Rock books

[onthewall2983]

I finished Keith Richards' Life ​over a week ago. Bobby Keys needs to write a book, stat.

[botley]

That'd be amazing, agreed. I love books on music and musicians. If you're into it, check out Nick Mason's Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd.

[allegro]

I have a shit ton of these types of books and so far my all-time favorite is Mötley Crue's "The Dirt."

Oh, tied with "Please Kill Me."

[xmd 5a]

As far as bios go, I read a pretty good book on the Cure (title eludes me) not long ago and have got Goodbye 20th Century (about Sonic Youth) waiting to be devoured in my to-read pile.

As far as book written by musicians, I'd love to get my hands on a copy of Michael Gira's The Consumer someday.

[scorpiusdiamond]

Rock Faces is about music photographers. Amazing prints and really cool insights.

[aggroculture]

http://33third.blogspot.com/

Submissions are open!

[redshoewearer]

I have to say Manson's autobiography was pretty darn entertaining.

[Tighfield11]

Rock Faces is about music photographers. Amazing prints and really cool insights.
I agree rock faces has the world's best rock 'n' roll photographers and their greatest images.

[onthewall2983]

Bobby Keys needs to write a book, stat.

What do you know...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328745093l/12942419.jpg

[allegro]

I loved this book:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0385336780.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[onthewall2983]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRuN-3YMLzs&feature=player_embedded

Coming in October.

[aggroculture]

New Book, Too High To Die: Meet The Meat Puppets, Traces Legendary Rock Band's Entire Career
[/URL] For the first time ever, the Meat Puppets' story will be told in book form, when the authorized band bio, Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets, is released on June 1, 2011. Journalist/book author/long-time Puppets fan Greg Prato wrote the book with full cooperation from the band.

In addition to featuring interviews with band members past and present, many renowned rock names were interviewed for the 407 page book, including Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Peter Buck (REM), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Henry Rollins (Black Flag/Rollins Band), Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi), Scott Asheton (Iggy & the Stooges), Dean DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Mike Watt (Minutemen/fIREHOSE), Chad Channing (Nirvana), and Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers), among many others.

Set up in an "oral history format," the book is comprised entirely of never before published interviews, which were conducted solely for this book. Also included are 15 rarely seen and/or never-before-published photos of the band from throughout the years. All eras of the band are covered, including the writing/recording of such classic albums as 'Meat Puppets II' and 'Up on the Sun,' the group's appearance on Nirvana's classic 'MTV Unplugged' episode, the story behind their breakthrough hit single "Backwater," and how the Kirkwood brothers reunited in 2006, after being apart for nearly a decade.

As the group's singer/guitarist/songwriter Curt Kirkwood says on the book's back cover, "It's a very strange, wonderful experience to read...I love the way it flows...a linear time capsule compendium of the band's past...so many perspectives tied together so well. I feel like I've been hanging out in these scenes just yesterday. Folks I know well and folks I've never even met giving me insights and perspectives on the band and myself that I've never considered or been aware of. Eerie and fun to find myself so captivated reading about something that has held me captive for my entire adult life...sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees. This is giving me a glimpse of the forest...thanks for the bitchin' experience."

The book will be priced at $24.99 and made available for sale via Lulu.com on June 1, with a pre-order currently set up via the Meat Puppets official website.

For pre-order info (and for more information about the Meat Puppets), visit [URL="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001E0D-k5VVCNAheTazkHLK5ndszHHWKA9HundMm7v0MaSEqBC4w9XICz NBM_CNm8Z5rKXAEVwJOmP46dNxmO03mpJpYQoaFmJgdq4_gXQx dGtHgvKkRm_QB7TpUc9MpbzS1i0wuo43aNVG_5fgZCwNwjbi_2 wPv6VRaazKFK8xCa7F9dknhADysA3RR8WbWuyA8AMUDub_07Rh WxcroErD2bTBBk4oEG6MNNg3bQEmkdmPAYYuo3f4VuorPE5WmO K-DI4vWgtma3GlKzTdOQoEmQB17sMWfruP"]www.themeatpuppets.com (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001E0D-k5VVCNAheTazkHLK5ndszHHWKA9HundMm7v0MaSEqBC4w9XICz NBM_CNm8Z5rKXAEVwJOmP46dNxmO03mpJpYQoaFmJgdq4_gXQx dGtHgvKkRm_QB7TpUc9MpbzS1i0wuo43aNVG_5fgZCwNwjbi_2 wPv6VRaazKFK8xCa7F9dknhADysA3RR8WbWuyA8AMUDub_07Rh WxcroErD2bTBBk4oEG6MNNg3bQEmkdmPAYYuo3f4VuorPE5WmO K-DI4vWgtma3GlKzTdOQoEmQB17sMWfruP).

To schedule an interview with the band or to request a review copy of Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets, contact Clint Weiler.

Later this summer, look for Meat Puppets to bring their pioneering legacy into the interactive world, as the band helps launch a new interactive music app called JamBandit. Fans will be able to experience Meat Puppets as never before, feeling the rush of genuinely playing in realtime with Cris, Curt, Ted, and Shandon, regardless of musical ability or training. To sign up for a sneak peek, visit www.jambandit.com (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001E0D-k5VVCNAdSPP2lF3veGXtlhKnqVXvzJ6Lp19PA6ElZgW8JIkxBe NWc7wlTd4ZfEVxyf1dZ4w8ldPt64bcIcam50bWPwDgswK7uvgC VnApDA0AuGm6-PhaSpYpiLG1hu1svBKWrVpWr4mFCmNfCz0IdNuoNQHd3DuK7OI dmvSZAFmAZ5Zq0ANTDNhtkjPiwwK7dCHXpAS5qmBNah5UkXrMx XUVG1qknHL93iZILAK7wtc_MvumaD-Z5wbHZMCeXrFZjJ7EcaEwShKI6B1Afcrs8scoGnRw).

[Sutekh]

I need more by iggy pop is pretty good, very brief and informal. Some great stories.

The dirt and mansons book are good but obviously pretty liberal with the truth.

John Lydon's rotten : no irish no blacks no dogs is really good, but if you hate how he comes across in interviews, you will throw it on the fire.

Everything : a book about manic street preachers is a great rags to riches book with a car crash element to it (but it ends with the. Scoring a #1, so bittersweet if not a total bummer).

i liked heavier than heaven by charles cross (cobain bio) but a bit melodramatic. Journals is interesting but a bit wrong. The azerrad book is ok but the hand of management is detectable (as i recall)

All time worst are poppy z brite's sickeningly sycophantic courtney love bio and the pumpkins book "tales of a scorched earth" - which is hilariously fawning and cod poetic. Actually it is so bad i would recommend it for a good laugh

Wreckers of civilsation is amazing. All industrial, throbbing gristle, coil and punk fans should check it out

What I really want is bowie and reznors autobiographies!!!

[halloween]

I have a shit ton of these types of books and so far my all-time favorite is Mötley Crue's "The Dirt."

Oh, tied with "Please Kill Me."
I started reading "Please Kill Me" ages ago, a Portuguese translation though- it was very interesting, and now I'm inspired to pick it up again.

[onthewall2983]

There are quite a few releases out now, and coming soon. It came out earlier this year, but I would heartily recommeng Gregg Allman's My Cross To Bear. One from Ann and Nancy Wilson just came out last week. Neil Young's came out this week, Rod Stewart and Pete Townshend's books will be out next month as well. All authorized.

[onthewall2983]

Currently reading...

http://www.skyscrapermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/syd.jpg

[sukey]

I'm currently enjoying Patti Smith's 'Just Kids' at the moment (although it's more about her early life than her music, at least so far anyway).

[DVYDRNS]

Neil Youngs waging heavy peace was fantastic. Like an old friend siting at your kitchen table just talking.

Ends a bit abruptly tho...

[onthewall2983]

Townshend's book is very good. Among "rock gods" no one is more human or harder on themselves than Pete, and that comes out quite a bit. It cleared up a lot of things and pre-conceptions I had about him, and I can almost listen to his songs with fresh ears because of it now.

Can't wait to read Neil's book but I heard Shakey ​is a more definitive book.

[DVYDRNS]

I've never read shakey. Ive meant to. Is it an authorized bio?

[onthewall2983]

Sorta. The author had access a lot of access to Neil for the 6-year period he wrote it, but Neil wound up not being satisfied with the final book. From my recollection, the author talked about it at the beginning (I only read a little bit of it).

[Kid Charlemagne]

Really liked Fargo Rock City and Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs by Chuck Klosterman if those count.

[ibanez33]

Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis's autobiography, is fucking awesome. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's even remotely interested in RHCP. I'm just a casual listener, wouldn't call myself a fan, but god damn this book has given me so much respect for them. I really want John Frusciante to write a book, just reading what Anthony had to say about him was very interesting.

[thenorthwood]

I loved Neon Angel by Cherie Currie and I don't really even listen to The Runaways. I was still riveted to her story.

[allegro]

I loved Neon Angel by Cherie Currie and I don't really even listen to The Runaways. I was still riveted to her story.
Interesting, thanks, I was never a Runaways fan, either, but perhaps I should check it out. Def was interesting times that will never be repeated (good thing for females, too, ugh, good riddance, era of the pedo).

[Highly Psychological]

I would not mind reading that book on the Meat Puppets not only because they are one of my favorite indie groups of the 80s but i also want to know what happened to Chirs Kirkwood he went totally off the rails on Smack and Crack for about 10 years and was in prison for a long time. I always found it shocking how he seemed stable relatively sane for years when i was into them and then suddenly in his mid 30s he vanished . find it interesting how the man is alive.
You get autobiographies where it seems somewhat glamorous but this guys journey sounded hardcore.

[ibanez33]

I've never really listened to them but that sounds like a good read.

You get autobiographies where it seems somewhat glamorous but this guys journey sounded hardcore.
After I got through Scar Tissue I was astounded Anthony was alive long enough to even join the band. He snorted a line of heroin when he was like 14 years old, thinking it was cocaine. I knew he was heavy into drugs for a while before reading but I had no idea he ever got into it so early or that it went on right into the 2000s. I might have to add that Meat Puppets book to my reading list, I find it really cool knowing about a band before getting into them. My parents got me Slash's autobiography for Christmas a few years ago and I really dug into GnR after I read that, and it was so cool hearing some of those songs for the first time, know what they were going through when they wrote them almost made me feel like I was there in the studio with them.

[Bokononist]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PBJqEi2tL.jpg

Looks like an October release so heads up.

[elevenism]

A few years ago, I read a KILLER book about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana called Heavier Than Heaven. It's the only good Cobain biography i've read. And it was just utterly fucking fascinating. According to wikipedia, the author "Cross desired to create the definitive Cobain biography, and over four years conducted 400+ interviews; in particular, he was granted exclusive interviews and access to Cobain's private journals, lyrics and photos..."
I guess that's why this one seemed like it has so much substance and reality...it made me feel like i knew Kurt. I would HIGHLY recommend this to any nirvana fan.

That sounded like a book report, lolz.

[elevenism]

Sorry for the double post...
Another one i read that year, (i was on a bio kick,) is this massive John Lennon tell-all called The Lives of John Lennon. Having never really given the Beatles a fair shake, i bought a copy of the "White Album," and listened to it while reading. The album became a favorite, and the book was so good that i didn't want it to be over, even after what seemed like (and may have been,) 1000 pages.

That same year i read Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story by a guy named Nick Tosches. If i remember correctly, it was short, but i know i remember that it was utterly mind-blowing. I'm not even a casual JLL fan....all i know is Great Balls of Fire or whatever it's called, and it was still a great read. JLL is NUTS.

Hammer of the Gods was a great book about Led Zeppelin. A word of warning though...i read that one when i was 15, about 18 years ago, and i would have rather seen Led Zeppelin than Jesus Christ and His All Star Band at the time. It may not be as "awesome, dude" as i remember.

[Sutekh]

Heavier than heaven is pretty good, it's lot better than azzerad's book.

i just read "everything - a book about manic street preachers" for the first time in ten years (?!), gripping story, consistently funny (richey vs douglas coupland at a dinner party is pure gold), and actually quite frightening and sad once Richey starts to really hit the wall. It's about 4 friends from a small town in wales who aim to bring punk rock, politics and glamorous nihilism back to a UK scene dominated by US grunge and Manchester fixated druggy apathy. Things are going well until they slowly begin to realise that one of them actually walks the walk. I think it was out of print for a while back cheap 2nd hand copies seem to have appeared recently, now is the time to snap one up if you're at all curious. I've read an inexcusable number of rock bios and it's definitely one of the very best

[onthewall2983]

Mike Rutherford of Genesis (and The Mechanics of course) just released an autobiography entitled The Living Years. While it covers his years in both bands and as a musician, it's centered around the strained relationship between he and his father. This article (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/25/mike-rutherford-precious-living-years-father) written by Mike, separate from the book, sort of lays it out.

[onthewall2983]

Phil Collins to release autobiography in one year's time (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/phil-collins-warts-and-all-autobiography-arriving-in-2016-20151012#ixzz3oNtnxzYE).

[onthewall2983]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR1L8NYavYM

[onthewall2983]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRJLSX0qpAg

[onthewall2983]

https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429575898l/23848010.jpg

This one is pretty essential, emotional and gripping. I'd always loved his music, but even after reading this I gained a new and deeper sense of respect of where those songs came from.

[kaydraven]

I absolutely love books about music. I have a pretty wide collection of them. Some of the best ones I read off the top of my head include:

Long Hard Road Out Of Hell - Marilyn Manson
Heavier than Heaven - Charles Cross
In Utero (33 1/3) - Gillian G. Garr
Alice in Chains: The Untold Story - David de Sola
Cured - Lol Tolhurst

I'm currently reading I Want My MTV, which is great. It has some awesome insight into videos and the history of the channel in general.

[onthewall2983]

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/w6nbDVsUZpYJUv8zcJQLzL-970-80.jpg

Coming next year (https://www.guitarworld.com/news/stevie-ray-vaughan-biography-texas-flood-announced)