Summer Rock Reads

10 Highly Recommend Books

I’m a total sucker for rock and roll origin stories.

Spin a tale about how a budding musician first picked up a guitar or how a young band got together because of the British Invasion and I am all in. Such is my fascination with these well-worn narratives that I’ve been known to read them back-to-back(-to-back), the trials and tumults of teen and twenty-something troubadours blurring together into a soup of musical mythology.

Lately I’ve mostly been reading a lot of fiction—specifically re-reading the first 10 books in Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer series and Dave Eggers’s incredible Contrapposto—but as the summer heats up, I’m drawn back to rock reads.

I’m currently spending some time in the ‘70s/’80s Liverpool punk and post-punk scene with Penny Kiley’s Atypical Girl.

Here’s one of many favorite quotes (so far):

In the 21st century, I talk to people who are surprised to meet a woman who liked punk. They think it was all about aggression and masculinity. On the contrary, I say, it was liberating, it was fun, it was about possibilities.

Next up on my towering TBR pile are Clem Burke’s The Other Side of the Dream, John Robb’s Punk Rock Ruined My Life, and Robyn Hitchcock’s latest memoir Stranded in the Future. Those titles got me thinking about a few of my favorite rock reads from recent years. I put together 10 of them in case you’re looking for a good book to enjoy by the pool, lake, ocean, or oscillating fan this summer.

Happy reading, rockers.

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What Are A Few Of Your Favorite Rock Reads?

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I Don’t Fit In

By Paul Collins

The Nerves originally formed in San Francisco, but moved to Los Angeles where they helped kickstart the local underground music scene. Sadly, the scrappy trio of Jack Lee (guitar/vocals), Paul Collins (drums/vocals), and Peter Case (bass/vocals) fizzled out before Blondie made Lee’s “Hanging on the Telephone” a perennial pop favorite.

All of this is chronicled in Collins’ excellent autobiography, I Don’t Fit In, co-written with Chuck Nolan. If you are a fan of power pop, this is a must read. Collins’ firsthand accounts of this legendary band—and the incredible bands formed in its wake, including The Beat and The Plimsouls—are worth the price of admission, but it’s his sneering tone and unfiltered self-appraisals that make this fun read a stand out.

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1967

By Robyn Hitchcock

Unlike straightforward autobiographies that track the highs and lows of an artist’s entire career, Hitchcock treats us to extended glimpses of his groover origin story as a student at an all boys school and his colorful home life. Anybody who has dedicated themselves to rock music—either as a musician or fan—will instantly relate to the series of events that set him on the path to an impressive 45+ year music career.

According to Hitchcock, 1967 was the year that acts including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, The Incredible String Band and The Velvet Underground helped form the foundation for the inimitable psychedelic guitar pop he later created with The Soft Boys, The Egyptians and as a longtime solo artist.

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33 1/3: The Go-Go’s ‘Beauty And The Beat’

By Lisa Whittington-Hill

This book looks beyond the playful, polished image presented to mainstream music consumers in the early ‘80s to celebrate The Go-Go’s for the groundbreaking feminist punks they actually were. Even as Beauty and the Beat climbed the charts on the strength of hooky hit singles “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got The Beat,” this fierce all female band who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments faced countless challenges in the male-dominated music industry.

In this short, sharp overview of the album’s creation and lasting influence, Whittington-Hill does a great job of showing how The Go-Go’s made music on their own terms to lay the groundwork for future artists ranging from Courtney Love to Riot Grrrl bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile and beyond. Her fearless narrative combines a genuine love for the music with cultural critique to make this one of the most thought-provoking 33 1/3 books in the series.

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Too Much Too Young

By Daniel Rachel

Daniel Rachel’s excellent book tells the tale of 2 Tone Records, the label spearheaded by The Specials’ mastermind Jerry Dammers. Combining ska, rocksteady and reggae with punk energy, the 2 Tone sound swept across England on the tail end of punk’s first wave—briefly attracting other young acts such as The Selecter, Madness and The English Beat to the label.

Rachel does a great job of showing how skinheads undermined the core message of racial unity, fostering an atmosphere of violence at out-of-control shows. But it was ultimately bad business practices, in-fighting and the rise of New Romantic bands that led to The Specials breaking up and 2 Tone Records folding. This is a fun read and interesting narrative, even if you aren’t the biggest 2 Tone or ska fan.

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Under A Rock

By Chris Stein

I consider this one a companion to Debbie Harry’s excellent 2019 autobiography, Face It. While she was the fashion plate lead vocalist of Blondie, Stein was her lifelong musical partner and close friend helping drive the band’s sound.

With an eye on the conditions that ignited New York’s street-level cultural revolution in the ‘70s, Stein delivers a firsthand accounts of Blondie’s rise to superstardom and it’s continuing aftermath. This book is less a nostalgic trip down memory lane and more a poetic examination of the unflinching creative life, while still providing tales of rock star excess and detailed tour stories that music fans crave.

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Corporate Rock Sucks

By Jim Ruland

I grew up listening to punk rock in Southern California, so this book was a must-read for me. But you didn’t have to live a few miles from the Black Flag church to know how important SST Records was to punk and hardcore in the ‘80s, and how it laid the groundwork for alternative rock in the ‘90s.

Founded by Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn in Hermosa Beach, SST Records released music by everybody from Minutemen, Saccharine Trust and Hüsker Dü to Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and Meat Puppets—among many other seminal acts. But as the label’s influence and reach increased during the ‘80s, so too did their legal troubles and Ginn’s reputation as a confrontational artist and questionable businessman.

Corporate Rock Sucks takes a thoughtful, well-researched approach to SST’s complicated legacy as DIY trailblazers, giving all the relevant details while avoiding the temptation to over-editorialize. It’s a powerful book about an important era in punk rock history and definitely one that any true fan of the genre won’t want to miss.

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J Card Press: Fountains Of Wayne

By Fiona McQuarrie

This biography from J-Card Press makes it crystal clear that there was a lot more to Fountains of Wayne than “Stacy’s Mom.” Although the band members weren’t available to be interviewed, Fiona McQuarrie does an impressive job of covering the details of their career.

The chronological account starts with the paths that led to the legendary Collingwood/Schlesinger songwriting partnership, the addition of guitarist Jody Porter and drummer Brian Young, career peaks and (Winter) valleys, the breadth and depth of their catalog, and FoW’s lasting legacy.

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Hit Girls

By Jen B. Larson

Hit Girls is more focused on lesser-known artists than those who had a moment in the mainstream spotlight. The book is thoughtfully organized into six geographical sections, each with a handful of short artist features and interviews. It’s possible to read this collection in order, but I had a lot of fun just bouncing around based on whatever band name caught my attention.

Although obscurity is a big focus, Larson does a good of job using more familiar artists—The Shivvers, The Bags, Nikki & The Corvettes, The Avengers, and Plasmatics, among others—to create additional context and entry points. I definitely discovered plenty of new-to-me bands and music as well, which was probably the best part about devouring this book a bite at a time. A very insightful read for punk nerds.

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Remain In Love

By Chris Frantz

Talking Heads has always been an interesting band on the surface, but this career-spanning memoir takes you down into the creative machinery that drove their impressive musical output.

Part love letter to his bandmate, collaborator and wife, Tina Weymouth, and part detailed expose, Frantz explores the band’s legacy and his complicated relationship with frontman, David Byrne. Fans of Tom Tom Club will also not be disappointed.

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Now You’re One Of Us

By Jeff McDonald, Steven McDonald, and Dan Epstein

When it comes to writing about longtime “underground sensations” like Redd Kross, it takes just the right partner to bring their incredible 45+ year story to life. Jeff and Steven McDonald found the perfect accomplice in Substack’s own Dan Epstein, a longtime fan who was ready, willing and eager to take on the challenge.

The result is a definitive chronicle of the band’s improbable journey from garage punks and masters of ‘70s kitsch to alternative rock trailblazers and, finally, revered scene veterans who are still at the top of their game. Now You’re One Of Us is part of a yearlong Redd Kross celebration that includes the band’s self-titled, double album and Andrew Reich’s documentary, Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story.

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What Are A Few Of Your Favorite Rock Reads?

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⚡️💥 Speaking Of Books…I’ve Published A Few Myself

• Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop (Non-Fiction)

• Forbidden Beat: Perspectives on Punk Drumming (Non-Fiction)

• Bad Citizen Corporation: Greg Salem Punk Rock PI Series, Book 1 (Fiction)

• That’ll Be The Day: A Power Pop Heist (Fiction)

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