Broken Music

Zusatztext Sting's gift for prose and reverence for language! nearly the equal of his musical gifts! shine on every page. Even when Broken Music addresses the quixotic life of an aspiring rock & roller! it reads like literature from a more rarified time when adults didn't condescend to the vulgarities of pop culture. Rolling Stone You can't fault his scrupulous candor.A natural storyteller. London Sunday Times Sting mixes tenderness! sadness and humor in his narration! indulging readers with the same style of descriptive! pensive words that characterize his songs.Even readers unfamiliar with Sting's music will find the book compelling. Associated Press A beautifully styled! elegantly crafted and intelligent portrayal of Sting's own life[it] ranks on the highest shelf of literary debuts. Toronto Globe and Mail A first-rate memoirEngrossingWith writing that is both witty and refreshingly self-deprecating! this book has pleasures that extend well beyond interest in the man's music alone. People An engaging! lucidly written reminiscenceintellectually vigorouselegant and thoughtful. Entertainment Weekly Informationen zum Autor Sting Klappentext "Sting's gift for prose and reverence for language, nearly the equal of his musical gifts, shine on every page. Even when Broken Music addresses the quixotic life of an aspiring rock & roller, it reads like literature from a more rarified time when adults didn't condescend to the vulgarities of pop culture." -Rolling Stone Having been a songwriter most of my life, condensing my ideas and emotions into short rhyming couplets and setting them to music, I had never really considered writing a book. But upon arriving at the reflective age of fifty, I found myself drawn, for the first time, to write long passages that were as stimulating and intriguing to me as any songwriting I had ever done. And so Broken Music began to take shape. It is a book about the early part of my life, from childhood through adolescence, right up to the eve of my success with the Police. It is a story very few people know. I had no interest in writing a traditional autobiographical recitation of everything that's ever happened to me. Instead I found myself drawn to exploring specific moments, certain people and relationships, and particular events which still resonate powerfully for me as I try to understand the child I was, and the man I became.Music has always been my refuge from sadness. The guitar I inherited from my uncle John now has decent strings, and I'm no longer making the broken music that so upset my grandmother; in fact I'm making a lot of progress, but the limitations of my first instrument are holding me back. There are things that I simply can't do with this primitive heirloom. From the money I earned on the milk rounds I have saved up enough for a new acoustic guitar that I've had my eye on. It has been hanging from the wall in Braidford's Music Shop for three months now. I go and see it after school every evening, praying that no one has bought it. It is a beautiful steelstringed instrument with a blond finish, an ebony fingerboard, and delicate marquetry inlaid around the sound hole. It costs me sixteen guineas, which is a large amount of money, but I'm in love for the very first time. I first heard the Beatles in my final year at junior school. I remember being in the changing rooms of the swimming baths. Mr. Law had just supervised one of our chaotic and impossibly noisy trips to the bathsby supervised I mean that no one had actually been drowned. We were drying ourselves off and, as was our custom, flicking towels at each other's genitals. It was at this point that we heard the first bars of Love Me Do from a tran...

Autorentext

Sting is an award-winning singer, songwriter and human rights activist.

Klappentext

"Sting's gift for prose and reverence for language, nearly the equal of his musical gifts, shine on every page. Even when Broken Music addresses the quixotic life of an aspiring rock & roller, it reads like literature from a more rarified time when adults didn't condescend to the vulgarities of pop culture." -Rolling Stone

Having been a songwriter most of my life, condensing my ideas and emotions into short rhyming couplets and setting them to music, I had never really considered writing a book. But upon arriving at the reflective age of fifty, I found myself drawn, for the first time, to write long passages that were as stimulating and intriguing to me as any songwriting I had ever done.

And so Broken Music began to take shape. It is a book about the early part of my life, from childhood through adolescence, right up to the eve of my success with the Police. It is a story very few people know.

I had no interest in writing a traditional autobiographical recitation of everything that's ever happened to me. Instead I found myself drawn to exploring specific moments, certain people and relationships, and particular events which still resonate powerfully for me as I try to understand the child I was, and the man I became.

Zusammenfassung
“Sting’s gift for prose and reverence for language, nearly the equal of his musical gifts, shine on every page. Even when Broken Music addresses the quixotic life of an aspiring rock & roller, it reads like literature from a more rarified time when adults didn’t condescend to the vulgarities of pop culture.” —Rolling Stone

Having been a songwriter most of my life, condensing my ideas and emotions into short rhyming couplets and setting them to music, I had never really considered writing a book. But upon arriving at the reflective age of fifty, I found myself drawn, for the first time, to write long passages that were as stimulating and intriguing to me as any songwriting I had ever done.

And so Broken Music began to take shape. It is a book about the early part of my life, from childhood through adolescence, right up to the eve of my success with the Police. It is a story very few people know.

I had no interest in writing a traditional autobiographical recitation of everything that’s ever happened to me. Instead I found myself drawn to exploring specific moments, certain people and relationships, and particular events which still resonate powerfully for me as I try to understand the child I was, and the man I became.

Leseprobe
Music has always been my refuge from sadness. The guitar I inherited from my uncle John now has decent strings, and I’m no longer making the “broken” music that so upset my grandmother; in fact I’m making a lot of progress, but the limitations of my first instrument are holding me back. There are things that I simply can’t do with this primitive heirloom.

From the money I earned on the milk rounds I have saved up enough for a new acoustic guitar that I’ve had my eye on. It has been hanging from the wall in Braidford’s Music Shop for three months now. I go and see it after school every evening, praying that no one has bought it. It is a beautiful steel—stringed instrument with a blond finish, an ebony fingerboard, and delicate marquetry inlaid around the sound hole. It costs me sixteen guineas, which is a large amount of money, but I’m in love for the very first time.

I first heard the Beatles in my final year at junior school. I remember being in the changing rooms of the swimming baths. Mr. Law had just supervised one of our chaotic and impossibly noisy trips to the baths—by “supervised” I mean that no one had actually been drowned. We were drying ourselves off and, as was our custom, flicking towels at each other’s genitals. It was at this point that we heard the first bars of “Love Me Do” from a transistor radio in the corner. The effect was immediate. There was something in the sparseness of the sound that im…