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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Wonderful account of the lives and times of The Only Band That Mattered with forensic analysis of the 4 core members and management and friends. The tensions that inspired some great music are well documented here, along with the making of some classic albums.
I enjoy reading different telling of stories of bands/musicians and piecing together things from older books with things known today in more recent writings. It casts light on certain things that were less certain in past writing. It makes instances make more sense some times. Had that happen twice with this book.
This book was an enjoyable read and, man, did the people surrounding the band have some withheld issues with all that went on.
This book was an enjoyable read and, man, did the people surrounding the band have some withheld issues with all that went on.
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
The best rock band biography I've come across. It's obviously focuses lot on Joe Strummer, but other major band members also get nice amount of coverage. Structured in a to a compelling story.
informative
my rating of this book says i really liked it, but as it is a band bio, it was, at times, tedious..almost, at times, really effing boring. but who cares, right? i have been going through, like, the second great awakening of loving the clash (maybe it's an every 20 years thing? maybe i ought to save the other decent bio for when i'm 55?), so it just isn't enough to listen to, talk about, think about the band...is imperative to _learn shit_, too.
joe strummer is, clearly, the best of the icons who seem too-good-to-be-true, but here is an entirely true story: When i learned that john mellor (or whatever his given name was) was convinced that rock musicians were like mythological figures until he got giddy for woody guthrie and decided that he, too, could fight fascists on guitar, i was so fired up that i wanted to tell everybody! how is it that i never put that together?! of COURSE joe strummer was into woody guthrie (talk about a roots rock rebel, right?)! anyhow, i even told my dad all about strummer and guthrie (and also how the name "strummer" was another way to cut-up on himself for his supposedly 'clumsy' playing)...and, as a result of this conversation, my dad dusted off, tuned, and started playing his old guitar again. really!
joe strummer is, clearly, the best of the icons who seem too-good-to-be-true, but here is an entirely true story: When i learned that john mellor (or whatever his given name was) was convinced that rock musicians were like mythological figures until he got giddy for woody guthrie and decided that he, too, could fight fascists on guitar, i was so fired up that i wanted to tell everybody! how is it that i never put that together?! of COURSE joe strummer was into woody guthrie (talk about a roots rock rebel, right?)! anyhow, i even told my dad all about strummer and guthrie (and also how the name "strummer" was another way to cut-up on himself for his supposedly 'clumsy' playing)...and, as a result of this conversation, my dad dusted off, tuned, and started playing his old guitar again. really!
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Oh my goodness. This was an exhaustive history of the band and I loved learning about them, but fuuuuuck, the writing was so dryyyy. I usually read so fast, but this took me almost two months because it was so difficult to get into. But the content of it is great!
I love the Clash. I do. I love everything about them. So why did it take me this long to read this book? It's dense. Jam-packed. Every paragraph has at least two different anecdotes. This isn't a bad thing. Not at all. Actually, it's a good thing, because you really get to know their band personalities and how they interact. It's light on the personal info (which is fine, that's all been covered in other sources mentioned in the last chapter), but heavy on band inspirations, interactions and important performances. I liked this book a lot. Just give yourself time to take it slow and drink it in.