate and distort it. On stage, backstage, in the rehearsal room, behind the scenes, on tour, at work and at play, Colin’s photographs, and the stories and memories they evoke for him in his accompanying text, form an intimate portrait of the musical and cultural iconoclasts as they travel through ‘our middle years: all the joy and doubt and confidence and uncertainty we would oscillate between’.
Marcus J. Moore - High And Rising: A Book About De La Soul
Harper Collins
A stunning cultural biography of De La Soul, the era-defining hip-hop trio that touched millions of lives and changed rap forever.
De La Soul burst onto the scene with the release of their groundbreaking 1989 album 3 Feet High & Rising, an “anything goes” hip-hop masterpiece hailed as a new masterwork from a bygone era of Black experimentation.
Completed in the wake of Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur's passing and the group’s arrival on streaming platforms after years in digital purgatory, High and Rising tells the story of one of the most influential rap groups of all time. In the process, acclaimed music journalist Marcus J. Moore braids in a deeply personal coming-of-age story about his journey through life with De La as a backdrop.
The first book about De La Soul, High and Rising shows that De La Soul is Black history, American history, world history, our history. This is a tale about staying the course, and how holding true to your virtue can lead to dynamic results.
Kathleen Hanna - Rebel Girl
Ecco Press
Legendary Bikini Kill and Le Tigre front-woman Kathleen Hanna presents a candid document of her formative years, the trauma and happenings which have fueled her revolutionary spirit and voice within the riot grrl movement.
Titled Rebel Girl after Bikini Kill’s biggest anthem, this autobiography strikes as strong a chord as Hanna's music, a raw reflection of dealing with and standing against male violence. The bleak moments are balanced with accounts of Hanna's most cherished moments and friendships with her bandmates Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren; Kurt Cobain; her introduction to Joan Jett and falling in love with Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys.
S. H. Fernando - The Chronicles of Doom
Random House
The definitive biography of MF DOOM, charting the reclusive and revered hip-hop artist’s life, career, and eventual immortality.
The man behind the mask. Acclaimed music writer (The New York Times, Rolling Stone) and author of The New Beats: Exploring the Music, Culture & Attitudes of Hip-Hop, S.H. Fernando dissects the creative force of MF DOOM. Drawing on his impressive hip-hop expertise Fernando embarks on an essential exploration of DOOM's personas, projects, tracks, and lyrics, resulting in a comprehensive portrait of the masked villain. Broken into five sections The Man, The Myth, The Mask, The Music, and The Legend and drawing exclusive interviews with those who worked closely with DOOM. This thorough account is superbly written and highly digestible. The words of a true fan and not just an academic, achieving an intimate approach to the biography.
William and Jim Reid - Never Understood: The Story of The Jesus and Mary Chain
Hachette
The story of The Jesus and Mary Chain by the two founding members.
Alcohol, drugs, and the pressure of success. William and Jim Reid impart an access-all-areas account of the journey of The Jesus and Mary Chain. A love letter to the Scottish working-class family, the brothers rewind back to the front room of their parents' East Kilbride council house and track the sibling politics of forming a band together from that moment.
A fully immersive style written with the help of music journalist Ben Thompson, Never Understood is highly revealing of the 80s music business, a brotherly feud comparable to Oasis, told with a modesty and honesty which makes it an easygoing read. A great rock biography for connecting the fans to their favoured artists.
Chris Stein - Under A Rock
Little Brown
Signed by Chris Stein and includes reproduction Blondie flyer and photo. Housed in cloth slipcase.
A no-holds-barred autobiography. Chris Stein lays all cards on the table in his straight-talking memoir, from his bohemian upbringing to epitomizing New York Cool with Blondie. The Blondie guitarist discusses the band's Parallel Lines glory days but also shares great detail on the lowlights, of this lifestyle; refusing to glamorize his battles with addiction or success the whole way through.
Jeffrey and Steven McDonald - Now You’re One of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross
Omnibus Press
Signed by Jeffrey and Steve McDonald.
Another family affair. Brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald aka Redd Kross unravel their wild rise to becoming one of the most important rock bands of modern music. Written with esteemed music journalist and true Redd Kross fan Dan Epstein, this is also an oral story of the early LA punk scene and Hollywood, with humorous anecdotes taken from interviews, illustrating the band's real personality. A memoir for the hardcore fans.
Tyler Mahan Coe - Cocaine & Rhinestones
Simon & Schuster
Hardback book signed by Tyler Mahan Coe
From the creator of the acclaimed country music history podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones, comes the epic American saga of country music’s legendary royal couple—George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
Illustrated throughout by singular artist Wayne White, Cocaine & Rhinestones is an unprecedented look at the lives of two indelible country icons, reframing their careers within country music as well as modern history itself.
Richard King - Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, A Life
Anthology Editions
Delving into Arthur Russell's mind-blowing eclecticism is an inspiring and uplifting endeavor. With Richard King's biography: Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, A Life we are provided with the best opportunity to better understand his mysterious works. This landmark publication curates the ephemera and documentation found in both Arthur’s and other private archives, featuring hand-written scores, lyrics, photos, letters drawings and original interviews with Arthur’s collaborators, contemporaries, family and friends. A striking portrait of visual evidence as well as oral history.
Daniel Rachel - Too Much Too Young, The 2 Tone Records Story
Akashic
In 1979, 2 Tone Records exploded into the consciousness of music lovers in Britain, the US, and beyond, as albums by the Specials, the Selecter, Madness, the English Beat, and the Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone was black and white: a multiracial force of British and Caribbean musicians singing about social issues, racism, class, and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and fought against rightwing extremism. It was exuberant and eclectic: white youths learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae, crossed with a punk attitude, to create an original hybrid.
Told in three parts, Too Much Too Young is the definitive story of a label that for a brief, bright burning moment shaped British, American, and world culture.