Love Goes to Buildings on Fireby Will Hermes - Five Years in New York that Changed Music Forever

'A must-read for any music fan' (Boston Globe)

Crime was everywhere, the government was broke and the city's infrastructure was collapsing, but between 1974 and 1978 virtually all forms of music were being recreated in New York City: disco and salsa, the loft jazz scene and the Minimalist classical composers, hip hop and punk.

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith arrived from New Jersey; Grandmaster Flash transformed the turntable into a musical instrument; Steve Reich and Philip Glass shared an apartment as they experimented with composition; the New York Dolls and Talking Heads blew away the grungy clubs; Weather Report and Herbie Hancock created jazz-rock; and Bob Dylan returned withBlood on the Tracks.

Recommended by Nick Hornby, this fascinating and hugely inspiring book will be loved by readers ofJust Kidsby Patti Smith,Chroniclesby Bob Dylan,How Music Worksby David Byrne andThe Rest is Noiseby Alex Ross.

'Can literature change your life? Yes ... along came Will Hermes, who cost me several hundred pounds on iTunes and ruptured my relationship with guitars' Nick Hornby,Believer magazine

Will Hermes was born in Queens, in the city of which he writes. He is a senior critic forRolling Stone,and also writes for theNew York Timesand theVillage Voice. He was co-editor ofSPIN: 20 Years of Alternative Music.