'Live Through This' - biggest waste of trees ever?

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Is 'Live Through This' the worst rock book ever?
All I could get out of it was - there's this guy who spends half the book congratulating himself for disliking rock music because it's not cool enough for him, except when girlz do it (in the way HE approves of, that is), or when bands that invite him backstage do it because they're obviously the only ones to take his stupid writing more seriously than their own music. As an overview of a scene it's entirely worthless, saying the Smashing Pumpkins 'lack basic humanity' doesn't tell us anything about their (admittedly crap) music, it just sounds like a fit of pique that nobody cares about circle-jerking press parasites anymore. The writer is one of these critics who doesn't feel the need to back up any opinions, just saying "This is rubbish" or "The greatest album in the history of the world" is enough, but of course he excuses that by claiming to be so "passionate about music" that he doesn't need to elaborate. (Obviously not passionate enough to write about it in any detail, that's saved for the rawk'n'roll drinking stories that would be too laughably pathetic and boring for an Iron Maiden bio!)
Everybody bags on 'Flowers in the Dustbin', but at least that writer admitted he didn't care about pop music anymore, unlike this crap masterpiece which is countless pages of whining about everybody else's failure to give this useless scribbler a free ride on the gravy train forever. Apparently this idiot is the most famous critic in England as well. I shudder to think what the lesser-known ones are like if this drivel is any indication. Luckily I picked it up (vainly hoping for some info, entertainment, ANYTHING) incredibly cheap at a discount book shop, but I still feel ripped off - the only comforting thought is that the books are selling for 5% of list price so at least the writer's royalty statement will be as empty and devoid of interest as this lame cash-in attempt. I hope the publishers didn't actually read this thing before deciding to clog up bookstore shelf space, but it fails even as typical shoddy cash-in product - even the most fanatical grunge diehard couldn't find anything worthwhile in this dull, repetitious, and entirely pointless sludge!

― Shay Shandelle, Saturday, 30 November 2002 11:32 (twenty-three years ago)

everett true is the most famous rock critic in england!! jerry you won!!

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 30 November 2002 12:06 (twenty-three years ago)

i actually found it fairly insightful, I mean yeah, everett's a wankstick, he was friends with courtney for fuck's sake, but it's that lost-man insider as fucked up farsical neo natal post greek tragedy hero in a wagnerian sense that nails it for me.

― Queen G (Queeng), Saturday, 30 November 2002 18:17 (twenty-three years ago)

even the most fanatical grunge diehard couldn't find anything worthwhile in this dull, repetitious, and entirely pointless sludge!

yet they are tha ones that popularized Soundgarden. Think about it.

― cc, Saturday, 30 November 2002 19:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Erm... I really liked it. I'm not brownnosing or anything, really. It's exactly the sort of thing that made me, or rather, Fiona, realise that she could be a music critic. Because he doesn't try to provide stupid "objective" reasons about why he thinks something is good or not, it's just a visceral, emotional response of "this is crap" or THIS IS GRATE!!! which, face it, is the way that we form opinions about music, and then back them up with the intellecutalisation (I have no idea how to spell that) later.

(I hate Ed's computer, it tries to tell me when i've misspellt evuryting.)

― kate, Saturday, 30 November 2002 22:15 (twenty-three years ago)

I thought this book was kobain's diarys so when I read the first post in this thread it was pretty funny.

― , Saturday, 30 November 2002 23:21 (twenty-three years ago)

et seems to have a knack for annoying and frustrating people. once you get over that, i'm sure it's not so bad

― ron (ron), Sunday, 1 December 2002 03:09 (twenty-three years ago)

part of true's charm is his knack for annoying and frustrating people. see his tenure as the music editor for The Stranger, which was great.

― jack cole (jackcole), Sunday, 1 December 2002 04:16 (twenty-three years ago)

yes, that was quite a hubbub!

― ron (ron), Sunday, 1 December 2002 04:49 (twenty-three years ago)

five months pass...

I just found this - can we revive this thread?

Not least cos I'd like to point out that, no, my publisher didn't read a single word of this book. If they had, then maybe they might have found a way of placing it in bookstores. I mean, it's kind of obvious...

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 00:46 (twenty-three years ago)

heh classic Queen G up there

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 00:54 (twenty-three years ago)

i haven't read "live through this" but surely "blissed out" or any authorized biography of U2 is easily going to be the worst ever?

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 00:55 (twenty-three years ago)

sorry, i meant "manic pop thrill" not "blissed out."

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 00:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Man, worst "typical cash-in product" EVA! I even failed to put the band's name in the title (mandatory for ALL cash-ins, believe it)... but hold on! Most famous music critic in England?

In yr fucken face, EVERYONE!

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"crap masterpiece"

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 01:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, and could I finally please DENY the "he was friends with Courtney" tag that I've been saddled with for so fucking long? I never met the lady. Ever

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 01:03 (twenty-three years ago)

And I mean ever. G'nite

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 01:04 (twenty-three years ago)

*befuddled*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 03:15 (twenty-three years ago)

G'mornin'.

(Clutches head. Groans.)

Why isn't there a firewall or something that can stop me from posting when drunk?

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If such an internet breathaliser existed, ILX would not exist! (or at least, not as we know it...)

― kate, Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:04 (twenty-three years ago)

I enjoyed the book, Jerry.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:27 (twenty-three years ago)

But the most famous music critic(s) in England are surely Simon and Nikita. They have youth on their side. (Please don't take this personally).

Plus, Simon's friends with Courtney. AND So Solid.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Plus, Nikita's writing a Ramones book! :P

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:31 (twenty-three years ago)

''I enjoyed the book, Jerry.''

don't lie nordicz ;-)

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Julio, stirring again! :P

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:38 (twenty-three years ago)

man its shit book (lets not be objective abt this) and i haven't even read or seen a copy of it anywhere!

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:46 (twenty-three years ago)

You could say the same about the Carducci book, then...

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:50 (twenty-three years ago)

By the same rationale, you could say that about the Carducci book...

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Oops!

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Nordic in double-post non shockah!

(I would just like to add that there was a time when I wore out my copy of a Love Battery album)

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 09:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Is "Live Through This" anywhere near as good as Everett's 60 page Supergrass tome from 1995, available from all large branches of "The Works" nationwide?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 13:06 (twenty-three years ago)

We found that Supergrass book in Nottingham for a pound while we were on tour. We were very amused.

― kate, Tuesday, 20 May 2003 13:37 (twenty-three years ago)

It was 50p in Northampton.

Any advance on 50p?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 14:09 (twenty-three years ago)

(lets not be objective abt this) - fucking damn straight! I scnd tht emtn.

Fuck me, that Supergrass book: you know the story about how I had a theory at the time of writing it that not one person bothered to even proof read those cash-in "chart" books and so I decided to test it out by inserting a completely irrelevent story about how I'd had to have my testicles reduced in size at the age of 15 at the start of chapter three. Bingo! It turned up in the printed version.

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 15:05 (twenty-three years ago)

Fuck, I wish I'd have bought it now.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 15:16 (twenty-three years ago)

I read it cover to cover (OK, you get bored on tour) and found no such story! You are lying! (or else I was overly distracted by overly sized sideburns.)

― kate, Tuesday, 20 May 2003 15:17 (twenty-three years ago)

It's in there. Start of 'Mansize Rooster'

― Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 16:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Hahahahah!!!

At least you got paid! Who cares thatnobody read it!

― Jamson Smao (Jam), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 17:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I had a theory at the time of writing it that not one person bothered to even proof read those cash-in "chart" books and so I decided to test it out by inserting a completely irrelevent story about how I'd had to have my testicles reduced in size at the age of 15 at the start of chapter three. Bingo! It turned up in the printed version.

Ha ha! Why am I not surprised?

Those kind of books always looked like they had been rushed through with no proofreading or editing at all, let alone fact checking or anything like that.

― Nicole (Nicole), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 17:02 (twenty-three years ago)

The All-Saints one is going for 10p in Camden. I still had to hmmm and hawww over it!

― Jamson Smao (Jam), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 17:04 (twenty-three years ago)

So many books out there I can't possibly imagine ANYBODY reading. Today in a second-hand shop I saw 'The Twenty-Seventh Letter - the official history of BUSH', I'm like 'who bought it the first time?'

― dave q, Tuesday, 20 May 2003 17:28 (twenty-three years ago)

13 year old girls who wanted to be grunge?

― Nicole (Nicole), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 18:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, 1995.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 18:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Today in a second-hand shop I saw 'The Twenty-Seventh Letter - the official history of BUSH', I'm like 'who bought it the first time?'

The Vines.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 19:10 (twenty-three years ago)

nar they only listen to You Am I and Swervedriver

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 21 May 2003 02:50 (twenty-three years ago)

13 year old girls who wanted to be grunge?

Ah, 1995.

try 1992, dude. at my school, anyway. preppie girls gone Doc Martens/flanneled out. hott!

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 21 May 2003 05:40 (twenty-three years ago)

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