Unusual Sounds: The Hidden History of Library Music

by David Hollander, George A. Romero (Foreword)

In the heyday of low-budget television and scrappy genre filmmaking, producers who needed a soundtrack for their commercial entertainments could reach for a selection of library music: LPs of stock recordings whose contents fit any mood required. Though at the time, the use of such records was mostly a cost-cutting maneuver for productions that couldn’t afford to hire their own composer, the industry soon took on its own life: library publishers became major financial successes, and much of the work they released was truly extraordinary. In fact, many of these anonymous or pseudonymous scores-on-demand were crafted by the some of the greatest musical minds of the late 20th century—expert musicians and innovative composers who reveled in the freedoms offered, paradoxically, by this most corporate of fields.

Unusual Sounds is a deep dive into a musical universe that has, until now, been accessible only to producers and record collectors; a celebration of this strange industry and an examination of its unique place at the nexus of art and commerce. Featuring original art by Robert Beatty and an introduction by George A. Romero—whose use of library music in Night of the Living Dead changed film history— Unusual Sounds is mandatory reading for anyone interested in this enigmatic field and its hidden but pervasive cultural influence.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Art

332 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah Jackson]

I've loved library music ever since I first heard an Alan Hawkshaw funky classic pumping out of the DJ booth in a Mod Nightclub in the late eighties. "Unusual Sounds: the Hidden History of Library Music" by David Hollander, is a wonderful record of the range and diversity of library music, from the UK, Europe and North America. I really like the interview style used to review various artists' work, and the forward by George A Romero (Living Dead fame) is second to none. The book is easy to read and includes wonderful book plates and images of various album covers and movie posters. If you see a copy, buy it.

[Koven Smith]

This book whoops a llama's ass. I've become quietly obsessed with library/production music over the last ten years, and have found myself frustrated at how little has been written about it. This book solves that problem--it is the definitive work on this subject. I would have been happy with a book even half this well-researched; I'm over the moon at what we got instead.

[Yisu Z.]

听了重轻的节目（S2E6），特地去淘来了这本书。Hollander从欧洲挖掘了一批被人遗忘，但又有趣Library Music。有乐手访谈，唱片封套、以及制作人的心声。LM可能集合了我所觉得的矛盾元素。没个性的音乐（也没有商业压力）恰恰给了许多乐手表达的可能。音乐工业下的一朵奇妙花朵。