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biographies about bands/band members

WoundedThorns

New Member
during the summer i read Who Killed Kurt Cobain? and loved it. part of me doesn't want to read band biographies b/c they seem to almost.. alter my opinion about their music? or maybe i'm busy thinking about the bands history rather than focusing on the music sometimes... anyhow, does anyone have any recommendations? my taste in music is generally rock/punk/metal/indie. it could be about a band, band member, or just music itself.
 
I have read two band biographies; Pink Floyd's "Saucerful of Secrets" and one on U2 that took it up to "The Joshua Tree", and I can't remember the name of it. I enjoyed both, because I liked both bands and they were informative. But I think the U2 bio was more interesting.
 
Kurt Cobain

I read Kurt Cobains biogrophy this summer and it was amazing. I have never really been a nirvana band but i am now and it actually made me cry. I recomend it.
 
I've read loads of music biographies, and I find they only help with understanding the music. Here are a few of the best:

Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy by Harry Shapiro & Caesar Glebbeek (best Hendrix biography available anywhere)

Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance by Johnny Rogan (All about the Smiths. Morrissey's words shortly after it came out: "Personally, I hope Johnny Rogan ends his days very soon in an M3 pile-up." Yup, it's that good!)

Frank Zappa: The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play by Ben Watson (completely loopy neo-Marxist/situationist/Frankfurt school re-reading of Zappa's work - a good laugh.)

Hip Priest: The Story of Mark E. Smith & the Fall by Simon Ford

Captain Beefheart by Mike Barnes

Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis 1967-1991 by Paul Tingen

And finally, how about the best rock critic of all time:

Psychotic Reactions and Carburettor Dung by Lester Bangs - this guy has the rhythmic pulse of rock and roll embedded deep in his writing; definitely worth checking out if you haven't already...
 
Sounds like an interesting category. The only one that I have was written by Jim Morrison's favorite groupie. It's by Patricia Kenneally-Morrison, Strange Days: My Life with and without Jim Morrison. All that I remember about it was that they were married(at least she claims) by some pagan high priest. This is a topic that I'd like to read more about-some musicians are very intriguing.

You MUST read the reviews, they savage her pretty quick, here is my favorite one:


This woman is belligerent, obnoxious, delusional, angry, over-bearing, and a self proffesed know-it-all. If Morrison spent even half the time with her that she alleges, he must have been a very patient and tolerant individual. Or comatosed on booze. I read a third of the book and had to toss it because I couldn't tolerate her. She is so bitter, angry, and pushy, that she strikes me as one who would have been a consummate nag.

I have a suspicion that in reality she was just one of hundreds of convenient pit stops Morrison made while drunk. I also am left with the strong feeling that she knows this to be the case hence her flitting between love and deep rage toward this man. Unlike his other pit-stops, she can't let it go for some odd reasoning that only she knows. For some reason she seems obsessed with convincing the world that she has laid claim to the guy and nobody else should even have the right to mention his name.

She has a deep rage toward anybody who is not a Morrison fan. But she off-sets that by also having a deep rage toward anybody who is a Morrison fan. So in essence she has a deep rage toward everybody.

She seems to be jealously guarding this image of Morrison that exists only her mind. Hence her hatred for Doors fans. As for her referring to 'Doorzoids' as 'losers' that's ridiculous, coming from a woman who is obssesed and jealous of a relationship between a man and a woman who have been been dead for alomost 40 years. If anybody needs to get a life it is Miss Kennealy who does.

This woman is obviously not the person whom she is trying to convince the world that she is.... She's more like a nightmare run amuk.
 
A better Doors book, the one I have read, is by Robby Krieger. I think it's just called The Doors. Also, The White Album by Joan Didion has some Doors experiences in it and is a good book.

I have the old John Lennon: One Day at a Time, written in the seventies when he was alive. I used to have (a friend lifted it :rolleyes: ) a great Bob Dyland book, mostly photographs of him in the 60s and in London. I think it was called Bringin It All Back Home, but I'm not sure. The pictures were great, all by the same photographer.

Peter Coyote's Sleeping Where I Fall is sort of a rock-n-roll autobiography, just because of who he hung out with and where and what he was all about. He wasn't acting much at the time.


I can't think of any others off hand that I've read. I'm not much into fan-directed glorifications of anyone and definitely not into finding out who Courtney Love gets high with. But if Phil Lesh wrote a book (maybe he did?) I'd buy it. He's a smart person and into loads of cool stuff.
 
a1is0n123456789 said:
I read Kurt Cobains biogrophy this summer and it was amazing. I have never really been a nirvana band but i am now and it actually made me cry. I recomend it.


yeh i know what you mean. i know a girl who's one step away from creating an alter for kurt cobain, so i'm certainly not like that.. but the book definatly did make me angry about his death and changed my opinion about him. i'm glad i read it
 
"No one Here Gets Out Alive" about Jim Morrison. Sick dude he was but I DO love the music!
 
'I'm with the Band' by Pamela de Barres(confessions of a groupie) is a great read if you can get hold of a copy, Amazon usually has it.

Probably better for older readers as it's mostly sixties/seventies bands.


She had Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Kieth Moon, Jim Morrison, Don Johnson (I'm just naming a small few here) and really kisses and tells in a like-ably humourous and engaging way. Lots of good photos too.
 
Fool the World, about Pixies, is really good. It's a collection of interviews with band members, fellow musicians, and producers. A few sections could have been slimmed down a bit, but as a fan of Pixies and alternative music in general I was pleased with how the book turned out.
 
I have read two band biographies; Pink Floyd's "Saucerful of Secrets" and one on U2 that took it up to "The Joshua Tree", and I can't remember the name of it. I enjoyed both, because I liked both bands and they were informative. But I think the U2 bio was more interesting.

Are you thinking of "U2 at the End of the World"?
 
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