Maplewood Music Journalist To Hold Event At Maplewood Book Store

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Is there one song that means more to you than any other — perhaps because it reminds you of a certain person or time, or because the lyrics ring true?

Maplewood resident and music journalist Mike Ayers pondered this question for years. He decided to interview dozens of famed musicians to talk about the topic for his new book, which comes out Tuesday.

Ayers will host an event that day at Maplewood's Words bookstore to talk about "In One Last Song: Conversations on Life, Death, and Music" (Abrams Image; Oct. 13, harcover, $24.99).

According to the publisher, "Throughout the book, he weaves together their explanations with fun and beautiful illustrations that bring their words to life. Three special collaborations in the book include: Shea Serrano, bestselling author of Movies (and Other Things) and The Rap Year Book, rescoring ten iconic film deaths with better music; a Genius.com analysis about death euphemisms in song; and a heartfelt, ultra-personal foreword by My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James."

The book also has "interludes" about what song selection says about a person, scores for memorable television deaths; and more.

Contributors include Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Regina Spektor, Andre 3000, and dozens of others.

Ayers has been an arts and entertainment journalist and editor for outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Time, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, Billboard, and the Village Voice. He has been an editor at MTV, Rolling Stone, and the Wall Street Journal, and is currently the executive editor of Money.

Ayers has lived in Maplewood since 2011. He had graduated with a degree in sociology from Virginia Tech and got his masters from the New School in New York City.

He says he wrote a lot of the book in the early mornings at the Maplewood Starbucks, Liv Breads in Millburn, and Boxwood Coffee in Summit.

The event takes place at 8:30 and he'll be joined by best selling author Shea Serrano. Admission is $15 if you don't order a book, or free if you do. Register here: https://store.wordsbookstore.com/virtual-event-mike-ayers

For more information (and to tell Mike your last song!), visit www.mike-ayers.com.

Words book store is located at 179 Maplewood Ave.

More about writers and books in Maplewood

• To read a story about the autism friendly Words bookstore, click here.
• To read a story from last week about another Maplewood author, who just published a book for young adults about emotional abuse, click here.

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