The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music (Paperback)

~ (Author), Iggy Pop (Author) "It was another spectacular LA early evening in late '74 with the sun still high in the sky and well, it just had to be..." (more)
Key Phrases: Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A literary greatest hits…A fascinating, rip-roaring examination…Depressing, uplifting, heartbreaking and hilarious, this should be required reading." -- Philadelphia Weekly, 05/24/06

"Kent matters because he wrote about rock better than anyone before or since." -- Tony Parsons, The Daily Telegraph

"No writer was closer to punk...Shows Kent's wider fascination with fragile psyches [and] fearsome egos." -- Blender, October 2006

Product Description

A smart, scathing look at the most hell-bent performers of our time: Here are profiles of everyone you'd expect (and a few you wouldn't)-Brian Wilson, Miles Davis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Sid Vicious, and Kurt Cobain. "Kent matters because he wrote about rock better than anyone before or since." -Tony Parsons, The Daily Telegraph

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 2nd edition (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306811820
• ISBN-13: 978-0306811821
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #292,149 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the brilliant stuff, March 16, 2004

By	wordnat "wordnat" (United States) - See all my reviews

wow. i'm only halfway through this mindblowing thing but i gotta write a review full of slobbering praise RIGHT NOW. i knew i was in good hands when i finished the first piece on brian wilson, which is by far the best portrait of GeniusAbuse that i've had the pleasure to wade through. then, like a brilliant album, the hits just keep on a-comin': jerry lee lewis (scary), rocky erickson (pathetic), syd barrett (sad), brian jones (sad AND pathetic -- nice job, mr. jones!). harrowing, essential "stuff".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Silver Linings, May 4, 2006

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

It is indeed the music that counts here, of the text as well as of the artists. It kicks off with Iggy Pop's fascinating foreword, followed by the equally absorbing preface dealing with Nick Kent's history as a music journalist. The value of each chapter is directly proportional to the communication skills of the interviewed: that is why the Guns 'N'Roses piece is a complete waste of time and paper and shouldn't even have been included in the book, whilst I loved the Roy Orbison interview although I've never really been into his music.

I found the Brian Wilson piece too long and do not agree with the author's assessment of the Rolling Stones after the 60s. His view of Kurt Cobain is a bit harsh and the non-interview with Roky Erickson a bit pointless, but I loved Jerry Lee Lewis, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis and I think the book's crowning glory is the chapter titled "Neil Young and the haphazard highway that leads to Unconditional Love."

What amazes me is how some of these artists managed to so consistently produce such sublime music while they were abusing themselves physically and mentally to such a gruesome degree. I suppose that is one of the intertextual messages of this book: no matter how low down you are, you can always pull yourself together again. It once again demonstrates the ability of the soul and the body to restore themselves. This is great rock writing!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and delicious, September 21, 2004

By	stoprobbers - See all my reviews

A large part of the seemingly eternal appeal of rock music is the seamy underbelly of the movement itself. Kent is a master at exploring this underbelly, mainly (it seems) because he lived it himself. The man briefly toured with the Sex Pistols, befriended some of the most disturbed musicians of the 1970's, acquired and beat some serious drug addictions, and never lost an inch of his literary edge. The articles, essays and interviews in "The Dark Stuff" are compelling, exciting, repulsive and entertaining all at once. Kent knows who to write about: he chooses the pioneers, the masters and the mysteries. Some of the best music journalism of our time.