Underground: The Illustrated Bible of Cursed Rockers and High Priestesses of Sound

History, including rock history, is written by the victors—but what about those rockers who weren’t in it to win it? Le Gouëfflec and Moog’s English-language debut rolls out a spirited encyclopedia of iconoclastic musicians and groups whose artistic expression trumped commercial appeal, and who transformed and transcended their genre. The freewheeling anthology kicks off with a look at mid-20th century blind composer Moondog, “the celestial tramp... a great cross-pollinator who passed freely between worlds and took us along for the ride,” and rocks along to insightful snapshots of artists such as Sun Ra, whose self-proclaimed origin story was that around 1936 he was abducted to the planet Saturn. Aliens, the jazz musician said, entrusted him with a sacred mission: “you will speak and the world will listen.” Moog adapts his broad, minimalist style to fit each musician’s own idiosyncrasies, from the puckish playfulness of Jonathan Richman to the deadly solemnity of Nico, the lyrical poetry of Patti Smith, and the category-defying noise collages of Daniel Johnston. The creators’ infectious delight and deep appreciation for these brilliant weirdos comes across loud and clear. (Jan.)