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OneTrackMinds: True Stories about Life-changing Songs
Put your headphones on, close your eyes. Embrace the possibility of the life-changing power of music. And perhaps one of these songs will change your life too.
Music can inspire our greatest creations, salve our deepest wounds, make us fall in – or out of – love. It can also be a window into another’s soul. Based on the popular live storytelling series, OneTrackMinds is a collection of twenty-five compelling answers to the question, ‘What was the song that changed your life?’
Featuring pieces from a stellar cast of contributors including Peter Tatchell, Inua Ellams, Cash Carraway, Rhik Samadder, Ingrid Oliver and Joe Dunthorne, alongside some of the UK’s most exciting fresh voices, the book compiles many of the standout stories from the live show so far. Just as rich and varied are the songs themselves, by artists ranging from Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell to Aphex Twin and the Replacements via Tupac, Prince and the Spice Girls.
The result is an entertaining, enlightening musical guide to the best of what makes us human.
Music can inspire our greatest creations, salve our deepest wounds, make us fall in – or out of – love. It can also be a window into another’s soul. Based on the popular live storytelling series, OneTrackMinds is a collection of twenty-five compelling answers to the question, ‘What was the song that changed your life?’
Featuring pieces from a stellar cast of contributors including Peter Tatchell, Inua Ellams, Cash Carraway, Rhik Samadder, Ingrid Oliver and Joe Dunthorne, alongside some of the UK’s most exciting fresh voices, the book compiles many of the standout stories from the live show so far. Just as rich and varied are the songs themselves, by artists ranging from Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell to Aphex Twin and the Replacements via Tupac, Prince and the Spice Girls.
The result is an entertaining, enlightening musical guide to the best of what makes us human.
199 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 23, 2022
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 7, 2022
Really fascinating book. Interesting to hear the stories of why a song means so much to someone. Quite an eclectic mix of songs as well.
January 10, 2023
This book is essentially a fantastic collection of life stories, set to music. There is such a diverse range of people and stories here that there is something for everyone. I found myself both laughing and crying!
It’s also a great way to discover new songs, as there are QR codes throughout the book and an accompanying playlist, too.
Highly recommended.
It’s also a great way to discover new songs, as there are QR codes throughout the book and an accompanying playlist, too.
Highly recommended.
March 24, 2024
The book One Track Minds – True Stories about Life-Changing Songs originated as a live show, where writers, musicians and creatives discussed a life-changing and epoch-altering song that they heard and the impact it had on them.
With writers such as Inua Ellams, Joe Dunthorne, Stella Duffy, and many others the songs are a rich variety, ranging from pop to blues, jazz and even more outré faire.
Music is a universal force, linking people and generations, where one song can speak for a whole generation, and change how a musician or a writer views the world. It is a bijou version of Desert Island Discs, with more given to one song than to the eight we are more used to on Radio 4.
The book is a good variety of experiences, with both music and the acts that a song inspired in the subject. So, we have chapters that encompass Leicester and the video nasties boom, then we have stories about AHA’s video for Take on Me, or the heavy metal becoming entranced by the sound and very individual style of Daniel Johnston.
The individual chapters in the book are only short, with many being only 5 or so pages long. There would have been time for a longer discussion during the live shows, and the edited versions perhaps don’t show the emotion that a live show would bring, with ad-libs and ideas built upon as the conversation progresses.
The fact that there are QR codes on every song, with which the reader can access the songs is also a good thing and allows for the discovery of new music, as well as new ideas, writers, people and ways of looking at the world.
With writers such as Inua Ellams, Joe Dunthorne, Stella Duffy, and many others the songs are a rich variety, ranging from pop to blues, jazz and even more outré faire.
Music is a universal force, linking people and generations, where one song can speak for a whole generation, and change how a musician or a writer views the world. It is a bijou version of Desert Island Discs, with more given to one song than to the eight we are more used to on Radio 4.
The book is a good variety of experiences, with both music and the acts that a song inspired in the subject. So, we have chapters that encompass Leicester and the video nasties boom, then we have stories about AHA’s video for Take on Me, or the heavy metal becoming entranced by the sound and very individual style of Daniel Johnston.
The individual chapters in the book are only short, with many being only 5 or so pages long. There would have been time for a longer discussion during the live shows, and the edited versions perhaps don’t show the emotion that a live show would bring, with ad-libs and ideas built upon as the conversation progresses.
The fact that there are QR codes on every song, with which the reader can access the songs is also a good thing and allows for the discovery of new music, as well as new ideas, writers, people and ways of looking at the world.
January 20, 2023
Fascinating read. 'OneTrackMinds' is an English radio show in which famous Brits present one song that is linked to a transition in their lives. Apart from some writers (Patrick Gale, Stella Duffy) these persons were all unknown to me, as they seem to thank their level of fame to English-speaking stages and screens. A simple yet highly effective idea that must have sprung in the minds of more than one editor, but Brodie and Shakinovsky did it. It inspired me to research and write about similar subjects, which will pop up on my Facebook-page in the coming weeks. Feel free to read and participate.
July 6, 2022
Ok so I may be partly biased because my brother-in-law Kristian is the genius behind this whole show and book, as well as my niece Miranda being the artist! So I must love it. But it is also an amazing idea, I was in tears and in fits of laughter, both at the stories and at the songs which went with them. They are short so I gobbled them up, but there are some amazing tales of bravery, sadness, and joy which bring you so close to the storyteller as well. Thank you guys for this amazing work!
December 14, 2023
Great idea and probably better live. Didn't love the stories though some were great. Too much hyper specific UK references for the American reader.
August 8, 2022
Made me laugh, cry, think… I like the experience of reading and stories with music.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews