4/16/10

Top Ten Time

I just posted something along these lines as a comment to a reader, but since I'd be interested in what others might put on their lists, I'm re-posting (that sounds a little like composing, doesn't it?) here for everyone else.

Basically, I'm interested in what your top ten rock 'n' roll reads might be. Here are mine in no particular order:

1. "Rock & Roll Will Save Your Life" -- Steve Almond (the MAN!)

2. "No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs" -- Johnny Rotten (the other man!)

3."Lipstick Traces" -- Greil Marcus (ok, ok, he's the man too)

4. "Please Kill Me" -- Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain (the man AND the woman)

5. "Elvis" -- Albert Goldman (hate him if you want, but it's a damn fun read and at least as regards Elvis' early recordings, SMART!)

6. "Revolution in the Head" -- Ian MacDonald (an amazing Beatles book)

7. "The Day John Met Paul" -- James O'Donnell (the imagined first meeting of the two based entirely on the factual record)

8. "The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones" -- Stanley Booth (cool and scary)

9. "Beneath the Underdog" -- Charles Mingus (not strictly rock 'n' roll, but the great jazz bassist's autobiography reads like a "Behind the Music" episode as written by Shakespeare.)

10. "Powerhouse" -- Eudora Welty (again, not strictly rock, but this short story about a blues organ player has one of the best evocations of music in words I've read anywhere. Great stuff!)

Oh, and one more has to be squeezed in:

11. "Chronicles" -- Bob Dylan (you've heard of him, right?)

Ok, I'm sure there are others, but these are the first that leap to mind.

Your turn!

3 Comments:

Blogger Sam said...

I like this one book? By this guy from Georgia? With the long, silly title? About the Jews and stuff?

That's a really good one. :)

April 16, 2010 10:23 PM  
Blogger AmyM said...

Got Johnny's book next to my bed, propped up, so I can always see that wonderful cover picture.

April 17, 2010 11:30 AM  
Blogger Susan Helene Gottfried said...

You're kidding, right? You want my Top 10?

Okay... I'll go do it over at my place. http://westofmars.com/blog -- that's my author site, not the book site. See how special you are to me???

April 17, 2010 2:01 PM  

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