Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir

Author: Cyndi Lauper

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

ISBN: 1439147892

Category: Biography & Autobiography

Page: 352

View: 634


Legendary singer, songwriter, actress, and activist Cyndi Lauper offers a personal account of the journey that led her to become an international superstar in this “moving story of an American musical original” (Kirkus Reviews). Icon Cyndi Lauper offers a poignant account of the journey that led her to become an international superstar—from her years growing up in Queens, New York, to the making of enduring hits like “Time After Time,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and “True Colors,” to becoming an actress, a mother, an outspoken activist, and maintaining a music career that has lasted more than thirty years. After leaving her childhood home at seventeen, Cyndi took on a series of jobs: racetrack hot walker, IHOP waitress, and, as she puts it, “gal Friday the thirteenth,” as she pursued her passion for music. She worked her way up playing small gigs and broke out in 1983 with She’s So Unusual, which earned her a Grammy for Best New Artist and made her the first female artist in history to have four top-five singles on a debut album. And while global fame wasn’t always what she expected, she has remained focused on what matters most. Cyndi is a gutsy real-life heroine who has never been afraid to speak her mind and stick up for a cause—whether it’s women’s rights, gay rights, or fighting against HIV/AIDS. With her trademark warmth and humor, Cyndi fearlessly writes of a life she’s lived only on her own terms, perfect for fans of Patti Smith’s Just Kids and Billy Idol’s Dancing with Myself.

How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids

Author: Jancee Dunn

Publisher: Random House

ISBN: 1473536790

Category: Family & Relationships

Page: 288

View: 5396


‘Clever, honest and hilarious . . . her book should become a baby shower classic.’ Publishers Weekly ‘Funny, honest and helpful.’ Grazia ‘Loads of useful, achievable advice.’ The Pool How did I become the ‘expert’ at changing a nappy? Jancee Dunn wondered. This, combined with a lack of sleep, a suddenly unfair division of household chores and her husband’s new found passion for very long bike rides, meant that Jancee found it hard to look at her well-meaning, clever, funny husband playing with his iPhone without feeling a white-hot rage. Like many expectant parents, they’d spent weeks researching the safest car seat but little time thinking about the titanic impact the baby would have on their marriage — and the way their marriage would affect their child. Tired of having the same fights over and over, Dunn consults the latest relationship research, solicits the counsel of renowned sex and couples therapists, canvasses friends and parents, and even consults an FBI hostage negotiator on how to effectively contain an ‘explosive situation’. Could it be that the person who got her into this position is the ally she'd forgotten she had? Funny, honest and actually helpful, this book can’t do the washing but it might just save your marriage.

Can't Slow Down

Author: Michaelangelo Matos

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 0306903350

Category: Music

Page: 480

View: 6925


A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020 The definitive account of pop music in the mid-eighties, from Prince and Madonna to the underground hip-hop, indie rock, and club scenes Everybody knows the hits of 1984 - pop music's greatest year. From "Thriller" to "Purple Rain," "Hello" to "Against All Odds," "What's Love Got to Do with It" to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," these iconic songs continue to dominate advertising, karaoke nights, and the soundtracks for film classics (Boogie Nights) and TV hits (Stranger Things). But the story of that thrilling, turbulent time, an era when Top 40 radio was both the leading edge of popular culture and a moral battleground, has never been told with the full detail it deserves - until now. Can't Slow Down is the definitive portrait of the exploding world of mid-eighties pop and the time it defined, from Cold War anxiety to the home-computer revolution. Big acts like Michael Jackson (Thriller), Prince (Purple Rain), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.), and George Michael (Wham!'s Make It Big) rubbed shoulders with the stars of the fermenting scenes of hip-hop, indie rock, and club music. Rigorously researched, mapping the entire terrain of American pop, with crucial side trips to the UK and Jamaica, from the biz to the stars to the upstarts and beyond, Can't Slow Down is a vivid journey to the very moment when pop was remaking itself, and the culture at large - one hit at a time.

Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]

Author: Peg A. Lamphier,Rosanne Welch

Publisher: ABC-CLIO

ISBN: 1610696034

Category: Social Science

Page: 1828

View: 4458


This four-volume set documents the complexity and richness of women's contributions to American history and culture, empowering all students by demonstrating a more populist approach to the past. • Provides significantly more detail than typical reference works on women's history and culture, enabling readers to better appreciate the contributions of women of all socio-cultural statuses • Covers the astounding range of American women's experience, including women of various economic and racial statuses, religious affiliations, political and ideological identifications, and sexualities • Includes a significant selection of primary documents, thereby combining the educational power of secondary and primary literature to create a richer learning experience for users

A Convenient Parallel Dimension

Author: James Greene Jr.

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

ISBN: 1493048252

Category: Performing Arts

Page: 361

View: 6026


“Rarely has a movie this expensive provided so many quotable lines.” So wrote Roger Ebert in his review of Ghostbusters, the 1984 blockbuster that handed our paranormal fears over to some of the sharpest comic minds of the day. Ghostbusters instantly resonated with audiences thanks to eye-popping special effects and crackling wit; to date, it remains the highest-grossing horror comedy of all time. The film spawned an Emmy-nominated Saturday morning cartoon, a tentpole 1989 sequel, a contentious 2016 reboot, legions of merchandise, and one of the most dedicated fan bases in history. Ghostbusters also elevated its players to superstardom, something a few cast members found more daunting than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Now, for the first time, the entire history of the slime-soaked franchise is told in A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever. The cohesion of talent during the mid-’70s comedy revolution, the seat-of-their-pants creation of the first Ghostbusters, the explosive success that seemed to mandate a franchise, the five year struggle to make Ghostbusters II, the thirty-one-year struggle to make Ghostbusters III—it’s all here, with incredible attention to detail. Thoroughly researched and engaging, A Convenient Parallel Dimension smashes long-held myths and half truths about the dynamics behind this cultural juggernaut and presents the real story, down to the last drop of ectoplasm.

Women Who Rock

Author: Evelyn McDonnell

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 0316558869

Category: Music

Page: 416

View: 9121


A stellar and unprecedented celebration of 104 musical artists, Women Who Rock is the most complete, up-to-date history of the evolution, influence, and importance of women in music. A gorgeous gift book, it includes a stunning, specially commissioned, full-color illustrated portrait of every musician and group. From Bessie Smith and The Supremes to Joan Baez, Madonna, BeyoncéAmy Winehouse, Dolly Parton, Sleater-Kinney, Taylor Swift, and scores more, women have played an essential and undeniable role in the evolution of popular music including blues, rock and roll, country, folk, glam rock, punk, and hip hop. Today, in a world traditionally dominated by male artists, women have a stronger influence on popular music than ever before. Yet, not since the late nineteen-nineties has there been a major work that acknowledges and pays tribute to the female artists who have contributed to, defined, and continue to make inroads in music. In Women Who Rock, writer and professor of journalism Evelyn McDonnell leads a team of women rock writers and pundits in an all-out celebration of 104 of the greatest female musicians. Organized chronologically, the book profiles each artist and places her in the context of both her genre and the musical world at large. Sidebars throughout recall key moments that shaped both the trajectory of music and how those moments influenced or were influenced by women artists. With full-color illustrated portraits by women artists, Women Who Rock will be THE long-awaited gift book for every music fan, feminist, and female rocker, young and old musicians.

Thank You, Goodnight

Author: Andy Abramowitz

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

ISBN: 1476791783

Category: Fiction

Page: 368

View: 6144


"Nick Hornby meets Almost Famous in this side-splittingly funny coming-of-middle-age debut novel about the lead singer of a one-hit wonder 90s band who tries for one more swing at the fences"--