Are many of them very good, though? When I say well-chronicled I mean good books by good music writers. There's loads of books about Elvis, but very, very few of them are any good. What Clash books would you recommend?Marky Dread wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 9:29am
Way more book on the Sex Pistols than The Clash. Not bad for a band that released one and a half albums.
Whatcha reading?
Re: Whatcha reading?
- Marky Dread
- Messiah of the Milk Bar
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Re: Whatcha reading?
The Clash:iso74 wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 10:05amAre many of them very good, though? When I say well-chronicled I mean good books by good music writers. There's loads of books about Elvis, but very, very few of them are any good. What Clash books would you recommend?Marky Dread wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 9:29am
Way more book on the Sex Pistols than The Clash. Not bad for a band that released one and a half albums.
Marcus Gray - Route 19 Revisited
Marcus Gray - Last Gang in Town
Pat Gilbert - Passion Is a Fashion
Clash City Showdown - Chris Knowles
We Are The Clash - Mark Andersen/Ralph Hebutzki
Sex Pistols:
John Lydon - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
Steve Jones - Lonely Boy
Glen Matlock - I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol
Alan Parker - Sid Vicious No One Is Innocent
Further reading:
John Savage - England's Dreaming
Clinton Heylin - Anarchy in the Year Zero
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
Re: Whatcha reading?
Yeah, the Pat Gilbert book was good, like a mammoth Mojo Special Edition. I prefer Clinton Heylin to Jon Savage. "England's Dreaming" is legendary, but does it have much on the Clash? At 600 pages I thought you might need to be a hardcore Pistols fan to get through it. The Clash is the only punk band i'm really into, although I enjoy watching Punk documentaries in general.Marky Dread wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 10:45amThe Clash:iso74 wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 10:05amAre many of them very good, though? When I say well-chronicled I mean good books by good music writers. There's loads of books about Elvis, but very, very few of them are any good. What Clash books would you recommend?Marky Dread wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 9:29am
Way more book on the Sex Pistols than The Clash. Not bad for a band that released one and a half albums.
Marcus Gray - Route 19 Revisited
Marcus Gray - Last Gang in Town
Pat Gilbert - Passion Is a Fashion
Clash City Showdown - Chris Knowles
We Are The Clash - Mark Andersen/Ralph Hebutzki
Sex Pistols:
John Lydon - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
Steve Jones - Lonely Boy
Glen Matlock - I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol
Alan Parker - Sid Vicious No One Is Innocent
Further reading:
John Savage - England's Dreaming
Clinton Heylin - Anarchy in the Year Zero
I was wondering about the Marcus Gray books, they've got some bad reviews on Amazon. People seem to be pretty narked, saying he's negative, but I want critical comment, even on my heroes. I was also wondering about the books by Quantick and Du Noyer and some of those track-by-track books?
Re: Whatcha reading?
The Savage book does have a lot on the Clash. I was satisfied as a big Clash fan when I first read it, but it's also much deeper than that, covering Situationism as a prime "influence" on punk via McLaren, and later goes on to detail a lot of lesser bands as well. So it's quite extensive.iso74 wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 11:13amYeah, the Pat Gilbert book was good, like a mammoth Mojo Special Edition. I prefer Clinton Heylin to Jon Savage. "England's Dreaming" is legendary, but does it have much on the Clash? At 600 pages I thought you might need to be a hardcore Pistols fan to get through it. The Clash is the only punk band i'm really into, although I enjoy watching Punk documentaries in general.Marky Dread wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 10:45amThe Clash:iso74 wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 10:05amAre many of them very good, though? When I say well-chronicled I mean good books by good music writers. There's loads of books about Elvis, but very, very few of them are any good. What Clash books would you recommend?Marky Dread wrote: ↑30 Aug 2021, 9:29am
Way more book on the Sex Pistols than The Clash. Not bad for a band that released one and a half albums.
Marcus Gray - Route 19 Revisited
Marcus Gray - Last Gang in Town
Pat Gilbert - Passion Is a Fashion
Clash City Showdown - Chris Knowles
We Are The Clash - Mark Andersen/Ralph Hebutzki
Sex Pistols:
John Lydon - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
Steve Jones - Lonely Boy
Glen Matlock - I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol
Alan Parker - Sid Vicious No One Is Innocent
Further reading:
John Savage - England's Dreaming
Clinton Heylin - Anarchy in the Year Zero
I was wondering about the Marcus Gray books, they've got some bad reviews on Amazon. People seem to be pretty narked, saying he's negative, but I want critical comment, even on my heroes. I was also wondering about the books by Quantick and Du Noyer and some of those track-by-track books?
Marcus Gray is pretty hard on the band in LGIT (or RoLGIT), but it's balanced by a lot of info, and a lot of his criticism is directed at their self-mythology, so the information he offers instead is pretty valuable. The Route 19 book is a lot more gentle, and both are great.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc
Re: Whatcha reading?
Thanks, I did want to get one of the Marcus Gray books. Criticism is an essential part of the Clash story, I don't see how you can write a proper history and leave it out. You have to deal with what others thought about them. They're not a band where you can write just about the music without any context.
I'll have a crack at "England's Dreaming" as well. Some serious music books and major biographies of musicians are hard slogs. Even during lockdown I gave up halfway through Mark Lewisohn's book on The Beatles, "All These Years". After 800 pages it's only 1963. 1700 pages if it's the Extended Special Edition! I'm not a fan of The Byrds, but even if I was I bet I wouldn't enjoy Johnny Rogan's two door stoppers. Not if his book on The Smiths is anything to go by.
I'll have a crack at "England's Dreaming" as well. Some serious music books and major biographies of musicians are hard slogs. Even during lockdown I gave up halfway through Mark Lewisohn's book on The Beatles, "All These Years". After 800 pages it's only 1963. 1700 pages if it's the Extended Special Edition! I'm not a fan of The Byrds, but even if I was I bet I wouldn't enjoy Johnny Rogan's two door stoppers. Not if his book on The Smiths is anything to go by.
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Low Down Low
- Unknown Immortal
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Re: Whatcha reading?
I love Marcus London Calling book, it's a labour of love, jam packed with detail and gives one of the great albums the treatment it deserves imo. I think LGIT is an essential read for Clash fans, but it's the weaker of the two i think. Shame for Clash fans we never got any autobiographies or memoirs, unless you want to count the pink book. I'm still hoping topper might redress that gap, because Mick or Paul definitely don't seem interested. How much would topper remember of those critical years, though? That's a question.
I'd agree re Johnny Rogan. Read his much hyped book on Van Morrison and it was a major let down. Clinton Heylin a much more accomplished music writer in my estimation.
I'd agree re Johnny Rogan. Read his much hyped book on Van Morrison and it was a major let down. Clinton Heylin a much more accomplished music writer in my estimation.
- Marky Dread
- Messiah of the Milk Bar
- Posts: 58977
- Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am
Re: Whatcha reading?
I don't deny Savage is a good writer. But he's also comes across as a snob to me. Yes he was part of the scene but I'll take Heylin any day.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
Re: Whatcha reading?
Last night I was listening to the Great Lives radio programme about Joe, where Matthew Parris says that he and other young Thatcherites "loved that anarchic and angry stuff." Jon Savage writes a book called "1966 ~ The Year The Decade Exploded" and its pretty dull, that says it all really. If you write about exciting times you should really have an engaging writing style.
Johnny Rogan always admitted he was an obsessive writer. He wrote a brilliant book on football managers but that only had a chapter a piece on each one. So he was alright when he reined himself in. It's not that I have a problem with big books, I love reading history.
But generally we're pretty lucky these days. When I started reading about pop music in the 80s there was very few decent books around. As a teenage Lennon fan I was very disappointed with "Shout", which I could tell even then was unreliable, and Ray Coleman's turgid official bio. You had Charlie Gillett but "Sound of the City - The Rise of Rock 'n' Roll" seem to mostly cover r'n'b, where I was into later stuff. KInd of a misleading title I thought. And Greil Marcus, I just can't get on with him.
I want to read Clinton Heylin's new book on Dylan. He got a bit of stick for the introduction where he trashes other biographers - not the done thing, old boy. He did a very interesting book called, "All the Madmen: Barrett, Bowie, Drake, the Floyd, The Kinks, The Who and the Journey to the Dark Side of British Rock". That was a book that actually lived up to its title.
Johnny Rogan always admitted he was an obsessive writer. He wrote a brilliant book on football managers but that only had a chapter a piece on each one. So he was alright when he reined himself in. It's not that I have a problem with big books, I love reading history.
But generally we're pretty lucky these days. When I started reading about pop music in the 80s there was very few decent books around. As a teenage Lennon fan I was very disappointed with "Shout", which I could tell even then was unreliable, and Ray Coleman's turgid official bio. You had Charlie Gillett but "Sound of the City - The Rise of Rock 'n' Roll" seem to mostly cover r'n'b, where I was into later stuff. KInd of a misleading title I thought. And Greil Marcus, I just can't get on with him.
I want to read Clinton Heylin's new book on Dylan. He got a bit of stick for the introduction where he trashes other biographers - not the done thing, old boy. He did a very interesting book called, "All the Madmen: Barrett, Bowie, Drake, the Floyd, The Kinks, The Who and the Journey to the Dark Side of British Rock". That was a book that actually lived up to its title.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Now this sounds interesting, I'm going to have to check it out.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?
The book on airline posters was a bust—way too advanced for undergrads—so I'm trying this now:
Wanted to read this anyway, tho, so it's all good.
Wanted to read this anyway, tho, so it's all good.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Flex
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Re: Whatcha reading?
I'd be very interested in hearing how this one is.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑02 Sep 2021, 7:33pmThe book on airline posters was a bust—way too advanced for undergrads—so I'm trying this now:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... 3,200_.jpg
Wanted to read this anyway, tho, so it's all good.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
- Dr. Medulla
- Atheistic Epileptic
- Posts: 116593
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: Whatcha reading?
I accept Paypal and intriguing offers.Flex wrote: ↑02 Sep 2021, 7:35pmI'd be very interested in hearing how this one is.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑02 Sep 2021, 7:33pmThe book on airline posters was a bust—way too advanced for undergrads—so I'm trying this now:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... 3,200_.jpg
Wanted to read this anyway, tho, so it's all good.
(Will do.)
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Silent Majority
- Singer-Songwriter Nancy
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- Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Yeah, same.Flex wrote: ↑02 Sep 2021, 7:35pmI'd be very interested in hearing how this one is.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑02 Sep 2021, 7:33pmThe book on airline posters was a bust—way too advanced for undergrads—so I'm trying this now:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... 3,200_.jpg
Wanted to read this anyway, tho, so it's all good.
-
Silent Majority
- Singer-Songwriter Nancy
- Posts: 18739
- Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
- Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.
Re: Whatcha reading?
40) Overcoming MS - Dr Jelenek. Paperback.This book recommends more exercise, a diet without dairy or saturated fats, meditation, medication and other things which seem obvious once you read them. Niomie's seen a noticeable uptick in her quality of life since starting the program and that makes me happy.
41) Life - Keith Richards. Paperback. 2010. 1st reread since it was published. Interesting on music, songwriting, being in the Stones up to about 1972, and, at his best, being very specific on the guitar. I got bored at around the time when the life left their music, leaving me with 200 pages of bitching about Mick Jagger and Keith buying his own bullshit. On the whole, okay.
42) The Anglo Saxons - Marc Morris. 2021. Audiobook. A great bit of pop history about the underdocumented time between the Romans fucking off from England and the Normans turning up. There's a dry, nerdy enthusiasm which makes it very appealing, like an academic chatting happily with you over a bottle of red wine.
43) Cujo - Stephen King. 1981. Paperback. Could have been a short story, or at least half as long. But this flawed book - apparently written by an author so blitzed on coke and booze, he has no memory of composing it - has everything I ask for from a novel. Believable characters, unputdownable prose, a good couple of passages from a St Bernards point of view. The feeling of writing and storytelling by pure instinct without bothering the conscious mind is something I can almost touch. The Gunslinger next.
41) Life - Keith Richards. Paperback. 2010. 1st reread since it was published. Interesting on music, songwriting, being in the Stones up to about 1972, and, at his best, being very specific on the guitar. I got bored at around the time when the life left their music, leaving me with 200 pages of bitching about Mick Jagger and Keith buying his own bullshit. On the whole, okay.
42) The Anglo Saxons - Marc Morris. 2021. Audiobook. A great bit of pop history about the underdocumented time between the Romans fucking off from England and the Normans turning up. There's a dry, nerdy enthusiasm which makes it very appealing, like an academic chatting happily with you over a bottle of red wine.
43) Cujo - Stephen King. 1981. Paperback. Could have been a short story, or at least half as long. But this flawed book - apparently written by an author so blitzed on coke and booze, he has no memory of composing it - has everything I ask for from a novel. Believable characters, unputdownable prose, a good couple of passages from a St Bernards point of view. The feeling of writing and storytelling by pure instinct without bothering the conscious mind is something I can almost touch. The Gunslinger next.
-
Silent Majority
- Singer-Songwriter Nancy
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- Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
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Re: Whatcha reading?
44) I'm a Joke and So are You: A Comedian's Take on what Makes Us Human - Robin Ince. 2018. Audiobook read by the author, who has a mildly annoying voice and an overall pedantic nerd persona that just lands on the right side of likable for me. He also does a great Stewart Lee impersonation when reading that comedian's backhandedly complimentary introduction. Ince is a comedian I like best when not watching him but this is a good book, an interesting look at creativity and how it might get formed by our brains with funny asides and interviews with worthwhile subjects.