read it in books......

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read it in books......

Postby fat cherry » Tue Jan 02, 2018 4:34 pm

Well in addition to the NIck Cave comic book I got for crimbo, with a heavy dose of hints my kids bought me the Alan Jones Book - Can't Stand Up For Falling Down. Its a collection of his 'stop me if you've heard this one before' columns from Uncut, all about his time as Melody Maker hack in the 70s, 80s & 90s, so you may indeed have heard them before. One of those books you can pick up and put down and read in any order. Now most rock star tales of too much drink and/or drugs are a bit boring but some of these are told in such a professional raconteur's manner that they are occasionally v funny, though some are written to show just how much he might dislike someone (Bryan Ferry comes in for alot of stick). Lou Reed features in a few - one about him beating up Bowie and another in which he is playing his new album, and when the audience, a bit bored by the new material start shouting for heroin and walk on the wild side etc he tells them he's not playing any of that so if that's what they are waiting for, they migth as well leave. And this is what a sizeable portion of the audience do. Then after they've all gone he plays heroin, walk on th ewild side etc etc etc. Mr Jones telling is much funnier.
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Re: read it in books......

Postby fat cherry » Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:44 am

fat cherry wrote:though some are written to show just how much he might dislike someone (Bryan Ferry comes in for alot of stick).


now I've finished it, there's also quite a few where its just the interview because he likes what they're saying I guess. One quite touching one interviewing the Searchers, mid-sevenies playing in some club at the back of beyond talking about their early success fading and doing the clubs, and then a second chance 70s albumm that nobody buys.

JOlly good read if you like that kind of thing.
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Re: read it in books......

Postby black francis » Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:34 pm

Been reading up on the seventies music scenes lately. Just finished up Please Kill Me about the NY music scene in the seventies and Too Much Too Soon about the New York Dolls.

Some thoughts:

- I don't think I can listen to Iggy Pop anymore. Turns out he and the Stooges are real pieces of shit.
- I feel bad for David Bowie. Seems everyone loved his generosity while talking total shit about him.
- Always have and always will think the MC5 are no talent hacks that are waaaaay overrated.
- New York Dolls were the greatest thing to happen to NY. There should be monuments to them and mandatory animal sacrifices.
With the Force as his ally he did battle with the Dark Lord. And he showed the measure of a true Jedi at a place called "The Death Star" where hope for the Galaxy was reborn. May all who struggle against tyranny hold his memory in their hearts
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Re: read it in books......

Postby Mr. Brian » Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:11 am

black francis wrote:
Some thoughts:

- I don't think I can listen to Iggy Pop anymore. Turns out he and the Stooges are real pieces of shit.
- I feel bad for David Bowie. Seems everyone loved his generosity while talking total shit about him.
- Always have and always will think the MC5 are no talent hacks that are waaaaay overrated.
- New York Dolls were the greatest thing to happen to NY. There should be monuments to them and mandatory animal sacrifices.


I always hated finding out folks you admire in the music biz are not what you think. I'd rather have the illusion. Totally agree on the MC5 and Iggy but they get the credit to be the ones doing basically punk rock before it had a name while everyone else was doing flower power. Most kids with an MC5 shirt from the mall couldn't name more than one song and for good reason. At least Iggy had talent while MC5 got really lucky.
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Re: read it in books......

Postby fat cherry » Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:13 pm

Mr. Brian wrote:
I always hated finding out folks you admire in the music biz are not what you think. I'd rather have the illusion.


I read loads of this stuff and some of the best ones are about bands I don't even like, or haven't listened to much - maybe for this very reason. On the other hand Townshends book was quite disappointing (though to be fair I had already become a bit disappointed after the old 'I was just doing research' episode) in what a moaning minnie he came across as - everything is everyone elses fault and all that. Keef's on the other hand, openly ghosted, was much more entertaining, even his dislike for Bill Wyman (again well known I think) with the begrudging admission that he was the only one who brought him drugs when he was in prison (though to be fair (again) maybe BIll knows more about hiding things in discrete holes than the rest of the band). Anyways........
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Re: read it in books......

Postby fat cherry » Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:17 pm

And the Cave graphic novel is another kettle of fish. Quite entertaining though you'd probably have to be a bit of a Cave fan to appreciate much of it. Can prob best describe it by what the great man himself says on the back of it

blah blah blah...... concocting a terrifying conflation of Cave songs, biographical half truths and complete fabulations and creating a complex, chilling and completely bizarre journey into Cave World. CLoser to the truth than any biography etc etc etc.


or possibly up its own arse, but in a good way.
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Re: read it in books......

Postby Mr. Brian » Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:22 pm

fat cherry wrote:
I read loads of this stuff and some of the best ones are about bands I don't even like, or haven't listened to much - maybe for this very reason. On the other hand Townshends book was quite disappointing (though to be fair I had already become a bit disappointed after the old 'I was just doing research' episode) in what a moaning minnie he came across as - everything is everyone elses fault and all that. Keef's on the other hand, openly ghosted, was much more entertaining, even his dislike for Bill Wyman (again well known I think) with the begrudging admission that he was the only one who brought him drugs when he was in prison (though to be fair (again) maybe BIll knows more about hiding things in discrete holes than the rest of the band). Anyways........


I'm with you on Townshend. I always try to separate the art from the individual but that "research" incident was troubling and hard to look past. I tried to finish his book but he came off like an asshole and I just started hating him more.
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Re: read it in books......

Postby black francis » Tue Jan 16, 2018 2:07 pm

I think I mentioned it before here but if you have even the slightest inkling of interest in tennis then Andre Agassi's book is a must read. The self-loathing, hatred of tennis, hatred of fellow players, the drug abuse, the take down of Brooke Shields and her crowd....man I couldn't put it down.
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