Loveless remains an enigma, 15 years after its release - an album so influential and groundbreaking that its chief creator, Kevin Shields, has been unable or unwilling to release an official follow-up. In his book, Mike McGonigal talks to all the members of My Bloody Valentine, in an almost certainly futile attempt to get at the essence of this extraordinary record.
My Bloody Valentine's Loveless
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Editorial Reviews
Review
'Want to impress your chums with your vast knowledge of contemporary classic albums such as Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation or the Stone Roses' seminal debut but don't have time to actually listen to them? No problem. Just pick up the relevent copy of the 33 1/3 series and hey presto, overnight musical genius'
(Stuff ) "Mike McGonigal's take on one of the biggest music geek albums ever is a brief and entertaining read that pulls the curtains back on this widely influential shoegaze classic. In-depth information on recording sessions and interviews conducted for the book with band leader Kevin Shields and his ex bandmate/lover Bilinda Butcher shine a blinding light on the album and why there was never a followup."-Under the Radar, Fall 2006
(Nick Hyman )'"Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine is one of the best albums on Earth. The 33 1/3 Series...has done a brilliant thing by having McGonigal writing a wonderful book about the album.'
~ Todd E. Jones, The Tripwire
“Mike McGonigal’s take on one of the biggest music geek albums ever is a brief and entertaining read that pulls the curtains back on this widely influential shoegaze classic. In-depth information on recording sessions and interviews conducted for the book with band leader Kevin Shields and his ex bandmate/lover Bilinda Butcher shine a blinding light on the album and why there was never a followup.”-Under the Radar, Fall 2006
(, )
About the Author
Mike McGonigal has written about music and art since 1984, when he started the fanzine Chemical Imbalance. An occasional curator, sculptor and DJ, Mike edits the arts journal YETI and resides in Portland, Oregon. He really needs to get out more.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Nik Zero
Format:Paperback
A mesmerizing record such as My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" deserves a far better chronicling than Mike McGonigal's entry to the "33 1/3" series. With so much time, money, and effort having gone into the writing and recording of the album discussed herein, one would think that a fan or aficionado of said piece might deserve substantially more than a few personal anecdotes strung together with some text gleaned from "soft-ball question" interviews. One would, apparently, be wrong.
McGonigal's major folly has been duly noted in several user reviews on this site that appeared prior to this one; if I'm not mistaken, the headline below mine screams, "Too much McGonigal, not enough MBV." That's a pretty succinct summation. To be more specific, though, this book reads like a report written by an over-enthusiastic high-school senior who has just discovered the work of Lester Bangs, and it's pretty obvious that the author of this piece is excited to be writing something that he knows SOMEONE will be reading. Thus, it seems he lets his own ego gets the better of him.
Between gratitous and blatant name-dropping (bands/artists referenced on pages 6-8: Dinosaur Jr, Flipper, G.G. Allin, Throbbing Gristle, Charlie Patton, Lou Reed, Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Maryanne Amacher, and the Sun City Girls; we get it dude, you like indie rock) and superfluous personal anecdotes (if you want to know what drugs the author was using or selling and when, check out page 17, which falls in the middle of a four-page "chapter" that's supposed to name and describe each of the individual tracks that comprise "Loveless"), McGonigal's narrative is a big, sloppy mess. Had I been the editor to whom the manuscript for this book was entrusted, I'd have told this kid to get himself a LiveJournal and forget the idea of ever seeing his words in print outside of the blogosphere. The most ingenuitive thing happening throughout the course of this text is the author's decision to name each chapter after a My Bloody Valentine song. Cosmic, man!
The second problem I encountered when reading this frustrating excuse for a book was McGonigal's frequent and mostly baseless statements of opinion. The author states early on that he can't think of another band "that went from sucking so incredibly hard to being so flat-out great," with no apparent verification or validation of such judgement. For what it's worth, I happen to think that two of the tracks from the "Strawberry Wine" EP and many of those that comprise the "Ecstacy" EP are, if not the stuff of greatness, then certainly very pleasant indicators of what would soon follow. Does my opposing view give me the last word on the subject? No, without some sort of supporting statements or evidence, it rings as hollow as McGonigal's pointless "I was there, man" assertions.
The only valuable portions of this book are the direct quotes taken from interviews conducted by the author and three quarters of the band sometime in 2005(drummer/composer Colm O'Coisig was apparently unavailable for comment). Admittedly, given the typical silence from the MBV camp, fans from around the globe should be grateful that such candid remarks were ever made public. However, even those remarks should probably have been edited and structured in a meaningful way. As it stands, the book often allows Kevin Shields' somewhat stream-of-consciousness rambling to occupy page after self-contradictory page. It's not that I think the man is a liar or a fool; far from it, I think (as is often the case) that the artist's current assessment of his own work is as valid as that of a major fan's, due largely to the state he was in at the time he made the record. (For further reference, see anything Keith Richards has to say about "Exile on Main Street" or Neil Young's comments regarding "Tonight's the Night.")
Let's hope that someone else reads this 118 pages of damn-near-nonsense and, possessed by as much anger as me but four times as much ambition, decides to PROPERLY write down for posterity the story of this band and the creation of their undeniable meisterwerk, the eternally beautiful and enigmatic "Loveless." Honestly, I'd rather gaze at my shoes...
McGonigal's major folly has been duly noted in several user reviews on this site that appeared prior to this one; if I'm not mistaken, the headline below mine screams, "Too much McGonigal, not enough MBV." That's a pretty succinct summation. To be more specific, though, this book reads like a report written by an over-enthusiastic high-school senior who has just discovered the work of Lester Bangs, and it's pretty obvious that the author of this piece is excited to be writing something that he knows SOMEONE will be reading. Thus, it seems he lets his own ego gets the better of him.
Between gratitous and blatant name-dropping (bands/artists referenced on pages 6-8: Dinosaur Jr, Flipper, G.G. Allin, Throbbing Gristle, Charlie Patton, Lou Reed, Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Maryanne Amacher, and the Sun City Girls; we get it dude, you like indie rock) and superfluous personal anecdotes (if you want to know what drugs the author was using or selling and when, check out page 17, which falls in the middle of a four-page "chapter" that's supposed to name and describe each of the individual tracks that comprise "Loveless"), McGonigal's narrative is a big, sloppy mess. Had I been the editor to whom the manuscript for this book was entrusted, I'd have told this kid to get himself a LiveJournal and forget the idea of ever seeing his words in print outside of the blogosphere. The most ingenuitive thing happening throughout the course of this text is the author's decision to name each chapter after a My Bloody Valentine song. Cosmic, man!
The second problem I encountered when reading this frustrating excuse for a book was McGonigal's frequent and mostly baseless statements of opinion. The author states early on that he can't think of another band "that went from sucking so incredibly hard to being so flat-out great," with no apparent verification or validation of such judgement. For what it's worth, I happen to think that two of the tracks from the "Strawberry Wine" EP and many of those that comprise the "Ecstacy" EP are, if not the stuff of greatness, then certainly very pleasant indicators of what would soon follow. Does my opposing view give me the last word on the subject? No, without some sort of supporting statements or evidence, it rings as hollow as McGonigal's pointless "I was there, man" assertions.
The only valuable portions of this book are the direct quotes taken from interviews conducted by the author and three quarters of the band sometime in 2005(drummer/composer Colm O'Coisig was apparently unavailable for comment). Admittedly, given the typical silence from the MBV camp, fans from around the globe should be grateful that such candid remarks were ever made public. However, even those remarks should probably have been edited and structured in a meaningful way. As it stands, the book often allows Kevin Shields' somewhat stream-of-consciousness rambling to occupy page after self-contradictory page. It's not that I think the man is a liar or a fool; far from it, I think (as is often the case) that the artist's current assessment of his own work is as valid as that of a major fan's, due largely to the state he was in at the time he made the record. (For further reference, see anything Keith Richards has to say about "Exile on Main Street" or Neil Young's comments regarding "Tonight's the Night.")
Let's hope that someone else reads this 118 pages of damn-near-nonsense and, possessed by as much anger as me but four times as much ambition, decides to PROPERLY write down for posterity the story of this band and the creation of their undeniable meisterwerk, the eternally beautiful and enigmatic "Loveless." Honestly, I'd rather gaze at my shoes...
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By P. Serilla
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first pre-ordered this book several years ago. The fact that like the real album, it's release was delayed for literally years played out almost like a quaint homage to the album.
I also really enjoyed the book, but not for the reasons I usually enjoy this series. The book does have a lot of McGonigal's personal anecdotes, but I was able to look past those, because he made a damn good effort to speak to every member of the band (3 of 4 are represented in the text), people from the Creation lable, engineers, management and friends. Primary interviews make a world of difference -- why speculate about Kevin Shield's state of mind when you can ask him? Few authors in this series have gone the extra mile to deliver points of view from so many people involved with the album in question.
I also enjoyed getting what I consider the first real response from Shields about the huge cost and time consumption of Loveless -- even if he's wrong, it at least balances out the people who say he bankrupt the company (clearly he didn't help).
However, the book is really only partially about Loveless and only mostly focused on the time the album was being made. It's really a My Bloody Valentine book and as Loveless is their most important work and took up a huge amount of the time they were a band, it's the central issue. The book treads into technical and song writing territory to a certain degree, however I still don't have much of an idea about what Shields was doing in the studio, but that has as much to do with the way Shields answers the questions as how the book was written.
If you've read every Shields interview and think you know everything about My Bloody Valentine, you can probably skip this book. If however, you want to read everything you need to know about them in an afternoon -- pick it up, it's a very enjoyable, if somewhat disjointed read.
I also really enjoyed the book, but not for the reasons I usually enjoy this series. The book does have a lot of McGonigal's personal anecdotes, but I was able to look past those, because he made a damn good effort to speak to every member of the band (3 of 4 are represented in the text), people from the Creation lable, engineers, management and friends. Primary interviews make a world of difference -- why speculate about Kevin Shield's state of mind when you can ask him? Few authors in this series have gone the extra mile to deliver points of view from so many people involved with the album in question.
I also enjoyed getting what I consider the first real response from Shields about the huge cost and time consumption of Loveless -- even if he's wrong, it at least balances out the people who say he bankrupt the company (clearly he didn't help).
However, the book is really only partially about Loveless and only mostly focused on the time the album was being made. It's really a My Bloody Valentine book and as Loveless is their most important work and took up a huge amount of the time they were a band, it's the central issue. The book treads into technical and song writing territory to a certain degree, however I still don't have much of an idea about what Shields was doing in the studio, but that has as much to do with the way Shields answers the questions as how the book was written.
If you've read every Shields interview and think you know everything about My Bloody Valentine, you can probably skip this book. If however, you want to read everything you need to know about them in an afternoon -- pick it up, it's a very enjoyable, if somewhat disjointed read.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Doc C
Format:Paperback
Like many others, I was really excited when I found out the excellent 33 1/3 series was doing a book on Loveless. I have been a fan for years, and still count it high on my list of best albums of all time. There is some good info in this book, but the author comes across as relatively annoying in his presentation. The book is badly organized, even ending with a chapter about an unrelated band!
In the book McGonigal even mentions that it had to be rewritten because MBV's Kevin Shields disagreed with the first version of it.
If you love the album, you will think the book is OK. Just be ready to ignore the author occasionally.
In the book McGonigal even mentions that it had to be rewritten because MBV's Kevin Shields disagreed with the first version of it.
If you love the album, you will think the book is OK. Just be ready to ignore the author occasionally.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
A disservice to a masterpiece
An album as iconic as Loveless deserves a much better writer. I still find it astonishing that this man was granted such intimate access to information surrounding this album. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Juan Diego Marroquin
1.0 out of 5 stars
Pointless!
If you know and love the album, this book is aggressively irrelevant. If you've never heard Loveless and are curious about the hubbub, take the money you would have spent on it and... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Brutus Franco
3.0 out of 5 stars
Impression more than Information
Not a bad book, but I was hoping for more insight into what was happening behind the scenes and possibly more about the making of the album. Read more
Published on June 10, 2010 by Ahren E. Lehnert
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tacky and tedious, it is amazing that this book was ever published.
This book has no business being published. Any mystic and allure of the album has been unveiled in the worst ways by an amatuerish account. Read more
Published on March 4, 2010 by "bingomaster"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book but....
I thought this generally was a good book - the quotes from Shields were probably the highlight of it. Read more
Published on June 25, 2009 by loomer5089
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quips and research
Loveless is author Mike McGonigal's tale as much as it is about this immortal record and even more legendary band. Read more
Published on January 12, 2009 by David M. Madden
2.0 out of 5 stars
Writing is amateurish at best
This book of fan-boy gushings from McGonigal is fine for, say, a quick read on a flight, but if you're looking for any kind of serious insight or analysis, look... Read more
Published on October 8, 2008 by Andrew Meyer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amateur/ Callow writing; Loveless Deserved Better
The original version of the book was held up as the author took his information from The Creation Records Story, a book about the label that put out Loveless. Read more
Published on March 3, 2008 by A. Perer
2.0 out of 5 stars
buyer beware
Several friends and I have had similiar conversations late at night listening to "loveless."
The writer takes an infinately interesting album and makes it boring. Read more
The writer takes an infinately interesting album and makes it boring. Read more
Published on February 8, 2008 by J. Schettling
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Read
The book was a quick read and offered a lot of information on the making of one of the greatest albums in rock history. I enjoyed it.
Published on May 26, 2007 by I. Levenson
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