timpickens wrote:If someone can point out Michael Azerrad for being (at all) full of shit, I'd like to hear the reasoning behind it.

That is, not "he wasn't there and he doesn't understand what it was all about," kind of shit. I would like to see blatant falsehoods.

And if you don't like his book simply because you don't like his book, that's awesome.

(I'm not trying to prove anyone wrong or right, but I've read a few of his books and he seems like a very honest man.)

I see him (very) occasionally, and he's a great guy.
I like OBCBYL a lot.
A hell of a lot.

Also:
-Hammer of the Gods
-Most of the 33 1/3 books, especially Kinks' Village Green, Pink Floyd's Piper, Stones' Exile.
-Julian Cope's Head On is amazing
-Please Kill Me
-Psychotic Reactions & Carb Dung

I think Rip It Up and Start Again could have been so much more. Editing, please. Did we really need so much about Throbbing Gristle? They are pre-punk more than post-punk anyway.
Yet the letters "XTC" were mentioned once, I think, in passing.

-A

Christopher J. McGarvey wrote:Are those 33 1/3 books worth reading or are they just some fucking tool slobbering on and on about records they've jerked off to?

Depends. They're all written by different people. Example:

The Replacements Let It Be Collin of the Decemberists writes a boring novella about growing up in Montana, oh yeah and he really liked that album when he found it.

Meanwhile-
In Utero- Awesome
Doolittle- Awesome
Notorious Byrd Brothers- Pretty Awesome
OK Computer- Pretentious Essay on what a CD album really is as an art form, and how OK Computer fits into that schema. (I found it veering between totally awesome and lame.)

I heard the P.J. Harvey one is a series of short stories inspired by the songs. Think I'll skip it. The Neutral Milk Hotel was great because it kind of stands alone in documenting that weird little Elephant 6 community and its Athens-Denver connection.

I'm really glad for Our Band Could Be Your Life, and I enjoy it. I don't care for Trouser Press.

I saw a couple of these other books at Waterloo Records today. I read two pieces in that Punk Planet interview anthology, and it seemed all right. The Moore/Coley book had lots of photographs.

anyone ever read this one?




seen it around & meant to pick it up one of these days...

Goodbye 20th Century is pretty good. There's also a new SY bio by a British fella called Psychic Confusion. That one's a little more fanboy-ish, but it's a nice contrast.

The No Wave book is mostly pictures and personal recollections. I wouldn't buy it, but it sure is pretty.

It's not a "rock" book exactly, but I did just read the Grandmaster Flash autobio, and it's really keen. The excitement that he experiences when he basically invents what modern DJs do is palpable right off the page.

Waiting or the Sun - Barney Hoskins

losthighway wrote:

Christopher J. McGarvey wrote:Are those 33 1/3 books worth reading or are they just some fucking tool slobbering on and on about records they've jerked off to?

Depends. They're all written by different people. Example:

The Replacements Let It Be Collin of the Decemberists writes a boring novella about growing up in Montana, oh yeah and he really liked that album when he found it.

Meanwhile-
In Utero- Awesome
Doolittle- Awesome
Notorious Byrd Brothers- Pretty Awesome
OK Computer- Pretentious Essay on what a CD album really is as an art form, and how OK Computer fits into that schema. (I found it veering between totally awesome and lame.)

I heard the P.J. Harvey one is a series of short stories inspired by the songs. Think I'll skip it. The Neutral Milk Hotel was great because it kind of stands alone in documenting that weird little Elephant 6 community and its Athens-Denver connection.

the Loveless one is very good, too. but yeah, some of them can be pretty loosely related to the album in question (eg: short stories that vaguely reference the album in some way). personally i'm more interested in finding out the stories OF the albums, not stories that are ABOUT the albums.

equally, some of them can be pretty wanky discussions on the meaning of art, etc (eg: the Ok Computer one, and the Daydream Nation on judging by a few quick skims i've had through it).

this book is the ultimate train wreck. Its horrible (the writing, the egomania) but you can't look away. I like how the intro is all about how hes not going to talk smack on anyone, hes not gonna name names.Then the entire last chapter is spent trashing Eddie V. I recommend it for a good laugh. I read it cover to cover in one sitting.

I was going to say Shakey, but it was the very first post. Still, it's awesome.

Behind The Shades is a great Dylan biography. Chronicles, Vol. 1 reads more like fiction, but it's great too.

The Beatles is a really great bio, but there's some flagrant errors. Still, it was obviously meticulously researched, and is worth the read.

It's no wonder that the best rock books (from a historian's perspective) are the ones about the most historically significant bands. Oh well.

I would also recommend j_harvey: My Life--Booze, Drugs, Women, and How I Kicked It All for the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven. It'll really make you think.