A Cure for Gravity was originally published in October/November 1999 in the U.S. and Canada by Public Affairs/Perseus and in the U.K. by Anchor/Transworld. The North American paperback edition by Da Capo Press is now available. The UK edition, originally a trade paperback, was succeeded by the publication of a cheaper 'mass market' edition by Anchor/Transworld in early 2001. (Joe was not involved, consulted or even told about this edition, and thus had nothing to do with the glaringly inappropriate cover!) A German translation, "Ein Mittel Gegen Die Schwerkraft," has been published by Satzwerk Verlag.
Joe describes the book as "a book about music thinly disguised as a memoir." It traces his early musical career, from childhood up to his 24th birthday, which occurred in the same week in which he went into the studio to record his first album. Along the way, Joe talks about his passion for music of all kinds; how people make music and why; musicians past and present; why music is like both sex and religion (and why it isn't); why he loves Shostakovich and The Prodigy and hates Brahms and Brian Eno; and how music saved him from becoming "one of those sad bastards you see milling around outside the pub at closing time, looking for a fight."
Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award Finalist
"Part memoir, part discourse on the art of music... This is an intelligent, thoughtful look into the mind of an artist." - New York Times Book Review
"Honest, funny, wise and inspiring: tells you more about music and the love of music than a shelf-full of textbooks." - Iain Banks, author of The Wasp Factory
"Straightforward, self-effacing, and wonderfully detailed... Jackson is as adept on the page as he is between the grooves." - T.C. Boyle, author of The Road To Wellville, The Tortilla Curtain, etc.
"Clear, precise and often witty... Jackson certainly has the talent to be a literary star." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Wise, funny and honest... hugely informative on music and the ways of working with it, as well as how to stay true to your beliefs." - Sunday Telegraph (London)
