Music & Performing Arts from the 2016 Winter Newsletter

A treasure trove for Twin Peaks fans, this book bridges the gap between the original episodes and the upcoming season. It provides new clues about the original mystery, fresh insights into the characters, and features illustrations, documents, and photographs that supplement the story. If you’ve missed Agent Cooper, the Log Lady, Deputy Hawk, or any of the other wonderful characters from the original series, The Secret History of Twin Peaks will tide you over until the new episodes air.                                      —Jade

We all know we are living in the greatest era of television (though it has not had a very long history). We celebrate the great series, actors, and (to a lesser extent) writers, but how did we get here? David Bianculli, contributor to NPR’s Fresh Air and a TV critic for more than 30 years, attempts to answer that question with this history of the evolution of TV and exploration of  television’s key genres and those shows that have best exemplified and changed those genres.                                                           —Jocelyn

Marc Myers entertains on both a large and small scale, selecting 45 time-tested songs to illustrate the trajectory of American music through R&B, rock, and pop, beginning with the 1950s “jump blues” and ending in 1991 at the doorstep of grunge rock. For each song, he interviews those involved, creating an intimate portrait of the piece. With so much to discover, this is a treasure trove of American music or, as Myers prefers to think of it, an oral history jukebox.            —Melinda

If you, like me, love the amazing Young Frankenstein, you might think you know the film backward and forward. But did you know that Gene Wilder wrote the script with Mel Brooks? That the hijinks on film were more than matched off screen, and that the crew made do on a shoestring budget? Brooks’ classic wit and energy in telling the story behind the movie make it a must-have for any fan of Dr. Frahenkensteen.                                                                         —Jax

The Carol Burnett Show first aired on television in 1967, the year I turned five. For the next 11 years, Carol Burnett and her incredible cast—Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, and Lyle Wagoner—entertained me and the rest of the world with Burnett’s Emmy Award–winning variety show—a show that almost didn’t happen because network executives didn’t think a “girl” could host an hour-long comedy show. Burnett proved them wrong, and her new book is really a love letter to that amazing show. Full of personal stories about some of her favorite episodes and favorite guest stars, In Such Good Company also includes wonderful photos and excerpts from actual scripts. It is an inside look at one of the best—and funniest—shows ever on television, told by one of the funniest people on the planet.                     —George

Bryan Cranston traces his journey in life, from his impoverished childhood to his time now as one of our greatest living actors. With his gentle judgment, he focuses on the moments that forged him, telling vivid stories of his adventures and of the unique people he has met along the way. Underpinning this is the devotion he has as an artist to using his experiences to perfect his craft.  —Jocelyn

Simon Morrison uses the recent scandal and violence in Russian ballet to introduce us to the ballet, then takes us back to the 18th century and the first government contracts of Russian performance. He then brings us forward to the present day via in-depth stories and vibrant vignettes about the colorful figures who shaped the Russian ballet. Bolshoi Confidential takes not the idealized vision or techniques but the historical events, buildings, and most of all, the people of the Bolshoi, as subjects in this full-bodied history.      —Jocelyn

Here, for the first time, the Boss tells his own story, from growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, to becoming the brightest light on the mid-Atlantic bar-band scene, to finding monster success with the E Street Band. The struggles, the triumphs, the divorce, the deaths of band members—it’s all here. And not surprisingly, one of the greatest songwriters of all time is also an enviably terrific prose stylist. If you read one rock-and-roll biography this decade, it should probably be this one.      —Rico