Books
Everybody Loves Our Town: A History of Grunge
Something weird happened as I was reading this book: I began to kind of loathe grunge.
I wasn’t expecting that. I’m usually impressionable in the opposite direction: well-crafted musical histories leave me unreasonably enthused about their subjects. After Please Kill Me…, Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain’s uproarious account of New York punk, I listened
Greil Marcus on Bob Dylan: “70s and the ’80s with Dylan was a real wasteland.”
Greil Marcus has been a leading American music and culture critic for over four decades. He is the author of 18 books including Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads and Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music.
His latest book, Bob Dylan: Writings 1968-2010…, is a collection of
Holywood Star: The Life and Times of a Rock and Roll Misadventurer
Author: Eamon Nancarrow
(Showcase UK)
Bandana-sporting, air guitar wielding aspiring rock gods of the ’80s take note – your ill-fated quest for rock superstardom has made its way into print. In Holywood Star… (think NI not LA) author Eamon Nancarrow recalls his pursuit of fame by ditching the typical music memoir fare of excess in
Kat Von D interview
Kat Von D has recently ticked off another accomplishment on her growing list of achievements. The American tattoo artist and TV personality flew into Dublin last week to promote her second book – The Tattoo Chronicles…. Kat took some time out of her busy schedule to speak to State about her new book, her
State’s Top 50 Music Books
It started off as an idle comment that turned into a raging debate – just what are the best music books of all time? Having canvassed our ever growing team of writers, here are State’s pick of the bunch…
31 Songs [Nick Hornby]…
Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel High Fidelity marked him down as the archetypal
Don’t Rhyme for the sake of Riddlin’: The Authorised Story of Public Enemy
An engaging if slightly lightweight book telling the detailed story of the early shaping of PE from the days of Spectrum and underground college radio – to the superstar status of the late ’80s and beyond. Written by a fan for fans it occasionally overlooks or assumes knowledge of some essential facts and is at…
Apathy for the Devil
Apathy For The Devil by Nick Kent (Faber & Faber)…
In his own right, Nick Kent was a talented journalist, prepared to wade through the cultural flotsam of rock music whenever required, even if it put his very health at risk. Stylistically, he was full of groove and bite – his riffs on fame, hedonism
Slash by Slash with Anthony Bozza
Saul Hudson aka Slash is telling his story – the first of Guns ‘n’ Roses to do so. As he himself concedes this is not at the end of a career, but closure on the end of an era and an important part of his life. Whilst there is a -never say never’ ethos in…
Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher to The Sultans Of Ping
Cork’s always been an individualistic corner of Ireland, and it’s that sense of isolation, blended with a touch of local genius and an ever-impressive music scene that’s the focus of this encyclopedic yet eminently readable scene summary from Mark McAvoy. Inevitably, there’s a hefty early focus on Rory Gallagher (who’s given an almost biographical going…
Seb Hunter Interview
Much like the staff here at State, Seb Hunter loves music, and he loves to write. He also loves a challenge, and lives his life in a state of perpetual indie love-in, playing in two different bands and listening to the latest pretty little things. Or, for two years, listening to only classical music (almost),…
