Pockit Rockit Music Finder: 2.0

This is the best resource that I have ever seen for discovering music. It's a must have for everyone ranging from die hard music connoisseurs to the average listener. It covers a huge range of genres including classic rock, pop, jam bands, jazz, country and more. Such a fast way to learn about SO MUCH music!! It has opening me and my friends up to so many awesome artists that we would have never thought of checking out. It's just fun looking up my favorite bands and reading the informative, entertaining and concise reviews. From there you are linked to other artist's that you may like and on and on. It's like "choose your own musical adventure" and quickly you will have advanced your knowledge of music - It's just remarkable. Perfect entertainment for dinner parties, road trips, camping, the beach and an evening on the coach. If you want to discover more great music to listen to and need some guidance, this book is for you! It's a must have!!!!

The Pockit Rockit, quite simply, is an outstanding, unique, and groovy guide to music with universal appeal. Whether you are a music lover with little time to seek out new artists, or a music junkie with thousands of recordings, or a diehard devotee of a particular genre, there is something in the Pockit Rockit for everyone. The mainstream-to-very-obscure range of this "pocket"-sized book is extraordinary; Billie Holiday and Billy Joel share the spectrum with Van Halen and Van Morrison. The format is easy to follow, with helpful appendices. Most impressive is the author's deep knowledge of the musical universe and ability to clearly convey the subtle nuances of each artist; he is right on the mark. I have pretty diverse taste in music, and there are lots of artists here I had either never heard of or knew only vaguely that are listed under some of my long-time faves. For example, I am a big Led Zeppelin fan, and just checked out Captain Beyond (who?) based on the description ("the album flows seamlessly through razor riffs, funky beats, space excursions..."), and was blown away by it. I also recently gave copies of the Pockit Rockit as holiday gifts to friends and family members, including my 60-year-old father who (by his own admission) stopped actively expanding his music collection when he became an extremely busy professional and parent. Being a fan of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side...", he recently bought a recommended Genesis album, and is enjoying it very much. I also love the organic nature of the book; it is a fun and compelling read, and I now find myself referring to it constantly! Every music lover should definitely get their hands on a copy of the Pockit Rockit. Enjoy!

Ari Abramowitz has created an incredible reference guide. He introduces you to new and amazing music by creatively identifying influential singers/bands, and then based on your interest per these groups, suggests ten similar singers/bands who you may want to listen to. Lesser-known but talented bands like Mars Volta and Magma should thank him for generating such attention. Abramowitz's enthusiasm for music is evident throughout the guide. His language is very fresh and, at times, comical His descriptions of well-known bands may cause you to re-think their music. For example, Abramowitz describes Black Sabbath as, "Slow, dark, doomy, but surprisingly swinging, groovy and more positively lyrically than many may suspect." His objectivity can be seen with his description of U2, "One camp: Pompous and self-important. Other: Sweeping and inspiring." Abramowitz will introduce you to a new world of music, one that will positively affect your life.

Erudite and expansive but still roughly the size of a Zagat this book is a must have for anyone looking to expand there knowledge of great music. The best part of the Pockit Rockit is the way it's laid out, leading you to new artists through the ones you know and love. Running the gamut from the most mainstream (Say, Dolly Parton) to the wildly obscure (Exhorder), from Free Jazz and Prog-Metal to Hip-Hop and Folk there's no style of music or type of artist you've been interested in that you won't find a path to in this book. Weather you buy cd's and vinyl or download song online, the Pockit Rockit is an indispensable tool with which to enrich your love of music.

This book is great! I am a music nut (with over 1,200 CD's!) but over the years I have had less time to stay on top of what's new and exploring other artists. This book is my new shortcut and I have had it on my bedside table for a week. Basically, you find an artist you like either through the front "Core Artist" listing, or through the Index in the back. Flip to the page where the musical artist is and you'll find a listing of 10 - 12 other musical artists that the book thinks you might like. For instance, I looked up Iggy Pop and I recognized most of the "Artists you'll like" except for one: The Dictators. This was new to me, so I checked them out online and they are awesome! That's the way this book works, and they have artists from every kind of music, from classic rock, to punk, to jazz, to folk, to world music... I just wonder how big this book will have to grow over the years as more and more artists come out. Anyway, if you like music you'll really enjoy this book! I am getting a few extras for my friends for Christmas.