I Love Rock 'n' Roll (Except When I Hate It): Extremely Important Stuff About the Songs and Bands You Love, Hate, Love to Hate, and Hate to Love [Paperback]

Brian Boone (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 2, 2011

Music breeds duality. We enjoy the music we love-listening to it, talking about it, reading about it. But it's just as fun to passionately revel in mocking the music we hate. Fortunately, musicians make this two-lane path very easy to follow. Half the time they're creating timeless works of art that speak to the soul; the other half, they're recording ridiculous concept albums about robots.

I Love Rock 'n' Roll (Except When I Hate It) covers both sides: It celebrates the music world's flashes of genius, the creation of masterpieces, and the little-known stories...as well as the entertainingly bad ideas. Armed with a healthy dose of Brian Boone's humorous asides and lively commentary, you'll learn extremely important stuff like:

? How bands got their stupid names
? All alternative rock bands directly descend from Pixies
? The most metal facts of metal in the history of metal
? The secret lives of one-hit wonders
? The story behind "Layla," and other assorted love songs about George Harrison's wife
? What is quite possibly the worst song in rock history

Boone also reveals terribly useful information like chart trivia, the rules of music, lists, and many more origins, meanings, and stories about everyone's most loved and loathed musicians.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; Original edition (August 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399536795
• ISBN-13: 978-0399536793
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,045,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Boone's area of expertise is pop culture writing, honed over more than seven years as a writer and editor for the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series, which to date has sold more than ten million copies. He is also a staff writer for Retroist.com, and authors a music column for Popdose.com, and maintains humor and music blogs, respectively, at brianadamsboone.com and lovehatesociety.com. Boone is also the author of several plays and musicals and lives in the Pacific Northwest with his family.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced, playful jaunt through rock history August 6, 2011

By Zoe

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I write this seconds after finishing the book on the third night in a row I sat up way too late laughing myself silly at the author's wonderful wit and delightful style. The book is full of interesting nuggets of rock lore, most of which I had not come across before. It was an enlightening experience, to say the least.

Early on, Boone invites us in, describing the nearly equal pleasure a music enthusiast like himself takes from just reading and learning about music, as he does from actually listening to the music. As someone who spends a lot of time combing through allmusic, absorbing every little bit of trivia I can whenever I discover a band for myself, I felt like he was coming from the same place.

The book is very conversational. It reads fast and is a great time, not to mention that it is also very well written. In short, I had a hell of a lot of fun.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! September 4, 2011

By Bullett333

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Awesome book with the kind of information true music lovers like to read about!!!
The only problem with this book is that it is not long enough, i hope Mr. Noone will write a string of sequels!!!!!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read the little stories behind the bands and the music................
A BIG FIVE STARS*****

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book of witty music writing December 6, 2011

By Jeremy M. Barker

Format:Paperback

I usually don't like reading pop culture books, because let's face it, the Internet killed pop culture. Why read lists and factoids when you can look anything up on Wikipedia? But Boone is sort of like a meta-filter of information, drawing the strangest and most unpredictable links between music, pop culture, and the culture at large. From something as random to all the bad things that happened to all the athletes who appeared in the "2 Legit 2 Quit" video afterwards, to the Pixies-based genealogy of alternative rock. And he also seems genuinely interested in the material, rather than just rehashing factoids accepted as fact. The longer passages in the book explore things like where the metal devil horns come from (hard to definitively say) or how the entire, "Play 'Freebird'!" thing started. Boone thinks about music and writes about it like music geeks do, and has a surprisingly funny voice that's witty without resorting to snark. I read it almost cover to cover on a trans-continental flight this summer and it's great.