...to take a piss.
Five minutes later he leaves, 45 bucks and a certain amount of pee lighter, but with a huge stack of books in his hands.
That's it. There's no punchline. The dude is me, obviously. The bigger rest stops here have these tables of books at cut prices. Most of the time you wade through cooking books, self-help guides and the occasional coffee table tome with nature or animals (though a couple of years ago, I found an oversized James Brown tome). Usually I flip through this stuff and never find anything, but a couple of days ago, a whole section of music books. I'm not much into heavy metal, but still walked away with about three pounds of Heavy Vinyls, which pertains to tell the story of the genre via 800 album covers. Sounds good to me. Also in the stack: books on the Who, Clapton, Dylan and Neil Young (along with compatriots Stills, Crosby & Nash), all telling the stories of their respective heroes via the albums they made: that's just my gig.
Flipping through these those last days I realized how important critical distance in music journalism is. The best books in the bunch are clearly the Dylan and CSN&Y ones, both by a dude named Stan Cuesta. He praises the good and the brillant when it's there, but is savage and savagely funny when discussing the bad and the ugly. The Clapton book in comparison is a dud, written by a fanboy who finds greatness even in ol' Slowhand's worst albums. A full-blown production catastrophe like Pilgrim is to him a sign of an adventurous spirit pushing further, a man bravely challenging himself, etc etc. yadda yadda yadda...
So, commenters who don't comment, the ball's in your court: Who is your favorite music writer and why? What kind of format of music book do you like?
I've read a lot of biographies. Many of them left me disappointed with the artist as a person. I had less respect for Iggy Pop after reading "Open Up And Bleed", and admired Paul Westerberg less after finishing "Trouble Boys". Having said that, I still look forward to the new Sly Stone book. Can't think of a favorite writer. Warren Zanes did a great job with the Tom Petty biography.
ReplyDeleteThe oral history (e.g., Please Kill Me) has been overdone. My favorite format is the record guide: a book that reviews and recommends records. "Listen to This!: Leading Musicians Recommend Their Favorite Artists and Recordings" is just what the subtitle describes. The authors asked a lot of musicians about the records they enjoy and the artists they admire. It was published in 1999, and I wish someone would update it by asking musicians of the past two decades about their listening habits.
Here's a question: if you could write a book about one album for the 33 1/3 series, which album would you choose?
DeleteThat's a pretty good question, actually. One that made me think for a moment about what kind of album I would like to write about, and what kind of album I could conceivably write about and have it worth reading.
DeleteCase in point: R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People would, if push came to shove, probably get my vote for favorite album of all time.
But I doubt it would be a good candidate for a 33 1/3. My response to that album is almost entirely emotional, I wouldn't have much worth to say from an analytical or scholarly point of view.
I can think of three albums where I could probably fill a 33 1/3 book without trouble and which would be worth getting looked at.
Eagles - Desperado
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
On a more global point of view, I agree with you in terms of biographies. They're pretty dicey. Either they're hagiographies where disingenously the star in question is a walking god, or they're honest and the subject probably comes off as kind of a dick.
ReplyDeleteI knew before I picked it up that "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - The Dirty Life And Times Of Warren Zevon" would confirm that, my love for his music notwithstanding, yes, Warren Zevon was a colossal egomaniac and asshole most of the time, yet charming enough that lots of people stayed loyal to him almost beyond comprehension.
That book is also a good example about the point you make about oral histories, Jonder. I like that format, but in short form. I enjoy articles with an oral history about the making of an album or a film, a sports game, or what have you. But I think in book form the style gets exhausting,. And while it pertains to be more authentic, it is as likely to fall victim to memory holes and personal bias as a more traditional form.
Warren Zevon's bio contained more than I ever wanted to know about him. "Colossal egomaniac and asshole, yet charming" apparently also describes Iggy Pop.
DeleteI agree that "memory holes" and individual biases affect the accuracy of oral histories. People are prone to brag and exaggerate, and there's a lot of substance abuse in the music scene.
I used to read heaps of music books, e.g. Nick Tosches' Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll is still brilliant. Bios like Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley by Timothy White I enjoyed a lot. Others like Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century by Charles Schaar Murray were fascinating but actually said more about the authors themselves... The Rough Guides to .... were fun reads providing lots of background info I wasn't aware of. Simon Reynolds' Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 was a hell of a read. David Toop's Ocean of Sound enlarged my musical interests enormously...
ReplyDeleteAfter I got my first cd player I went for Blues on CD, Reggae on CD, etc.
But album cover art (& related) are still favorites, those have been inspirational to my art as well.
Ah, and there's my second featured reader! Yeah, we agreed on False Memory Foam Island already about Rip It Up and Start Again, which is also good to read in bits because you can just jump into any chapter you like...
DeleteBTW I did check your website the other day, you got some cool stuff going on there...
Thank you very much! No music though, although at times I'm tempted, but still prefer to make an occasional contribution on other blogs...
DeletePublic Service Announcement:
ReplyDeleteDo you want to be a featured, instantly recognizable reader like Jonder or art58koen up there?
You do?
Why, it's very simple!
You just have to fill out the little commentary box with a little comment and then push "publish".
It's very easy, folks, just go on and try it...
John Doe's two books about L.A. punk are excellent, with chapters by various scenesters, thus full of differing points of view. I like Greil Marcus' ideas for books, but his writing is overwrought. The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Quasar of Rock by Charles White is probably my favorite music bio. Absolutely hilarious and absolutely harrowing in parts.
ReplyDeleteC in California
I've also found most music autobiographies depressing for some reason. Just thinking of some of the audiobooks I did a few years back by Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne and Pete Townshend instantly darkens my mood for some reason. I much prefer to read things like the Lester Bangs anthologies, histories like From the Velvets to the Voidoids, and the Creem anthology. I agree that Keith Richards autobiography was an exception to the rule. I'm looking forward to reading Thurston Moore's "Sonic Life" that just came out though -- hopefully it will also be an exception to the rule (I think it doesn't really dwell on his personal journey as much as talk about the musical artists that have inspired him).
ReplyDelete