New PJ book....

demetrios said:

https://twitter.com/HomeTruant/status/1351206512291696642

They typos in that one page alone are an embarrassment to publishing. 

I just got this. I’m about 100 pages in. There’s a few tidbits here and there that I’ve found interesting that I didn’t know. MTV unplugged being filmed at midnight for instance. But man, the author is insufferable. “Like all Americans, I can measure out my life in mass shootings” is how he starts out the Jeremy section. Umm...ok. And the constant opinions he states as if they’re facts (the Red Hot Chili Peppers are awful, the Velvet Underground are basically gods) and stating which songs are good and which one’s aren’t (“Once” is “sophomoric”). Also kind of pretentious throughout. 

I liked it at the start. Some interesting sections. However as I've read on, I find it difficult reading and have stopped. Some of the on stage quotes from Eddie are tough reading, seem exaggerated (for the supposed anger). Listening to them live, just seems like normal banter.  
Constant criticism of the band and some classic songs too, sort of thing, why bother.

Early chapters of the book had a handful of interesting tidbits about moments or events that were new, the rest was mostly stuff any dedicated fan would already know and the opinions of the author who comes off as a self-loathing PJ fan. I get that we're all critical of certain songs, concert moments, decisions, events, etc. but I feel like there is so much more to appreciate about the band and their music and the way the have gone about being one of the biggest, most successful bands in music that deserves more pages in a book like this than the negative viewpoints the author chose to include. But, that's the author's prerogative and the fact that their are many books, docs, articles, podcasts, and more about PJ with all types of opinions is part of what makes the band continue to transcend just the music as they always have. That's a part of what makes them legendary. 

I'm halfway through. There's some good stuff in there that I hadn't read before - snippets of interviews that I'd not read and some quotes of on-stage rants/monologues that were interesting. It's a PJ book... so of course it's interesting! 

But in terms of structure it's a hot mess. The author is a bit of a pseud, so starts every chapter with a quote from some literary classic, which is totally unnecessary and very often has bugger all to do with the subject beyond the odd word. The book also has these flights of fancy where it'll take a detour into topics that are not necessarily unrelated to PJ's history at the time - i.e. David Gunn's shooting - but will overstay its welcome on these topics. A summary is fine, and obviously a bit of context is important, but you'll get pages of the stuff. Could have benefited from a bit of editing down. 

And then there are some HORRIBLE hot takes. I mean, everyone has their own opinions. No problem. But he outright dismisses Mother Love Bone as a piece of crap (aside from Crown of Thorns). And it's written as a statement of fact. And there are plenty of opinions like that. He's really quite dismissive about Ten, which is strange - I can only assume he didn't really get into PJ until Vs and so he's downplaying it a bit or something.  

It looks like the second half of PJ's career is given short shrift judging by how much the 90s takes up in the book. But then the author flat-out says that after their golden period (up to Yield) the band pretty much go to the dogs, so probably best he doesn't spend too long writing about that or it'll get uglier. 

So overall, a mixed bag. It feels like the stuff that's interesting is kind of "in spite of" the author rather than "because of", if that's not too harsh. 

Steven is my favorite music writer. He can do no wrong. His PJ book will be fantastic.

demetrios said:

https://twitter.com/HomeTruant/status/1351206512291696642

If the dude is just recounting things from the internet that is less than interesting. Give me something new or something I can’t Google.