Recs if you like Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain...

Niche nonfiction, aka micro-histories!

i'm obsessed with explorations and extrapolations of music in nonfiction, both under a microscope of a certain band and the broader lens of a genre or culture. all of these books read to me or seem to be reviewed as love letters to the sounds they explore, from the personal to the historical. the digital to the physical (just like the books themselves!) mainly this is inspired by my hero hanif abdurraqib, who does it all with a poet's heart 🎧💓

This list is for books about understanding music in so many ways! From history to theory to neuroscience to philosophy, this list can offer a comprehensive guide to understanding music. Currently has a lot of books on Black Americans and their influences on modern music.

aka Oliver Sacks 'His approach was not to fit the patient into a syndrome or disease, but to examine the ways in which an individual coped and adapted in unique ways to different neurological challenges. He recognized every human being as an individual with their own strengths and dignity, their own ways of experiencing the world.'

I did too, but here's a list of books that have turned what I have often found to be a dry genre into readable and engaging text and narratives for me. Also includes, apart from 'strict non-fiction' (whatever that may be): essay collections and memoirs. (This is, of course, a limited list because a single person knowing everything would be rather catastrophic, so suggestions for more books fitting the bill are welcome in the comments, thanks!)