The students in my MANAGEMENT class are enthralled by my stories of Sugar Hill Records and Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC’s crossover breakthrough on MTV, the marketing of gangsta rap, and the rise of multi-millionaire rappers like Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs. My stories are all based on The Big Payback with its almost Harvard Business School case-study approach to the business of hip-hop. Charnas covers four decades of the growth of hip-hop from the street corner to the board room. Plenty of double-dealing, violence, and deception surround these stories. If you even have a mild interest in this subject, Dan Charnas’ book is the mother-lode. GRADE: A

In 2001, Doug Adams was invited by Howard Shore to observe and document his writing of the soundtrack for Peter Jackson’s motion picture trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. Doug Adams is a Chicago-based author and musicologist. Adams attended recording sessions, examined the original scores, and was given total access to the composer’s archives. This book, a culmination of a decade of writing and research, illuminates some of the greatest film music ever written. The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films is an interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth as a musical quest. Adams’ book includes plenty of music examples, original manuscript scores, and an exploration of the process of writing film music with insights from the composer himself. Also included are a foreword by Howard Shore and a rarities CD. If you love The Lord of the Rings as much as I do, you’ll want this wonderful book! GRADE: A

Do you feel like your salary has stagnated? Do you feel like your economic situation has gotten worse? Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, in Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class says middle-class incomes have gone nowhere since the Seventies, but the Rich have had their net worth skyrocket. It’s not a secret. Federal tax returns that Hacker and Pierson use for their analysis show how things changed 30 years ago as the Government changed the rules to give advantages to the Rich. Operating like detectives, Hacker and Pierson follow the economic clues to explain the system that allows the Rich to escape taxation and regulation. How can hedge fund managers make billions of dollars yet pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries? How did the top 0.1 percent of Americans come to control almost 25% of the total wealth of the U.S.? Prepare to be enlightened and outraged if you read this excellent book. GRADE: A

When a cartoon movie is narrated as a flashback, you know most of the little kids sitting in the seats around you are Not Going To Get It. MEGAMIND tells the story of two aliens sent to Earth by their parents to avoid the destruction of their home planets (sound familiar?). One becomes a Superman clone (called Metro Man) with super-strength, the ability to fly, and X-ray vision. The other, the blue alien, only has his incredible intelligence as his strength. The blue alien, after being shunned by the other kids, becomes a Super Villain called Megamind. He has a cute fish called “Minion.” And, of course, there is an intrepid woman reporter, Roxanne Ritchie. I don’t know who the target audience for this movie is. Its exploration of identity issues is too complex for little kids. Teenagers are going to be bored by its traditional, preachy message. Adults (in the company of little kids) will Get It. Will Ferrell does a grand job as the outlandish Megamind. Tina Fey brings her predictable character to life. Despite its potential, this is a pretty average movie. B-

Subterranean Press has recently published this 616-page collection of Larry Niven’s short fiction. Larry Niven is best known for his Ringworld series of novels and his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle. But Niven is also a gifted short story writer and this collection amply puts his best work on display. If you haven’t read Larry Niven’s well-crafted fiction, this is the ideal place to start. If you’ve enjoyed Larry Niven’s work, this volume includes some stories new to you. Plus there’s the eye-popping Edward Miller cover! Don’t miss this one!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
* Becalmed in Hell
* Bordered in Black
* Neutron Star
* The Soft Weapon
* The Jigsaw Man
* The Deadlier Weapon
* All the Myriad Ways
* Not Long Before the End
* Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex
* Inconstant Moon
* Rammer
* Cloak of Anarchy
* The Fourth Profession
* Flash Crowd
* The Defenceless Dead
* The Flight of the Horse
* The Hole Man
* Night On Mispec Moor
* Flatlander
* The Magic Goes Away
* Cautionary Tales
* Limits
* A Teardrop Falls
* The Return of William Proxmire
* The Borderland of Sol
* Smut Talk
* The Missing Mass

The late, great Isaac Hayes, best known for the “Theme from Shaft” and his role as “Chef” on South Park, produced some innovative albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hot Butter Soul from 1969 only has four songs in it:
1 Walk on By 12:03
2 Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic 9:38
3 One Woman 5:10
4 By the Time I Get to Phoenix 18:42
You’ll notice the timings on those songs are loooooooong. But, that’s where the soul comes in. Backed by The Bar-Keys, Isaac Hayes croons his way through these lush arrangements. The first time I heard “Walk On By” done this way, so different from the Dionne Warwick version, I was stunned. If you’re in a soulful mood, or you want to be in one, listen to Hot Buttered Soul.”