Greg Milner has written about music, media, technology, and politics for "Spin," "Rolling Stone," "The" "Village Voice," "Slate," "Salon," and "Wired." He is the coauthor, with the filmmaker Joe Berlinger, of "Metallica: This Monster Lives "and has also worked as a political speechwriter. He lives in Brooklyn.
"Perfecting Sound Forever "is an exhaustively researched,
extraordinarily inquisitive book that dissects the central question
within all music criticism: When we say that something sounds good,
what are we really saying? And perhaps more important, what are we
really hearing? "CHUCK KLOSTERMAN, author of DOWNTOWN OWL" Milner
tells the story of recorded music with novelistic verve, ferocious
attention to detail, and a soulful ambivalence about our quest for
sonic perfection. He shows how great recordings come about not
through advances in technology but through a love of the art, and
that same love is the motor of his prose. "ALEX ROSS, author of THE
REST IS NOISE" Milner's history begins with the Big Bang and never
quiets down, unpacking recordings by everyone from Bing Crosby to
the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a voice that's equal parts lay
scientist and used-record-store guru. It's ear candy of the highest
order. "WILL HERMES, coeditor of SPIN: 20 YEARS OF ALTERNATIVE
MUSIC" A brilliant history of sonic dreams, full of provocative
questions for any music lover: When you fall in love with a sound,
what are you hearing? Does a recording capture a moment or create
one? Milner makes these questions more fascinating--and more
unsettling--than ever. "ROB SHEFFIELD, author of LOVE IS A MIX
TAPE" [Milner] delves so deeply into the hows and whys of recorded
sound that you may never listen to Lady Gaga the same way again. a
gifted storyteller with an ear for absurdity Milner never loses his
grasp on the humanity behind the music; what fascinates him more
than decibels and dead rooms' is mankind's innate desire to
document and preserve itself. You might not think a book about
reverb could thrill. Milner's does. "Mikael Wood, Time Out: New
York" Exhaustive, technically precise and fascinating. "Marc
Weingarten, Los Angeles Times" Broad in scope and steeped in detail
Milner provides insightful commentary and possesses a solid grasp
of pacing and a light touch with the technical aspects. Milner
especially excels at revealing the human side of each story.
"Kirkus" A personal yet informative interpretation of recorded
music that will appeal to students and professionals in the music
industry as well as general music-loving readers. "Bradford Lee
Eden, Library Journal" Recording gadgets evolve with dizzying
speed, but debates over their effects on music never change,
according to this fascinating study of technology and aesthetics.
Milner combines a lucid exposition of acoustics and technology with
a critic's keen discernment of the pop-music soundscape. The result
is a real ear-opener that will captivate fans and techies alike.
"Publishers Weekly" Superbly researched. Milner's is by no means a
nerd's-eye view: this is fundamentally a human story. The fact that
the Red Hot Chili Peppers get a pasting is just one pleasure to be
drawn from a book that is less about the music we like than what we
may have sacrificed in pursuing it. "Metro.co.uk" Greg Milner's
Perfecting Sound Forever unravels the why and how with all the
juicy technological details in place. As deep as Perfecting Sound
Forever takes us into sound, it never devalues the allure of the
chimera that is the perfect recording. Milner is plenty aware of
his sphinxlike subject. "John Dugan, Time Out: Chicago""
""Perfecting Sound Forever "is an exhaustively researched,
extraordinarily inquisitive book that dissects the central question
within all music criticism: When we say that something sounds good,
what are we really saying? And perhaps more important, what are we
really hearing?" --CHUCK KLOSTERMAN, author of "DOWNTOWN
OWL""Milner tells the story of recorded music with novelistic
verve, ferocious attention to detail, and a soulful ambivalence
about our quest for sonic perfection. He shows how great recordings
come about not through advances in technology but through a love of
the art, and that same love is the motor of his prose." --ALEX
ROSS, author of "THE REST IS NOISE""Milner's history begins with
the Big Bang and never quiets down, unpacking recordings by
everyone from Bing Crosby to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a voice
that's equal parts lay scientist and used-record-store guru. It's
ear candy of the highest order." --WILL HERMES, coeditor of "SPIN:
20 YEARS OF ALTERNATIVE MUSIC""A brilliant history of sonic dreams,
full of provocative questions for any music lover: When you fall in
love with a sound, what are you hearing? Does a recording capture a
moment or create one? Milner makes these questions more
fascinating--and more unsettling--than ever." --ROB SHEFFIELD,
author of "LOVE IS A MIX TAPE""[Milner] delves so deeply into the
hows and whys of recorded sound that you may never listen to Lady
Gaga the same way again. ... a gifted storyteller with an ear for
absurdity ... Milner never loses his grasp on the humanity behind
the music; what fascinates him more than decibels and 'dead rooms'
is mankind's innate desire to document and preserve itself. You
might not think a book about reverb could thrill. Milner's
does."--Mikael Wood, "Time Out: New York""Exhaustive, technically
precise and fascinating."--Marc Weingarten, "Los Angeles
Times""Broad in scope and steeped in detail... Milner provides
insightful commentary and possesses a solid grasp of pacing and a
light touch with the technical aspects. ... Milner especially
excels at revealing the human side of each story."--"Kirkus""A
personal yet informative interpretation of recorded music that will
appeal to students and professionals in the music industry as well
as general music-loving readers."--Bradford Lee Eden, "Library
Journal""Recording gadgets evolve with dizzying speed, but debates
over their effects on music never change, according to this
fascinating study of technology and aesthetics. ... Milner combines
a lucid exposition of acoustics and technology with a critic's keen
discernment of the pop-music soundscape. The result is a real
ear-opener that will captivate fans and techies
alike."--"Publishers Weekly""Superbly researched. ... Milner's is
by no means a nerd's-eye view: this is fundamentally a human story.
... The fact that the Red Hot Chili Peppers get a pasting is just
one pleasure to be drawn from a book that is less about the music
we like than what we may have sacrificed in pursuing
it."--Metro.co.uk"Greg Milner's Perfecting Sound Forever unravels
the why and how with all the juicy technological details in place.
... As deep as Perfecting Sound Forever takes us into sound, it
never devalues the allure of the chimera that is the perfect
recording. Milner is plenty aware of his sphinxlike subject."--John
Dugan, "Time Out: Chicago"
“"Perfecting Sound Forever "is an exhaustively researched,
extraordinarily inquisitive book that dissects the central question
within all music criticism: When we say that something sounds good,
what are we really saying? And perhaps more important, what are we
really hearing?” —CHUCK KLOSTERMAN, author of "DOWNTOWN OWL"“Milner
tells the story of recorded music with novelistic verve, ferocious
attention to detail, and a soulful ambivalence about our quest for
sonic perfection. He shows how great recordings come about not
through advances in technology but through a love of the art, and
that same love is the motor of his prose.” —ALEX ROSS, author of
"THE REST IS NOISE"“Milner’s history begins with the Big Bang and
never quiets down, unpacking recordings by everyone from Bing
Crosby to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a voice that’s equal parts
lay scientist and used-record-store guru. It’s ear candy of the
highest order.&
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
