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A review by jlmb
Bit of a Blur: The Autobiography by Alex James
4.0
I reading a Rolling Stone article listing the 25 best rock memoirs and this book was on the list so I checked it out from the library. I'm not a Blur fan though I did really like that Boys & Girls song when it came out. I just felt it would be interesting to read about this time period in music. I've read a lot of rock memoirs but realized most of the British ones I've read are acts from the 60s & 70s. Alex James is my age so it seemed like a good idea to get this book.
Well, I must say it started out horribly. I had no idea what he was talking about - don't know about many towns in England and what their reps are, don't know about British tv, magazines, stores etc. He seemed to be randomly bringing up people that he rode the school bus with, neighbors, friends of friends etc with no rhyme or reason. Also, his writing style and tone were so twee & pretentious yet simple minded, like he'd been dropped on the head as a baby. It was like a parody of Hemingway. "I went to the store. The store was big. My neighbor Fred was there. Fred has a sister who walks with a limp" etc. I started to wonder about who wrote that Rolling Stone list.
However, I am very glad I persevered with the book. I think at the beginning Alex was attempting to write like he was a naive child/teen. Gradually the tone & style of the writing changed & he seemed less idiotic. Also, I think I got used to his voice. Similar to when I read Patti Smith's memoir - at the beginning of her book she seemed so arty-farty & pretentious but then I started to like her way of looking at things. Same with Alex.
The memoir is less about the band and more about Alex. If I was a big Blur fan, this memoir would have made me angry. He does not go into a great amount of detail about anything in regards to the band. The fact that the guitarist left the band acrimoniously was totally glossed over. Thank goodness for Google. I had to keep looking up things that Alex would barely mention in order to understand what the heck was going on. He wrote a bit about recording the albums & writing the songs but not much. As for the parts about the tour, it was all anecdotes about partying & sex with random women. He does explain this lack of detail about the machinations of how the band worked by saying he felt his job was to be a wild rock star & wild rock stars do not concern themselves with things like contracts and schedules.
He certainly was good at the wild rock star bit. He was a hopeless drunk for years and years. Also did cocaine. He talks less about coke than he does booze but it is apparent when you read between the lines how much coke he had to have been doing. Booze & coke go together like peanut butter & jelly. He would go on multiple day benders with no sleep. You can't do that on booze alone. I was quite impressed with this story of a 4 day bender in NYC. He flew there from London with nothing but his passport & wallet. No suitcase, no hotel reservation. He just floated from crazy situation to crazy situation, losing his shoes in the process. He has lots of stories like that.
His social circle was surprising to me. In most rock memoirs I have read, the rock star hangs out with roadies, security guys, strippers, porn stars, groupies, drug dealers etc. Of course, they also hang out with other famous people too - but usually other musicians. Alex James was more part of the posh jet set. The type of people who have their photo in Tatler. A lot of them I had to google since they were famous in the UK and Europe more than here. He drank at private clubs & 5 star hotels & mansions & castles. He palled about with artists & politicians & writers & scientists & aristocrats & supermodels & billionaire businessmen. Nary a porn star mentioned.
Even though he spent a dozen years being flaky & loaded, Alex manages to land on his feet. Suddenly he decides to stop drinking and get a personal trainer and get his shit together. Why? Who knows. Alex is not terribly introspective in the book & doesn't reveal many personal things. He breaks up with his long suffering girlfriend & immediately jumps into a new relationship with a woman he promptly marries & has babies with. Hooo-boy, I bet his ex-girlfriend had many drunken conversations with her girlfriends trying to figure that out. "I stick with him for years while he is constantly high & cheating on me. As soon as he gets sober he dumps me & marries this other woman & moves to an estate in the Cotswolds & has babies." Oh boy. I feel bad for her. He buys the aforementioned estate in the Cotswolds, becomes a country gentleman who makes artisan cheeses & has 5 kids. Happily ever after!
I'm not sure what audience this memoir is directed to. There aren't a lot of details about Blur. And most people aren't odd like me & read random musician's memoirs. Yet it is a good memoir. Maybe if you just go into it as reading a non famous person's memoir, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Well, I must say it started out horribly. I had no idea what he was talking about - don't know about many towns in England and what their reps are, don't know about British tv, magazines, stores etc. He seemed to be randomly bringing up people that he rode the school bus with, neighbors, friends of friends etc with no rhyme or reason. Also, his writing style and tone were so twee & pretentious yet simple minded, like he'd been dropped on the head as a baby. It was like a parody of Hemingway. "I went to the store. The store was big. My neighbor Fred was there. Fred has a sister who walks with a limp" etc. I started to wonder about who wrote that Rolling Stone list.
However, I am very glad I persevered with the book. I think at the beginning Alex was attempting to write like he was a naive child/teen. Gradually the tone & style of the writing changed & he seemed less idiotic. Also, I think I got used to his voice. Similar to when I read Patti Smith's memoir - at the beginning of her book she seemed so arty-farty & pretentious but then I started to like her way of looking at things. Same with Alex.
The memoir is less about the band and more about Alex. If I was a big Blur fan, this memoir would have made me angry. He does not go into a great amount of detail about anything in regards to the band. The fact that the guitarist left the band acrimoniously was totally glossed over. Thank goodness for Google. I had to keep looking up things that Alex would barely mention in order to understand what the heck was going on. He wrote a bit about recording the albums & writing the songs but not much. As for the parts about the tour, it was all anecdotes about partying & sex with random women. He does explain this lack of detail about the machinations of how the band worked by saying he felt his job was to be a wild rock star & wild rock stars do not concern themselves with things like contracts and schedules.
He certainly was good at the wild rock star bit. He was a hopeless drunk for years and years. Also did cocaine. He talks less about coke than he does booze but it is apparent when you read between the lines how much coke he had to have been doing. Booze & coke go together like peanut butter & jelly. He would go on multiple day benders with no sleep. You can't do that on booze alone. I was quite impressed with this story of a 4 day bender in NYC. He flew there from London with nothing but his passport & wallet. No suitcase, no hotel reservation. He just floated from crazy situation to crazy situation, losing his shoes in the process. He has lots of stories like that.
His social circle was surprising to me. In most rock memoirs I have read, the rock star hangs out with roadies, security guys, strippers, porn stars, groupies, drug dealers etc. Of course, they also hang out with other famous people too - but usually other musicians. Alex James was more part of the posh jet set. The type of people who have their photo in Tatler. A lot of them I had to google since they were famous in the UK and Europe more than here. He drank at private clubs & 5 star hotels & mansions & castles. He palled about with artists & politicians & writers & scientists & aristocrats & supermodels & billionaire businessmen. Nary a porn star mentioned.
Even though he spent a dozen years being flaky & loaded, Alex manages to land on his feet. Suddenly he decides to stop drinking and get a personal trainer and get his shit together. Why? Who knows. Alex is not terribly introspective in the book & doesn't reveal many personal things. He breaks up with his long suffering girlfriend & immediately jumps into a new relationship with a woman he promptly marries & has babies with. Hooo-boy, I bet his ex-girlfriend had many drunken conversations with her girlfriends trying to figure that out. "I stick with him for years while he is constantly high & cheating on me. As soon as he gets sober he dumps me & marries this other woman & moves to an estate in the Cotswolds & has babies." Oh boy. I feel bad for her. He buys the aforementioned estate in the Cotswolds, becomes a country gentleman who makes artisan cheeses & has 5 kids. Happily ever after!
I'm not sure what audience this memoir is directed to. There aren't a lot of details about Blur. And most people aren't odd like me & read random musician's memoirs. Yet it is a good memoir. Maybe if you just go into it as reading a non famous person's memoir, you'll be pleasantly surprised.