Given the paint-by-numbers memoirs that are being churned out at an alarming rate lately by rock stars that reveal just about nothing, it’s refreshing to read a collection of essays by a little known indie folk singer who reveals more about herself via humor than the recent works of Belinda Carlisle, Vince Neil and Scott Wieland combined. In You Must Go and Win, Alina Simone opens up about her childhood…
In a period where the visual is key and a band gains followers based on the sound that they generate, creating a behind the scenes book for your project does not necessarily seem to be the most prudent course of action. However, Lamb of God has done just that with “The Making of New American Gospel”, a full tome of information, tabs, and even further education about the nuanced playing…
Those looking for unpublished secrets about AC/DC or even just a basic backgrounder about Australia’s loudest export are bound to be let down if that’s their sole reason for picking up Rocker’s and Rollers. Yes, Johnson is the front man of the phenomenal successful hard rock band and you know he has a slew of backstage stories that would make Motley Crue’s Dirt read like a Judy Blume book in…
It was a little over a year ago when I first picked up a copy of Pat’s book, ‘Name of the Wind,’ the first book of his fantasy trilogy. At first, I was reluctant to give a new author a chance. I had been a long time fan of a number of writers, and had a pile of their works collecting dust on shelves, or hidden in bins. A new…
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,…
T.J. English has written, quite possibly, the most compelling historical fictional of the year. The only catch is that it all really happened. With the story telling-style that could rival any bestseller fiction author currently battling it out on the sales charts right now, English uses a reporter’s eye to pull in the most fantastical and interesting details of a racially-charged New York city in the 60’s and 70’s in…
Sammy Hagar may have miscalculated a bit if he was looking to bolster his aw shucks good guy reputation with his just-released memoir. Before the book came out he was pretty much a clean slate, with many having little or no opinion about the red rocker. Sure he got dinged a bit for stepping into David Lee Roth’s shoes, but contrary to popular belief, he was a far better songwriter…
The 90’s were a bad time for books by comedians. Apparently you were handed a publishing contact as soon as one of the networks picked up your sitcom, which explained such dreadful books that lined the clearance table by folks like Tim Allen and Drew Carey. Now that someone has obviously shut down the pipeline between the comedy clubs and paint-by-number sitcoms, it looks like publishing houses are finally showing…
Though it takes nearly half the book to draw out complete sketches of the main characters, in The Intimates, first time novelist Ralph Sassone has created two of the most compelling characters in years.
Humorist David Sedaris manages to fill in the animal characters in his latest collection of short stories with more color and facets than many fiction writers devote to their human characters. Despite being a series of short stories being told by animals, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk is actually pretty much what you’ve come to expect from Sedaris, via his New Yorker essays, NPR stories and collection of autobiographical writings. Filled with…
For those about to rock… might want to pick up this bio/coffee table book on AC/DC. There have been few rock bands as polarizing as AC/DC that have managed to stay relevant across three decades. Call them juvenile, sophomoric, three-chord rock stars or see them as one of the last few torch barriers for unpretentious rock, but there is no denying that Australia’s biggest musical export knows how to write…
Prior to Starstruck, I think it’s safe to assume there had never been so much in depth research put into why Paris Hilton managed to become frighteningly famous when Tara Reed didn’t. On the surface they could almost be doppelgangers: blonde-haired party girls with extremely questionable talent, both thrust into the spotlight. But while Hilton has managed to thrive, building a mini-empire of realty shows and perfume, Reed has become…
Even if you’ve never picked up a guitar, you can’t help but admire the pictures in Dave Hunter’s latest book. This coffee table-sized book takes a look at some of the most storied guitars in Rock, Country and Blues, from the stat Jimi Hendrix famously burned on stage to Springsteen’s classic Fender Telecaster (as seen on the covers of several of his albums including Born to Run, Human Touch and…
It may actually be the most important question you ever answer. Forget where you stand on politics, religion, abortion… gun to your head, who do you choose, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? The answer pretty much defines who you are: Are you an outwardly rebellious badass with attitude to spare (The Stones) or are you the seemingly good guy (or girl), accessible to all, who is actually a rebellious…
The Dead Boys have always been the Rodney Dangerfield of punk rock. They had the chops, but never really got the respect or credit they deserved for their role serving on the front lines of the New York punk scene in the late 70’s. They shared stages, groupies and drugs with The Ramones, but never quite got the amount of fame that their buddies achieved.
Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil is pretty blunt about his reasons for penning his autobiography. It has little to do with setting the record straight, though there is a little of that, and not much to do with settling scores, though his feelings about his fellow band members and managers are pretty clear as well. Neil sees Tattoos & Tequila as simply another way to “build his brand” as his…
Samuel Steward crammed more living into his 84 years, than most, juggling a handful of careers, often keeping each job a secret from his colleagues, meanwhile helping pioneer everything from tattooing to gay pornography. In the fascinating bio Secret Historian, Justin Spring paints a complete picture of a renegade and pioneer who was barely known outside of the world of gay erotica, despite being friends with everyone from Gertrude Stein…
It may not have the mass appeal of modern day mafia stories like The Sopranos, but Nathan Ward’s Dark Harbor, his true crime expose on the gangs that ran the New York waterfront in the late 1940’s is every bit as exciting and has the benefit of being realistic.
With his latest book, Sebastian Junger has done the nearly impossible: written a truly compelling book about war without taking a strong side politically. The reason, according to Junger, is that most of the American soldiers on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan aren’t discussing the politics behind the decisions that led them out to the dessert, carrying around 60 pounds of armor and supplies, while dodging bullets.…
John Hughes has been given God like status by hordes of Gen X 30-somethings like me. His movies spoke to teenagers, not at them, in a way that had never been done before or since. In her completely engrossing study of Hughes and the actors that surrounded him, Susannah Gora has managed to turn a researcher’s eye to a topic that few would have bothered to tackle. In doing so,…