A review by randombookgrl
They Just Seem a Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll by Doug Brod

4.0

As a life-long music lover who remembers being devastated when her older sister (who didn't even like the band!) received a puzzle of the KISS Destroyer album, there was no way that I could pass up a book featuring not only KISS, but also beloved bands Cheap Trick and Aerosmith (my first concert!). I had never heard of Starz, but I figured that if they were being mentioned on the same breathe as those bands, they had to be good also. I'm very happy to state that this book did not disappoint! Although it took me awhile to get through, that was mainly due to constantly going down rabbit holes, looking up people, events, and all kinds of things that were talked about...thank goodness for Google! There is honestly so much history within this book that I never had any clue about. The connections between the bands and their music- including management and producers- was fascinating to discover. It was also interesting to read of how those bands influenced so much of the music and artists that came later, especially in the 80s. which has also been my favorite era (hello, hair metal!).
There were some parts of the book that were dry and kinda dragged along (hence the 4 star rating), but overall, it was a well-researched and written exploration of music that has managed to survive and thrive over the course of four decades.