Best music books

What are everyone's favourite (rock) music related books?

I ask because I'm currently reading Chuck Klosterman's 'Fargo Rock City' which is a) absolutely brilliant and hilarious, and b) inspiring me to add to the queue by filling out the discographies of bands like Warrant and Cinderella. Very highly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in 80s glam/hair metal.

'Our Band Could Be Your Life' by Michael Azerrad is another favourite - any book with chapters on Minor threat, Husker Du, the Replacements and Mudhoney is well worth a read. I also enjoyed 'Night Beat' by Mikal Gilmore (brother of Gary whose eyes the Adverts sang about, fact fans).

What are everyone else's favourites - any recommendations?

'Our Band Could Be Your Life' is a good reference that i browse through from time to time.
'Confusion Is Next' (Sonic Youth) - haven't read for a very long time so i don't remember if it's good or not. goes up until the recording of 'Experimental Jet Set...' (which wasn't a particularly good album) so sadly misses Washing Machine, 1000 Leaves and the first SYR releases.
I also have 'The Dirt' (Motley Crue) which i just remember being more shocking than entertaining, and i have a pretty average Sabbath book which is very subjective.

otherwise, i read 'Shakey' (Neil Young) a few months ago and that was quite excellent. don't have a copy but bought one as a father's day gift. thoroughly recommended.

i'd like to get some books about Harry Partch (maybe Bitter Music or Enclosure III) just because he seems like an interesting guy.

Pete Frame's Rock Family Trees. Particularly the first volume.

And (predictably to those who know me) "This Is Hawkwind ... Do Not Panic".

Pushing the boundary slightly I will put up for examination "Bold As Love" by Gwyneth Jones, set as it is at a science fictional version of Reading Festival.

(Great topic :))
Aside from the obvious 'Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings' (R.I.P. Richard Cook) I think 'White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s' by Joe Boyd is pretty insightful.

And I love 'Get in the Van' by Henry Rollins and 'The Real Frank Zappa Book' by Frank Zappa (who predicted the mp3 revolution in the chapter 'Failure', paragraph 'A Proposal to Replace Phonograph Record Merchandising').

I'll add "Pink Floyd: Through The Eyes Of ..." by Bruno MacDonald which is rubbish for source info & verification of geek facts, but is a highly entertaining romp.

... oh and while I think about it, "Guitar" by Dan Morgan and "The Complete Saxophone Player: Omnibus Edition" by Raphael Ravenscroft. If you follow these manuals (and put the work in, of course) you'll be able to play guitar and saxophone (respectively) to performance standard. Well, they worked for me.

[www.amazon.co.uk] http://www.amazon.co.uk/f%C3%B6r-Metal-Loudest-Alphabet-Earth/dp/0975683403/ref=...
[www.amazon.co.uk] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Flies-When-Youre-Coma/dp/0452289777/ref=sr_1_2?s=bo...

and the staggeringly wonderful, completely useless, ultimate coffee table...
[www.amazon.co.uk] http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Known-Metal-Bands-Mcsweeneys/dp/1932416927/ref=sr_1_...

[www.amazon.co.uk] http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Wave-British-Heavy-Metal/dp/0954970470/ref=sr_1_1?ie...

Also a fan of Our Band Could Be Your Life. Some other faves:

Please Kill Me, Legs McNeil (birth of punk)
Positively 4th Street, David Hajdu (Dylan's early scene)
Dream Boogie, Peter Guralnick (Sam Cooke)
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, Lester Bangs
Robert Christgau's record guides to the 70s/80s/90s

I've used M.C.Strong's "Great Rock Discography$ but found it disappointingly inaccurate and incomplete compared (even) to Wikipedia.

remembered a couple more good ones:
'The Story Of Crass'
which you can download for free here: [www.ebook3000.com] http://www.ebook3000.com/politics/George-Berger---The-Story-of-Crass_40279.html
and 'Radio Birdman' by Vivien Johnson, which is largely written in the words of the band and has a lot of great anecdotes and gives an interesting snapshot of 1970s Sydney. excellent band too!

Reading "Girls To The Front" by Sara Marcus:

[www.amazon.com] http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Front-Story-Grrrl-Revolution/dp/0061806366/ref=sr_1_...

I'm a bid fan of the Riot Grrrl movement, and this is good so far.