Customer Reviews

Rock On: An Office Power Ballad

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dan Kennedy landed a job many of us casually interested in the music industry have surely secretly or not so secretly dreamt about (aloud or otherwise), namely what it would be like to actually work in the music industry.

In "Rock On: An Office Power Ballad" (234 pages), Kennedy brings his story of what it was like to land a marketing job and work for a major label, just as the major music label industry model as we used to know it was about to implode (circa 2003-04). What makes the book a winner, and an irresistable page-turner, is that Kennedy brings it all with a self-depreciating sense of humor, and that it (and he) is all not to be taken too seriously. What strikes me when reading this, is that Kennedy seemingly did not have a lot to do. In the 18 months on the job, Kennedy accounts for a handful of real projects (including Phil Collins, Jewel, Fat Joe, the Donnas, and that's about it), and the rest is taken up by interoffice politicking, and doom-and-gloom over the pending job cuts. That's really all about it.

I will admit that I enjoyed reading this book, simply because it is well written and I am naturally inclined in being interested in the subject matter, but when all is said and done, I couldn't help but feel a bit let down. The book is fun to read, but is ultimately quickly forgetable.

The book reminds me of that album that you bought because you heard one great song on the radio - you anticipated that this one song is so well written, so talent laden, that the rest of the album must be the same. As you open the package you feel that you may have another example of "Led Zeppelin IV" or "Appetite for Destruction" or "Nevermind". Only until after you get past the first two or three songs which pass for decent, do you realize that you've been duped into buying an average to below average album by a band that will fade into rock history.

I read the first chapter in the book store and felt that I had found another Chuck Klosterman or another Cintra Wilson - someone with a biting wit, someone who would expose through comedy the banality of our current media culture. Instead the first chapter fooled me into thinking the rest of the book would be as entertaining. As the chapters proceeded the wit became a simple repeating of his day to day business at this record company followed by giant misses of comedy and satire then followed by some supposed commentary on what ridiculousness the record company has become and what talentless hacks they push through to superstardom today. Ironically this seems to be exactly what has happened to Dan Kennedy based on his associate with McSweeney's and his packaging as a Chuck Klosterman-type rock satirist.

The book does have its funny moments, but too few and far between, while the rest of the book resorts to useless commentary on an industry we already knew was bloated and out of touch. Kennedy seemingly complains and ridicules the business that most readers can see he dearly wants to fit into and succeed in. His life and the time spent in the record company is about as uninteresting as his writing style and humor and I wish that I could return this book for a full refund along with the Black Stone Cherry and Wicked Wisdom CD's I recently bought.

It's not often that a 200 page, afternoon read can seem bloated, but the music industry exploits in Dan Kennedy's Rock On pulls it off. Anyone that has ever worked at any level of corporate America (half the country) can relate to the office politics and positioning, especially when it is in such a coveted and lucrative industry as popular music, but I've heard far more interesting war stories from inside the walls of Kraft Foods. Even for those not in the music business, it should come as little surprise that the executives making the decisions aren't nearly as passionate about music as they are about their annual bonus and job security. That's right, people, the music industry, like nearly every other industry based in midtown Manhattan, is totally corporate. No, really, it totally is all about the money. I know, news to me. Someone tell Ryan Seacrest to put down that Coca-Cola.

Even though the theme of corporate take-over of popular music and the subsequent vaccuum it has unleashed upon the quality of the product (see Col. Parker) has been discussed ad naseum, it would be easy to ignore if Kennedy's exploits had been a tad more entertaining, or even, more unique to the music industry (because if he simply intends to reveal the sterility of the industry's office environment, he's wasting all of our time). Kennedy attempts to paint himself as the outsider looking in, as the eyes and ears of Joe Music Lover, but his awkward and positively neurotic interactions make it difficult for anyone to relate to him or his petty, mundane professional problems, especially after how quickly he gets sucked into the corporate culture himself and painfully tries to fit in. Instead of the exploits of a man crushed by the reality of his well-paying dream job as seasoned corporate sharks push him around and the push-over cross he bears throughout his tenure and the book, the first 100 pages sound more like George Costanza fan fiction as Kennedy is unable to shake the monkey on his back that is his suburban white skin, and completely uncomfortable interacting with nearly anyone outside of that skin. Meanwhile, the missiles he launches at his self-absorbed co-workers sound like those of the quiet, alienated 8th grader plotting to kill everyone because he doesn't fit in, thus making the reader question his worthiness as the audience's emissary (or mole).

Had Rock On been more focused, the nearly redeeming chapter (and highlight of the book) about an anarchic Iggy Pop concert would be a microcosm of the problems with Kennedy's book. While Iggy trashes the VIP room during the course of the concert in iconoclast fashion, Iggy himself is still an act from some 30 years ago performing for industry big-wigs at a major Manhattan music venue. While the show sounds great (Kennedy's own enthusiasm shines) and Iggy is known for not bending to anyone (except GAP ads and Carnival Cruise, perhaps), it's apparent that the 30-something Kennedy isn't so different from his corporate co-worker that he dubs "Rush Hair" for both worship at the feet of acts whose time have long since passed, however, one of them has a lot more money to show for it.

When Kennedy is enthusiastic about his subject (and not completely neurotic) the book is mildly enjoyable and it does have a few humorous moments (the less said about the interstitials the better), but when your book's thesis is essentially, "man, was this ever disappointing," it's a long way to page 199. Even "Rush Hair" probably knows that those double albums of the 70's probably should have been EPs.

Very amusing, and worth buying if only for the fantastic description of an Iggy Pop concert, an authentic moment that highlights the inauthenticity and phoniness of the record business Kennedy exposes throughout the rest of the book. The McSweeney's/DF Wallace style may not be to all tastes, but "Rock On" shows why the major labels deserve everything that's happened to them.

this is a book you can keep next to the toilet. Once you leave the warm confines of your bathroom, do something else.

Kennedy writes with a highly aware, overtly insecure style that will appeal to some and turn others away. It is the tone that defines Generation Y, and though Kennedy avoids that label by a small span of years, he is in tune with the emotions of that culture. At the core of Rock On is a struggle with class, race, and feelings of inadequacy. It's a delayed adolescence taking place in the epitome of juvenility: the record industry. Kennedy writes with wit and a keenly sensitive radar for the absurd. But perhaps the best chapter of his memoir is a reflection on what music really means to him: when he sees Iggy Pop live, the reader can literally feel the sensations that Kennedy is feeling - they will want to run to their nearest concert venue and join a mosh pit. The book doesn't have much of a climax. The narrative stays level throughout, leaving the ending to be unexciting and leaves the reader with mixed emotions about music as a whole. With clever lists and recommendations for the industry strewn throughout, the adventure is episodic but truly genuine.

An amusing memoir of the author's time spent working at one of the mmusic industry in marketing, ROCK ON reminds me of those mildly satirical memoirs, novels and story collections that were popular during the 80's--it manages to take the stuffing out of the industry AND the author both at the same time. Author Dan Kennedy isn't afraid to poke fun at himself (for example at one point he meets Duran Duran and tells everyone including the band's manager that he's a huge fan of them assuming that the manager IS part of the band).

If there's a flaw it is simply that Kennedy hasn't penned a book with lasting resonance--it's like a Big Mac Meal you'll enjoy it at the time but forget about in a couple of days. That's OK because that's truly what it is designed to do--make fun of the very rock/pop/rap culture that Kennedy is also celebrating--the ultimate goal of satire.


Kennedy's book is even more timely given the crisis in the music business going on right now. The very absurdities that he makes fun of here contributing to the downfall of one of the most overpriced and greedy industries outside of the oil and movie businesses.

Is ROCK ON a great book? No. Is it entertaining? Yep. It might not go down in as a great work in the annals of literature (at least right now...the book industry/critics are everything that the folks are in the music industry and more because they think that they are MORE important. Dan there's an idea--satirize the publishing industry next)but you'll enjoy it at the same time as you recognize the absurd excesses that you've heard (or read in memoirs)about the music biz.

Great insider perspective of the downfall of a major music label. Kennedy's laugh out loud descriptions from the perspective of an office drown in the mist of things had me reading passages outloud to whoever would listen around me. Some of the info was so insider, such as his keen description of the sell-out of Jewel, that I was left wondering how many enemies that Kennedy had garnered after publishing this.

This mostly autobiographical account of Dan Kennedy's foray into Atlantic Records' promotions department, at times wryly hilarious, is exemplarary light reading, particularly for music fans so....fantatical that even the industry's inner workings have an aura of "cool." That was one of Kennedy's (a bigtime rock fanatic and one time garage band musician) primary motivations, along with his track record of unemployment and lack of direction. Working freelance, his one-shot promotion of MoTown Records (one of the best scenes in the book) catapaults him to his own office, a secretary, and a variety of campaigns and promotional videos working for some of the biggest jerks (both corporate and musical) he's ever encountered.

Why he's so surprised that his adolescent idealization of music doesn't extend to the INDUSTRY is one of the off-tone problems with the book. He's not a kid--he's in his mid 30's--and the trajectory of his initally wide-eyed view of the industry turning to cynicism doesn't surprise us--and shouldn't have surprised him. THe characters and office politics might fit into any corporate setting, and while he effectively and often quite humorously describes the huge gulf between those who really LOVE the music (him, of course, and a very, very small number of others) and those who are either rich and getting richer, or resting on laurels earned a decade and several genres before, it doesn't feel particularly fresh (even if it's drawn from REAL LIFE!).

Despite thhese reservations, there's some keen observations here, and some "set pieces" that are--or seem--spot on. THe filming of a rapper's promo video, his gentle skewering of Phil Collins (perhaps the best part of the book, but then, it helps if Phil Collins is the musician you love to hate--there must be millions), and the dissection of corporate-speak are quite funny and make this a worthy effort. It's interesting that the book is most realistic-sounding and alive when Kennedy doesn't try as hard--as when describing his off-hours musings with a sound engineer. These more grounded scenes nicely balance Kennedy's (too) requent inner monologues and sometimes redundant parodies of management.

Bottom-line: Well worth the time and money if humorous writing about the music industry, corporate cynicism, and coming-of-age when you're over 30--spiked with some well-placed name dropping--is your bag. However, if you feel you've read this before, look elsewhere.

Note: The inordinate number of typos and overall sloppy editing interrupts the flow of the book and is pretty much inexcusable.

I enjoyed the first chapter, which describes how the character relates to music and how he thought he found a dream job when he landed a position at a record company. From there we are treated to scenes from that job. Two thirds of the way through, it got old and felt one dimensional. You never saw anything besides job related events. The setting was mostly at the office. It felt stifling after awhile. The writing was funny and clever but better used in small doses, not as a novel. This would have been better as a collection of short stories.