Biographies and autobiographies

[celerydunk]

Another thumbs up for Bobbi Brown's book. I was a teenager in the 90s and my teenage self enjoyed all the stories she told. I read Belinda Carlisle's just after and was disappointed. She talked about her drug use and being a distant mom, but I felt she was holding back the good stuff. If you are going to bother to release a bio about life in the 80s, it should be full of juicy tales, not vague stories.

The Dirt is also a fun read. Follow that up with Heroin Diaries. It's a wonder those guys are still alive.

I may pick up Rob Lowe's book. I love that era.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

Okay, that's it. The heck with other bibliophilic priorities. AFAIC, my priorities are to get my hands on Rob Lowe's autobio, Bobbie Brown's, The Dirt, and Anthony Kiedis' Scar Tissue.

I read a lengthy excerpt of Scar Tissue and it really captured a certain SoCal in the 70s vibe that was interesting to me. He also displayed a certain lack of contemplation combined with a memory for detail and dishing the dirt that was pretty awesome. It was the lack of contemplation that made it all the more fascinating. His father, Spider, was a dealer to the stars in the 70s and it's apparent he and his father both get a deep sense of validation from celebrity and having sex with as many women as possible. That's why his lack of contemplation of all of this is so enthralling. Considering the values he was raised with, he's doing about as good as can be expected.

ETA: OO! And The Heroin Diaries too!

[narm]

I read Bobbie Brown's book in about four hours. I was exhausted today at work, but it was worth staying up to read. Really, her book is not as deep or substantial as Duff McKagan's (yes, I'm wincing because I KNOW how that sounds) but her history of growing up in a home filled with domestic violence when she was very young was very brief yet poignant and hit home.

She seems like a pretty sweet person. My opinion of Tommy Lee is shattered. I mean, I knew he was no saint but yeeeuuuurrrrgh.

Overall, it was enjoyable and I hope she is doing well. It read like a note from your BFF in high school, if your BFF was ridiculously good-looking (tm Derek Zoolander) and a bigger butt-rock fan than you (as if). For my Kindle money, Duff McKagan's book was much more reflective and while I rooted for Bobbie, Duff's book of excess was way more compelling.

I thought the way she presented as very honest but fond and protective of Jani Lane was very sweet. I was also very moved by her confessions of how she felt like an inadequate mother to her daughter (she kind of was, but clearly loved her daughter).

It was juicy and gossipy. It read like my high school fantasy life. I hope she stays clean! My litmus test, as such it is: I'd be friends with her. She seems funny. I'm bummed to hear that Pamela Anderson was kind of conniving. I'm utterly fascinated with all these hair band books. Like it or not, that era is engraved on my wee brain and I unapologetically adore reading about those times.

I wonder if Pam has written a book? She seems honest enough to make a book GREAT. *off to google*

[satellite]

Supposedly "Star" was a very thinly veiled fictional biography of Pam's life, I don't think she's done a regular one though.

I ran and bought Slash's book when it first came out, but didn't get past the first few chapters. I usually don't read unless I'm home sick or traveling, and as a big G'n'R fan I felt like I pretty much knew their history from other books and Metal Edge/ Hit Parader/ etc. over the years.

Bobbie's book sounds interesting though, I remember her saying somewhere that Pam blocked her from Playboy (refused to work with them if they gave Bobbie a photoshoot). I always thought Bobbie was naturally prettier at the time.

ETA
I just finished reading our own Diablo Cody's memoir "Candy Girl". Good book and a quick read, but at the end I was side-eyeing the hell out of her relationship with Jon. You're on the pole apparently helping some dude with his alimony and child support talking about "our finances"?. Girrrrl...

Glad she's moved on and is having continued success.

[chiqui]

Speaking of Rock star biographies, I just finished the Keith Moon bio Moon, by Tony Fletcher. The gentleman really was as crazy (climically so) as his reputation suggests. It was also a good intro to The Who and the Mod and druggy LA cultures of the 60s and 70s.

[celerydunk]

I just finished Rob Lowe's stories I only tell my friends (I think thats the title). Interesting read. I always forget how everyone in Hollywood is connected to everyone else. He grew up with so many other celebrities.  It's also interesting to hear about teenage Tom Cruise.

Before that I read Pamela Des Barnes I'm with the band, a book I've been meaning to read forever. She clearly has no bitterness or negativity about all the men she hooked up with. I really enjoy reading about her conquests. chiqui, from the little Pamela talks about Keith Moon in her book, he was clearly fighting some demons.

I'm stuck on what to read next. I was thinking about a book on the Kennedys but there are too many to chose from.

[hamhock]

You guys should read Lemmy Kilmeister's autobio, "White Line Fever" [/metalhead]...it's amusing, lots of it takes place in the 60s and 70s (Lemmy's 70, I think).

Also, Al Jourgensen's "Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen"....it's insane.

[chiqui]

Before that I read Pamela Des Barnes I'm with the band, a book I've been meaning to read forever. She clearly has no bitterness or negativity about all the men she hooked up with. I really enjoy reading about her conquests. chiqui, from the little Pamela talks about Keith Moon in her book, he was clearly fighting some demons.

I read Pam's book too, and liked it a lot. She wrote a sequel about her married life with minor rock star Michael Des Barres, whom she later divorced, about the dark side of the rock and roll dream. I'd love to read that one too but it's hard to find. Pam got off easy in her relationship with Moon -- he regularly beat his first wife, to the extant of even breaking her nose one time.

Another good rock biography is Phillip Norman's one of Mick Jagger. He also released a recent one on John Lennon.

[chonies]

I wasn't sure where to put this, but I'm really into the story of Joshua Harris, the evangelical Christian author who is divorcing his wife and apparently no longer a Christian. His book came out more than 20 years ago and was something of a playbook for purity culture and Duggar-esque "courtship." The story is interesting to me because it sold so well when I worked in book stores, and a lot of the megafamily/prairie muffin/stay at home daughters/patriarchy/fundamentalist bloggers I read followed it. A lot of that world has crumbled for various reasons (I guess they discovered CrossFit), but the book and the lifestyles were definitely intertwined.

He's also asked his publisher to stop printing the book--this provoked a conversation in a library-related Facebook group about whether that means they should deselect it from their collections. Some librarians said their consortia didn't have copies, but I looked it up, and of course mine has multiples.

Anyway, I get a whiff of insincerity, like it's a platform for something else, and a writer at The Friendly Atheist is also less than impressed, too.

All that said, I've never actually read the book.

[celerydunk]

Bumping this up to report on Last Night at the Viper Room. Its primarily about River Phoenix, but also talks about the many celebs of that era (Keanu, Johnny Depp, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Leo DiCaprio all get multiple mentions). It was pretty interesting, easy read.