Something for Nothing: The Cash Grab of a Shitty Book
I’ve seen Motley Crue nine times in the last five years. I’ve purchased plane tickets in order to travel to Crue performances. My love of the band is so well-known that people often come to me with motleyish questions. “On that first reunion tour in 2005, I could see how Vince Neil might have been…
continue readingGimme More: Why Recent Rock and Roll Memoirs Leave Me High and Dry
As the proliferation of hard rock and heavy metal memoirs continues, there is a growing trend of what I consider very “thin” books. This description doesn’t apply to the actual page counts, but instead the depth of detail and examination. All of these books made the bestseller list so clearly a certain amount of readers…
continue readingAce’s Authorial Wardrobe
That Metal Show on VH1 Classic is required viewing around my house. Hosted by Eddie Trunk along with Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, the show focuses on classic hard rock and heavy metal. It has also become a prime outlet for musicians to discuss their books. For example, drummer Carmine Appice recently discussed writing his…
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Round Up of Hard Rock Books
[Editor’s Note: The round up in this post was updated on October 17, 2023] Yesterday, we discussed the deluge of books related to hard rock and heavy metal. Whereas the prevailing attitude used to be that rockers don’t read, it now appears that anyone with a Marshall amp stack can get a book deal. And…
continue readingThe Onslaught of Heavy Metal Books
In 2001, in his debut book Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota Chuck Klosterman wrote “I mean, nobody literate cares about metal, right?” Obviously, Klosterman himself didn’t think that metal was unworthy of literary examination and he plowed ahead with the book that set the foundation for his successful career.…
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