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Book Worm: Rian Ekky Pradipta; Learning about musical heroes
Kapanlagi
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Kapanlagi.com
Singer-turned-children's activist Rian Ekky Pradipta views reading as a luxury. As vocalist for Jakarta-based band d'Masiv, Rian said he only has time to read news headlines on a regular basis.
But he also said he is determined to instill good reading habits in his two-year-old daughter, Euralia Cassidy Rian.
'My wife and I decided to introduce her to books at an early age. We ' well, mostly my wife ' read to her every day, but we carefully pick the stories; we prefer folk tales to princess bedtime stories,' he said.
Rian, 28, said he recently picked up a collection of biographies of world musicians to complement his vintage vinyl collection.
'As a collector I have to have knowledge about everything about the records: the artists, the production process and the stories behind them. I learned a lot about musicians and the music industry from the biographies,' he says.
Chrisye: Sebuah Memoar Musikal (Chrisye: A Musical Memoir),
by Alberthiene Endah
The late Chrisye was a pop singer and
songwriter with a 40-year career who achieved fame for his stage persona
and smooth vocal delivery.
I grew up listening to his songs and
he's sort of my musical hero. The biography not only tells his life
story, but also where he sees country music heading today.
I also read John Lennon: The Life and many books on The Beatles and their contributions to pop music.
Not
that I'm a big fan, but Justin Bieber inspires me. I learned from his
biography, entitled First Step 2 Forever: My Story, that luck was not
the only factor behind his rise to fame.
1001: Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
by Robert Dimery
It's more than just a list of must-hear albums from the 1950s; the book provides insights about the tracks, socio-political context, critical reception and why the records stand the test of time.
This book is also my reference for hunting vinyl records at the flea market.
Lyrics by Sting
In this book Sting compiled all the lyrics from the first Police album, Outlandos D'Amour, up through his latest album, Sacred Love. The work also provides additional commentary on the lyrics.
It's fun to learn where musicians get their lyrical inspiration, because it helps me get ideas for writing my own lyrics.
' JP/Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
