The Turn of the Screw – review
Northern Ireland Opera's production of The Turn of the Screw is, on the whole, a clear and thoroughly effective staging. There's a real buzz to this company, writes Andrew Clements
The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years by Greil Marcus – review
Greil Marcus's essay on the Doors and their music is as passionate and rewarding as you might expect – if you can ride out the stormier flights of fancy, says Sean O'Hagan
Bill Ryder-Jones: If… – review
Former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones delivers an exquisite solo debut inspired by an Italo Calvino novel, writes Paul Mardles
Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics by Jarvis Cocker – review
Faber's collection of Jarvis Cocker's song lyrics act both as a sort of diary for the Pulp frontman and a record of late-20th-century British life, writes Sarfraz Manzoor
Verdi and/or Wagner: Two Men, Two Worlds, Two Centuries by Peter Conrad – review
Peter Conrad's essay on the dominant musical forces of 19th-century Italy and Germany draws original, often surprising, parallels, writes Paul Levy
Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny, by Nile Rodgers – review
The Chic co-founder and legendary producer's life story is a fascinating romp through the great days of disco, New York, and American counter-culture, says Luke Bainbridge
The Man Who Sold the World: David Bowie and the 1970s by Peter Doggett – review
A song-by-song analysis shows how David Bowie embodied a decade, writes Christopher Bray
Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler – review
Former Dire Straits frontman and American musical colossus tour together, but do not share the stage
Twisting My Melon: The Autobiography by Shaun Ryder – review
Shaun Ryder's account of his life is colourful and candid but still leaves you wanting more, writes Kitty Empire
I’ll Be Your Mirror – review
I'll Be Your Mirror, sister festival to All Tomorrow's Parties, was co-curated by Portishead, and there were no complaints when the band closed both nights with a dose of their exquisite melancholy, writes Ian Gittins
Bob Dylan: Writings 1968-2010 by Greil Marcus – review
Mark Ford finds Greil Marcus's collection of pieces on Dylan both poetic and testy
Starman: David Bowie by Paul Trynka; Any Day Now by Kevin Cann – reviews
Two David Bowie biographies shed new light on the career of pop's greatest chameleon, but the man himself remains as elusive as ever, says Sean O'Hagan
I & I: The Natural Mystics – Marley, Tosh and Wailer by Colin Grant – review
A biography of the original Wailers – Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston – expertly charts the trio's impoverished beginnings and struggle for recognition, writes Neil Spencer
Geoff Dyer/Curios – review
This was a productive collaboration between author Geoff Dyer and jazz trio Curios as each helped illuminate the other's meaning, writes John Fordham
Paradoxical Undressing by Kristin Hersh – review
Throwing Muses singer Kristin Hersh's teenage memoir is all the better for having a former Hollywood star at its heart, writes Carole Cadwalladr
The Man Who Recorded the World: A Biography of Alan Lomax by John Szwed – review
Alan Lomax brought stars such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie to the world's attention. But, asks Sean O'Hagan, was he really the selfless pioneer that this biography claims?
Adamo: Little Women – review
Mark Adamo's 1998 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women will prove too sentimental for some tastes, but you can't fault the performances, writes Tim Ashley
Decoded by Jay-Z – review
Jay-Z's memoir is scrappy but it succeeds in demonstrating that he should never be underestimated, says Caspar Llewellyn Smith
Icarus at the Edge of Time
Royal Festival Hall, LondonBrian Greene's narrative in Icarus at the Edge of Time is neat, with the scientific points well made, and the film images mix fantasy with some realism. Yet it never gels as a concert piece, writes Andrew Clements
Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head by Rob Chapman
Myths grew up about the drugged antics of Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett. The reality was far more poignant, writes Sean O'Hagan
Animal Collective: Fall Be Kind EP
The leaders of America's underground scene end the year with a dose of panpipes and a nod to the Grateful Dead, says Kitty Empire
When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin by Mick Wall
Louis Pattinson blanches at this account of 60s rock excess by Led Zep confidant Mick Wall
The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave
The singer's second novel is a frenzy of sex and language - and it shows off his secret tender side as well, says Graeme Thomson
The World in Six Songs
A fascinating study, says Caspar Llewellyn Smith
Portraits of the artist
The collages that once adorned Louis Armstrong's walls capture the essence of the man, writes Stuart Nicholson
Can the man live up to the legend?
Review: Lowside of the Road by Barney HoskynsBarney Hoskyns valiantly searches for the real Tom Waits, despite the singer's relentless self-mythologising, says Tim Adams
Bourbon guerrilla
Who is the real Tom Waits? Graeme Thomson admires the finest attempt yet to unpick family man from boho myth
The flash street kids
A good nightclub needs its freaks. And this history of clubland eccentrics suggests they're back in droves, says Paul Mardles
Don’t Rhyme For The Sake Of Riddlin’
Welcome as Myrie's book is, it treats Chuck and Flav too gently
A freewheelin’ time
The holy grail for Dylan fans?
Kingston’s second coming
Review: The Rise Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture by Beth LesserA vibrant document of post-Marley Jamaican music delights Steve Yates
Bill’s found the magic number – and it’s 17
Bill Drummond's new book is both scholarly and funny. Paul Morley wonders what he's doing in it
Adès on Adès
A life in music, Thomas Adès: 'There was a bit of attraction and a bit of repulsion in these sour notes ... but I really wanted to find out why they hurt me so much'
What am I doing here?
Deft, unfathomable, intensely likable - Vampire Weekend, who tour the UK next month, have been hailed as the next big thing. Elif Batuman succumbs to the charm of a certain kind of pop music
‘I am not shy’
A life in music: Composer and conductor Pierre Boulez has endured poisonous rows on the new music scene and vilification in the press, yet he insists that disagreement is helpful