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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, music journalist Jude Rogers releases new book, The Sound Of Being Human, about the profound impact music has on our lives.
The Sound Of Being Human
Jude Rogers, an acclaimed and beloved music journalist and broadcaster who has interviewed music greats such as Paul McCartney, Adele, Dolly Parton, Debbie Harry, and Elton John in her career thus far. She explores in detail, and in a deeply moving manner, how music is interwoven into our lives from before birth to beyond the grave in The Sound of Being Human. White Rabbit will release the book in paperback on February 2, 2023.
The Sound of Being Human delves into neuroscience, psychology, sociology, fandom studies, and anthropology. It takes the reader on a journey through scientific and cultural research that is woven together with Jude’s own story about how she found her way through music as a young, grieving girl. It travels from her earliest memories of singing in a kitchen in post-industrial Swansea with her beloved grandma; at Wham! and Adam Ant assisting her in escaping her father’s death as a child; before music led her to gigs, festivals, and new friendships, to becoming a REM superfan.
She moved to London, where she co-founded a fanzine and began her career in music journalism. Music continued to be loud as she rode the rollercoaster of relationships, marriage, miscarriage, motherhood, and getting older, songs continued to accompany and support her.
The book looks at how music can shape different versions of ourselves and is organized around a track list of twelve songs, from ABBA’s “Super Trouper” to Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance” to Kraftwerk’s “Radioactivity” to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave.” how music provides us with consolation, revelations, and sexual and physical connection; how songs shape us, and how we shape them; how music helps us cope with loss and getting older; and how it can instantly link us to significant memories.
Jude Rogers
Jude, who was born and raised in Swansea, South Wales. She lost her father when she was five years old in 1984. This memory served as the impetus for the writing of The Sound of Being Human and is vividly recalled in the opening chapters. She and her father share a love of music, which has fueled her writing career, which has seen her interviewing her heroes and traveling the world.
Jude has interviewed Chrissie Hynde, who at the conclusion of an interview spontaneously painted her portrait in her North London apartment; Robert Plant, who serenaded her in Welsh while making her a cup of PG Tips in Nashville. She ate a Pret salad with Björk after she flew Jude to the United States, and did an interview with Justin Timberlake while she was on her honeymoon in the United States. Peaches led her through Berlin’s art galleries, Cold War memorabilia, and underground bars. She interviewed Marianne Faithfull in her Paris apartment filled with books and art; and Lady Gaga, who danced in her pants while feeding Jude whisky backstage at the O2.
Since 2003, Jude has written for the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Times Saturday Review, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, The Word, MOJO, Q, NME, The Quietus, and The Gentlewoman. She has also interviewed Damon Albarn, Billie Eilish, Michael Stipe, Laurie Anderson, Paul Weller, and the Pet Shop Boys for acclaimed documentaries on Radio 4, including the 2021 series ‘A Life In Music’.
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