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Music Autobiographies or Biographies


Jimi Shandrix

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1 hour ago, ewan14 said:

Attacking people with a bicycle chain ?

P.S. Steve Jones book is supposed to be good

I'd recommend Steve Jones book. Better than I expected. Grim in places, funny in others. 

The lady from the Slits (sorry forgotten her name) said in her book that Sid admitted throwing the glass that took a girls eye out. 

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1 hour ago, Academically Deficient said:

I'd recommend Steve Jones book. Better than I expected. Grim in places, funny in others. 

The lady from the Slits (sorry forgotten her name) said in her book that Sid admitted throwing the glass that took a girls eye out. 

#### !

( Viv Albertine ? )

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1 hour ago, Jimi Shandrix said:

Everybody falls out with the Croz. After watching the doc on him it's not hard to see why. He seems like a right difficult c**t. But I'll love him forever.

Good , he was a Byrd !

on the other hand he probably was one of the reasons Gene Clark left !!!!

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1 hour ago, Academically Deficient said:

Townsend: The jury is out.

Entwistle: Freemason, spendthrift, shagger.

Daltrey: Gammony Brexiteer.

 

Sorry , I think it was Townsend who said Moon was evil !?!

The Ox - spendthrift girlfriend

                   Moon's partner in crime

                   " mean spirited " iirc per Daltrey which might be true but I do not think the lyrics to " Boris the Spider " are relevent

Rog. - supposed to be a good guy , 

             eg Teenage Cancer Trust

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  • 4 weeks later...

"Popkiss" by Michael White tells the story of the life and afterlife of legendary Bristol indie label Sarah Records. It is an excellent read. If you are into simpering girls with hairslides or hopeless romantics in overgrown cardigans, then this is the book for you. 

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Acme Attractions by Don Letts and Jeannette Lee

Don Letts was a well known face in the London punk scene, he made films documenting the scene and later joined Big Audio Dynamite. Jeannette Lee was involved with Public Image Ltd and was the co-owner of the Rough Trade record label. In their youth they both worked in Acme Attractions, a shop in London that sold punk clothes and was a bit of a hang out for musicians and trend setters.

This is more of a pamphlet than a book. It only weighs in at thirty odd pages but it's pretty interesting. It's really just a series of anecdotes about the shop and the people who frequented it. A decent read for anyone who is interested in music scenes and subcultures.  

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

Burning down the Haus - Tim Mohr

Not really a biography as such, this book covers the underground punk scene in East Berlin prior to the collapse of the communist regime. 

It's pretty interesting. Punk was frowned upon by the authorities and the punks themselves faced all manner of repression and hostility. Despite this, an underground scene thrived, with a number of bands who often used home made instruments and amplifiers.

A decent wee read for anyone who is interested in both music and 20th Century political history.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 14/09/2020 at 10:34, scottmcleanscontacts said:

Not an autobiography as such but 'Folklore' by Stuart Maconie about the band James is a good read.

I've got Neil Young's autobiography which I'm going to tackle next.

Which one? Waging Heavy Peace is a bit of a chore, imho, but Special Deluxe is quite enjoyable. Neither can hold a candle to "Shakey", the biography by Jimmy McDonough, though.

 

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On 10/11/2020 at 19:27, Lurkst said:

I think 'Shaky' by Jimmy McDonough is the best Neil Young book, although it's about 20 years old now and a lot has happened to him in the intervening time.

 

Beat me to it, by many months! 

I think the reason for this - and I agree with you - is that, while Neil is undoubtedly a special, maybe unique, talent, it's hard for him to articulate himself how or why he is what he is. He thinks the stuff he does and says are normal, ffs!

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One thing I always like is when you compare autobiographies by members of bands who are no longer the best of mates. There's some differences of opinions and selective recall in books by and about various Eagles, for instance, but the absolute peak so far for me in this wee sub-genre are the self-penned (aye, right) life stories of messrs Stanley, Frehley, Criss, Carr and Simmons. All in places unintentionally hilarious, not least because of their shared belief (about the only thing they do agree on) that Kiss were anything more than a mediocre band attached to a massive stage show. Bless 'em.

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On 22/07/2021 at 12:07, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Which one? Waging Heavy Peace is a bit of a chore, imho, but Special Deluxe is quite enjoyable. Neither can hold a candle to "Shakey", the biography by Jimmy McDonough, though.

 

It is Waging Heavy Peace and I've not actually started it yet. 

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On 22/07/2021 at 12:22, WhiteRoseKillie said:

One thing I always like is when you compare autobiographies by members of bands who are no longer the best of mates. There's some differences of opinions and selective recall in books by and about various Eagles, for instance, but the absolute peak so far for me in this wee sub-genre are the self-penned (aye, right) life stories of messrs Stanley, Frehley, Criss, Carr and Simmons. All in places unintentionally hilarious, not least because of their shared belief (about the only thing they do agree on) that Kiss were anything more than a mediocre band attached to a massive stage show. Bless 'em.

Yes.  I enjoy reading autobiographies by different members of the same band.  Makes it a challenge to guess what really happened.  Not even sure you really have to have much interest in their music.

Always be one that is "the whole thing is a bit of  a blur" (hmm, maybe a good title for Damon Albarn) while another is "we were great because I was great".

Read various books about the Ramones.  Don't believe anything that Dee Dee wrote but the road manager and Marky wrote decent books.

Also Guns and Roses.  Steve Adler was a junkie who played in a band.  Duff McKagan wrote a more interesting book.

Totally agree with your assessment of Kiss.  Never understood their appeal beyond high fiving Americans who like the fireworks even if the music is indifferent. 

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