Tag Archives: book

Must Own Book: Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock!

Queen Ultimate Illustrated History

It is no secret that, way back when I was a teenager, I was a pretty serious fanatic about the band Queen. It is easy to understand why, because let’s get real: Queen’s music is the shit. But to put it in perspective, you need to know that when I was in high school, Queen was absolutely like a way of life to me, or a religion. To really get what I am saying, you would have had to be me. I was obsessed with their music, in love with Freddie Mercury, and completely and totally gay for Queen!
Continue reading Must Own Book: Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock!

Recommended Reading: Fall to Pieces By Mary Forsberg Weiland

Fall To Pieces Cover
In Book Stores Now

Around the time that The Strokes were first being hyped-up-the-ass in the press as the Saviors of Rock – while simultaneously confounding my senses with their hopelessly derivative, shitty music – I found myself in the NYC office of that band’s publicist. This particular guy, who I’ll call Ken, because that is his name, had formerly worked as a publicist at the once mighty Atlantic Records and, in addition to working with upstarts like The Strokes, had maintained his relationships with some of that label’s artists.
Continue reading Recommended Reading: Fall to Pieces By Mary Forsberg Weiland

Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times – A New Book That You Must Own!

Good Times Book
Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times
A Visual Biography of the Ultimate Band

By Jerry Prochnicky & Ralph Hulett
with a foreword by Anthony DeCurtis

Getting free stuff in the mail is fun, especially when that free thing is a huge coffee table book full of pictures of Led Zeppelin, the greatest hard rock band ever in the Universe of all time. I’ve spent a couple of days looking through this amazing and gorgeous book and it has given me a nearly unprecedented series of nostalgic thrills, because I love Led Zeppelin so much. But whether you just dig Led Zeppelin’s music, or you are a total completist collector fan geek for whom the members of Led Zeppelin are gods – like myself – trust me, you will want to own this book. Authors Jerry Prochnicky and Ralph Hulett kick off a fantastic chronological collection of over 200 rare photos with a very complete yet concise introductory overview of Led Zeppelin’s career – from their first gigs as “The New Yardbirds” to John Bonham’s tragic death, and subsequent band reunions featuring Jason Bonham taking his dad’s place behind the kit. So, even if you didn’t previously know anything about Led Zeppelin’s history before picking up Good Times, Bad Times you will be an expert by the time you gaze at a beautiful black & white photo of The New Yardbirds on stage at their very first gig on September 7, 1968 (41 years ago today) at the Gladsaxe Teen Club in Copenhagen. History!

No one who lived and rocked through the seventies will deny that it was arguably the best era for Rock & Roll that still had balls; and no band personified The Rock better than Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin! Whether the photo depicts the band onstage, backstage, recording in the studio, on tour, or at home, there are accompanying captions with the details of and history behind each picture. I never get tired of seeing shots of Led Zeppelin on stage and in action. But I really loved seeing pictures of the guys with their wives and kids. I loved seeing pictures of them hanging out with groupies at the Rainbow on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. And I also found a nice shot of Jimmy Page’s Robert Plant’s exceptionally hot ass as he gets out of a pool after being pants’d by John Bonham. Candid!

If I were you, and did not get this book for free in the mail, I would buy it as soon as possible or pre-order it from Amazon right now.

Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times. A Visual Biography of the Ultimate Band will be released on October 1, 2009 with a cover price of $35.00.

Bacon Thing of The Day: Bacon Air Freshener

Bacon Air Freshener
“Mmm…Smells Like Bacon!”

Yes, this is a real product. From the website Smell of Books comes a variety of modern scents for your home, including: New Book Smell, Classic Musty Smell, Scent of Sensibility and Eau You Have Cats. But my favorite is the Crunchy Bacon scent, the first aroma in Smell of Books’ new Lifestyle Series™. “Designed especially for the health conscious book lover, Crunchy Bacon is a low calorie, low cholesterol alternative for your breakfast reading enjoyment. Suggested Retail Price: $4.99. What a bargain.

On This Date In 1973: Brian Eno Leaves Roxy Music

Eno Roxy
Image Source

On July 2nd in 1973: Brian Eno, synthesizer player for British art rock band Roxy Music, announced he was leaving the group after disagreements with singer Brian Ferry. For die-hard Roxy fans interested in an analytical peak into the the groups early (pre-first album) creative history, check out the book Re-make/Re-model: Art, Pop, Fashion and the Making of Roxy Music, 1952-1972 by Michael Bracewell available from Amazon.com at this link.

Remake Remodel