Posted on: April 29, 2011 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Ever since Lester Bangs OD-ed in 1982, there’s been a massive void in the role of “well-known rock music journalist”. Neil Strauss, thankfully, has finally come along to fill that role well.

If there were any doubt after reading his legendary Motley Crue book The Dirt (not to mention the other rock bios he’s helped pen for Marilyn Manson and Dave Navarro), Strauss’s latest Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead, goes to show why every misunderstood rock star (and porn star) wants to work with him. He asks probing questions, but they’re asked for a reason and as a result Strauss, unlike most in his profession, is able to paint a much broader portrait of his interview subjects. It’s not always pretty, but it’s almost always interesting.

Everybody Loves You collects some of Strauss’s more popular, and in several cases just plain weird, interviews for a slew of different magazines. There’s the odd interview that takes place at the home of Jewel’s mom where the snaggle toothed one-hit wonder asks Strauss to climb into bed with her and the awkward interview with a clearly brain damaged Brain Wilson. And quite a few rockers who just come off as whiny (Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner) and… well, as just complete dicks (Prince), but quite possibly the best section of the book is a list of actual questions lawyers have demanded that Strauss get the guys in Motley Crue to answer before the book can be published.

Strauss is easily the best rock journalist working today. Need proof? Read Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead.

Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss/Paperback/544 pages/it! Books

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