Average customer rating:
- good one
- The life of the king of cool
- Average account of the screen legend...
- A very cool book about one of our coolest stars
- The best book about the most real action hero in history
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Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel
Marshall Terrill
Manufacturer: Plexus Publishing
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0859653609 |
Book Description
This widely acclaimed biography — complete with 45 photos — chronicles the life and times of a man whose power both on- and off-camera is legendary. Drawing from extensive interviews with those who knew and worked with the actor, Marshall Terrill relates McQueen's delinquent childhood, his success in films like The Great Escape and Bullitt, his harrowing last days in a hospital in Juarez, Mexico, and more. New and old fans alike will feel they have met this small-town rebel who kept so many millions spellbound. Includes 45 black-and-white photos.
Customer Reviews:
good one.......2005-12-13
I like to read biographies and this is probably the best one I read. The research of the author is extraordinary. The language is simple and one gets the feeling the author avoids speculation at all costs. And, although he's obviously a fan, he doesn't portray McQueen the hero, he portrays a 3 dimensional man. He doesn't hold back. Other reviewers claim this is the definite McQueen bio and I agree.
The book is never boring, quite a feat since it's more than 400 pages long. The films get an extensive analysis, and it's fun to know what went on behind the cameras. Terrill writes like he's in a movie theatre, watching a McQueen film and telling what he found about that magnetic actor, just like a fan talking to another fan (the reader). This is very difficult to achieve and Terrill succeeds. It's not pretentious, and it gets to the core. It's not one of those bios set out to demolish the person's reputation but it's not a glorification either. An extremely difficult balance, and Terrill succeeds in spades. If you think McQueen is interesting this is worth your while.
The life of the king of cool.......2003-07-25
With the movie "Bullitt" ranking at the very top of my euphorometer (how I felt leaving the theater)Steve McQueen from that day forward was my ultimate hero. Marshall Terrill has done me, and all Steve's fans, a great favor in this detailed examination of Steve's life. Many interesting tidbits emerge about Steve's relationships with other actors and how films projects developed. From Wanted Dead or Alive to big screen triumph, to the economic catastrophe of Le Mans, and onto his utter domination in the Towering Inferno, one feels as though he is present at those creations. Some touching moments too as Mr. Terrill tells us of Steve's battle with cancer and inner conversion. I often go back and reread portions of this indispensible book.
Average account of the screen legend..........2002-03-30
Steve McQueen has been a favorite for biographers to tackle over the years. His infamous off-screen adventures and hard-edged demeanor have almost eclipsed his work in the years following his death (and before, for that matter). Women loved him and men wanted to be him.
Marshall Terrill adds a well-researched and entertaining - if somewhat bland - bio to the stack. Most of the interviews are with old McQueen cronies intermixed with quotes lifted from other books on McQueen and autobiographies of stars like ex-wife Ali MacGraw. While 419 pages seems like it would be enough to capture the essense of a man I never got the feeling that I was hearing more than a dry barebones account of his life.
When all's said and done McQueen was a hero to many and a jerk to others. His odd behavior and Joe Six-pack mentalities may have put off some but films like Bullitt, Tom Horn and The Great Escape are proof that he had screen presence and attitude to spare. This book didn't tell me much that I needed or wanted to know, but would serve as a fine introduction to Steve McQueen.
A very cool book about one of our coolest stars.......2001-10-02
Its an overused word that is often devoid of any real meaning, but Steve McQueen was just cool. Even though he was usually described as being a "limited" actor, Steve McQueen was still a great star -- a talented man who perfectly understood his limitations and therefore was able to craft each of his films to perfectly showcase his strengths. As Marshall Terrill's biography shows, McQueen was an actor who always gave the perfect performance for the films he starred in. Therefore, if McQueen wasn't a "great" actor in the style of Paul Newman, he was a far more dependable actor and, in a true rarity nowadays, his was a name that you could trust when saw it on a theater marquee. Terrill's biography also shows that McQueen, as an actor, never succumbed to the elitism that seems to possess so many other film stars. He never forgot his humble roots and, as a result, he never committed the cardinal sin of seeing himself as being somehow above his audience. McQueen was loyal to the idea of providing entertainment yet, within those confines set for himself, managed to help craft such classic films as Bullitt, the Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, and the Magnificent Seven. As Terrill shows, even when McQueen went through a "classics" period, he still made a film that fit in with his own personal view of what his audience would enjoy -- an unlikely, unjustly obscure version of Ibsen's Enemy of the People. Terrill's recounting of the making of Enemy is one of the book's highlights and, to the best of my knowledge, contains anecdotes and information that can't be found anywhere else.
Also, a great deal of fun comes from the book's final section -- a listing of films that McQueen decided not to make. This listing of films famous and obscure is a trivia browser's delight and also invites one to imagine what might have been. While sometimes that mind boggles, others -- such as Steve McQueen playing Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (imagine the military madman personified by a cool killer like McQueen as opposed to a massively bloated, rambling Marlon Brando) leave one mourning the unrealizing possibilities.
Of course, since this is Steve McQueen, a great deal of the book is taken up with details of rampaging drug abuse and chronic womanizing. Terrill presents these facts in a very unsensationalistic, straight forward way. Surely, Steve McQueen would have appreciated the no-BS style to Terrill's recounting. One thing becomes perfectly clear -- even if McQueen did, quite often, the wrong thing, he did it with enough style to make the "correct" alternatives look all the more dull. Luckily for filmgoers, Steve McQueen was never dull and luckily for readers, neither is Terrill's biography.
The best book about the most real action hero in history.......2001-09-21
First consider how fine an actor Steve McQueen was:
From the 50s through the 70's, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, and Paul Newman were in close competition for the best "blue-eyed-blonde" parts in Hollywood. Newman and Redford are intelligent, versatile actors. Steve had a little less brainpower and range.
But from a physical standpoint, Steve wiped the floor with Newman and Redford (who are no sissies), or anybody else for that matter.
From playing golf and polo (Thomas Crown Affair) to marshal arts (Great Escape, Sand Pebbles) to auto racing (Le Mans) to motorcycling (Great Escape, On Any Sunday) to handling firearms (many), to handling tools (Sand Pebbles), every move Steve made was quick, balanced, controlled, and deadly. Steve's athleticism was inherited - his father was a "dashing flyer." It was psychological - Jim Coburn said Steve was "the most competitive person I've ever met." And it was nurtured - he was a decorated Marine, a bona-fide auto and motorcycle racer, and a serious student of marshal arts. He studied for years with the great Pat Johnson, and with the greatest, Bruce Lee. And Steve loved working on motorcycles and cars. No other actor in history had Steve's physical credits.
In all his roles, Steve understood that films are much more visual than verbal, and exploited his phyical qualities to the limit. That's acting intelligence.
Perhaps most importantly, Steve was INTENSE. Would you hesitate to make Newman or Redford angry? I wouldn't. Would you hesitate to make McQueen angry? I would. Read the book and see why.
And for what it's worth: Newman and Redford are pretty. Steve was swarthy. How many blue-eyed-blondes are swarthy?
Next consider the book:
Mr. Terrill's account of Steve's personal life is clear, comprehensive, balanced, and filled with great photos. Terrill's direct access to many people who personally knew or worked with Steve is evident on every page.
Terrill builds up the story with a thorough account of Steve's extremely tough, fascinating early years. You get to know the forces behind Steve's failures and successes as an adult. Although you know all along that Steve eventually "makes it," Terrill makes you feel intensely how unlikely a candidate Steve was for acting stardom.
Terrill covers Steve's great romance and marriage with Neile Adams, the immensely painful breakup, the scandalous romance and marriage with Ali McGraw, and the twilight-marriage with model Barbara Minty.
Not least of all, Terrill makes you appreciate McQueen's extremely underestimated acting talent. Steve was not a "yes-sir" actor. He molded all his parts strongly. He was particularly good at understanding how to stay just on the "reality" side of things, even though he was primarily an action star. So he deserves a great deal of credit for his own success.
By the end, Terrill has taken you through the many lives of Steve McQueen.
Plus, Terrill includes a filmography and a great treat: a list of movies Steve ALMOST made. The list is long and often surprising.
Finally consider the combination, and buy this book.
I've read it three times and will end up reading it many more times.
PS: I understand that there are plans in Hollywood to make a movie about McQueen's life based on Terrill's book. If it captures one-tenth of the romance, adventure, and excitement in the book, it will be a wonderful movie!
Book Description
Warm, wise, outrageously funny--and simply outrageous--Rebel Heart is Bebe Buell's no-holds-barred account of her life at the center of the rock scene in the '70s and 80's, when rock stars were royalty. A supermodel before the term was coined, Bebe worked with the best of them (Scavullo, Avedon), met everyone (from Warhol to Dali), and captivated a generation of rock's greatest talents.Her relationships ranged from wunderkind Todd Rundgren to Aerosmith's Steven Tyler (father of her daughter Liv), from Mick Jagger to wordsmith Elvis Costello.Not to mention the fun she had with everyone from Rod Stewart to Ron Wood, Jimmy Page to Jack Nicholson.In Rebel Heart, Bebe drops readers back into the heyday of the scene and reveals the true details of a vanished world that continues to fascinate today.Her spirit informed some of the greatest songs of her time and the life she lived was, above all, fun.Illustrated throughout with over a hundred photographs--many of them rare snaps from Bebe's personal collection--REBEL HEART will deepen even the most ardent fan's understanding of rock 'n' roll. AUTHORBIO: Bebe Buell performs with her band across the country; she lives in New York City and in Maine.This is her first book. Victor Bockris is the author of Uptight: The Story of the Velvet Underground and What's Welsh for Zen: The Autobiography of John Cale.He lives in New York City.
Customer Reviews:
Poor Bebe.......2007-08-30
What a pathetic piece of flotsam. Never "anyone" but chose to sleep with "everyone", boy or girl, no difference - if she thought that they could help her "career" - such as that was. "Was" may be too kind of an interpretation. A zero of a "model" who chose to hook her wagon, or legs, around anyone holding a guitar. This is a fun read just for its prurient nature, but her whole "poor me, I'm so talented BS" is shameful. She was marginally recognized for the men with whom she slept - nothing more. Liv, I'm glad that you rose above your upbringing - lucky for you your "mother" had very little to do with it.
Juicy!.......2007-07-14
I never heard of this woman until I recently saw an E! "rocumentary" about Steven & Liv Tyler, and Bebe spoke about her role in their lives.
Bebe Beull has been there, done that & then some. By the end of the book her life has come full circle which is no surprise. The reality is that many women experience similar situations in their lives, just not on the grand scale of living the high life while sharing free love with rock stars. Bebe is the poster girl for free love in the 70s & 80s; everything you imagined that lifestyle to be really WAS. It was exciting yet emotionally painful. Doors opened for her because of her beauty but then she experienced a similar midlife crisis that many women do where you have to answer to the the choices you've made, while your beauty perks start to wane.
There's something somewhat admirable about her ability to have sex freely with so many men. Lots of women would like to experience that but aren't so gutsy. (I'm surprised that she never mentions whether any of her friends or lovers died of AIDS, if AIDS affected her lifestyle...with everyone sleeping with everyone else you wonder how everyone remained healthy.)
Back to the book: Through it all, it seems she kept thinking someone else was going to take care of her, when, just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, she had the power to do that all along for herself. A part of her seems to never believe that she alone was enough,important enough, creative enough, smart enough to hit the heights. She gave her power away too often. But for women of her generation, and even girls nowadays who believe 'the right powerful, rich, sexy man' is the answer to their prayers, that is often the case.
Bebe speaks of her great posture & impeccable manners; these attributes may have given her an edge others didn't have. She's "every woman" in that she has a many-faceted personality-sweet & evil, manipulative & fair, a giver & a taker. After all is said & done, she realizes her love for her mother, cousin, daughter---family---is what matters. I enjoyed the book.
(Fem) eyes, wide open .......2007-06-06
What a cool read! I was shocked to see so many dismissive, abusive reviews at Amazon; probably written by a bunch of pothead dudes. Hey, just look at the cover photo - that hair! I'm gonna faint! And Buell's text flows with more introspection and wit than I expected. She really conveys the uberfem existence, floating serendipitously along the power trails of megadaddies. Of course, I had to envy her charmed fortune. No bimbo, she knew the score and her place in it. Did rather well, all and all. (I will confess, looking at her lyrics, it was obvious to me why Buell couldn't get it on as a recording star. Too bad she didn't get herself some backing vocal action going with the Stones or Aerosmith to prime the career pump. But, anyway!) Name-dropping good fun (with some understandable defensiveness regarding her professional split with moviestar daughter Liv Tyler). A lovable read, and no doubt a lovable lady. Thrilling anecdotes, fascinating photos - and a real keen descriptive eye on all the boys' personalities. Very feminine assessments of her famous guys - that's probably why the Amazon reviews exhibit so much rancor. Plus her insights into her emotional (and, sure, sexual) giving as a livelihood and philosophy communicates a lot about the world all women know. Compassion for sale! Beull had (and saw) the fun part, but she tacitly and effectively suggests how, for lesser fem mortals, it is a brutally uncertain world women inhabit.
What a beautiful soul!.......2007-05-25
The first time I read Rebel Heart I kind of dismissed it. For some reason I took it out again and reread it and much to my delight and surprise I was pulled in- all the way in.
It is one of those books that you have to digest, think about and then redigest. When you do that it all becomes clear. Bebe Buell is a good person with a beautiful soul. Not once does she come off as bitter or damaged. The opposite rings true. She is a trooper she is.
My girlfriend is also a big fan of this book. She reads it on and off still to this day and it came out in 2001. Talk about hanging in there!
Rebel Heart is one of those bios that stays with you long after you've read it. So much so you return for another dose.
*confession*-I was also inspired to pull it out after reading the new Iggy Pop bio by Paul Trynka- Bebe shines in that too.
What a gal. One of music's true muses. No doubt about it.
It is obvious why Liv Tyler turned out so well. She has her mother's survival skills and class.
Could have been good...........2007-03-11
I loved the stories, being a huge rock fan. I wish I had been alive in the 70's so I could do the things she did! This book, however, is very poorly written, repeats itself over and over, and Bebe Buell is a thoroughly unpleasant braggart. Try Pamela Des Barre's book instead.
Book Description
"The poet makes himself into a visionary by a long derangement of all the senses."—Rimbaud
In 1968 Jim Morrison, founder and lead singer of the rock band the Doors, wrote to Wallace Fowlie, a scholar of French literature and a professor at Duke University. Morrison thanked Fowlie for producing an English translation of the complete poems of Rimbaud. He needed the translation, he said, because, "I don’t read French that easily. . . . I am a rock singer and your book travels around with me." Fourteen years later, when Fowlie first heard the music of the Doors, he recognized the influence of Rimbaud in Morrison’s lyrics.
In Rimbaud and Jim Morrison Fowlie, a master of the form of the memoir, reconstructs the lives of the two youthful poets from a personal perspective. In their twinned stories he discovers an uncanny symmetry, a pattern far richer than the simple truth that both led lives full of adventure and both made poetry of their thirst for the liberation of the self. The result is an engaging account of the connections between an exceptional French symbolist who gave up writing poetry at the age of twenty, died young, and whose poems are still avidly read to this day, and an American rock musician whose brief career ignited an entire generation and has continued to fascinate millions around the world in the twenty years since his death in Paris. In this dual portrait, Fowlie gives us a glimpse of the affinities and resemblances between European literary traditions and American rock music and youth culture in the late twentieth century.
A personal meditation on two unusual, yet emblematic, cultural figures, this book also stands as a summary of a noted scholar’s lifelong reflections on creative artists.
Customer Reviews:
Beyond the legend of the Lizard King.......2006-11-13
Wallace Fowlie gives us a fascinating comparison of the life and writing of Jim Morrison to Rimbaud. In 1968 Fowlie, a college professor of French literature, received a letter from Jim Morrison thanking him for his translation of Rimbaud. Morrison's name was meaningless to Fowlie, who was not familiar with the music of the Doors. After a student gave him a copy of No One Here Gets Out Alive, Fowlie noticed the references to Morrison's interest in Rimbaud, and recalling the letter, he started researching Morrison's life and his writing. He discovered many instances where lyrics were obviously influenced by Rimbaud. Using the mythical Jim Morrison as lure, Fowlie made French symbolist poetry come alive with his innovative lectures. By exploring the social and political conditions leading to the powerful poetry of both writers, Fowlie perpetuates their legacy of protest and rebellion.
As a teenager in the 60s, the music of the Doors slammed into my soul. Morrison's lyrics defined many of my generation as we deciphered and discussed them for countless hours. It has been well documented that Morrison wanted to be known as a poet rather than a singer/lyricist. He seemed to view poetry as the more intellectual pursuit. He is certainly correct in his belief that poetry can bear witness to the ills of society as well as the pain of an individual. Morrison is granted the credibility he craved in Fowlie's carefully researched and richly detailed analysis. The scholarly tone makes this book a welcome addition to the bookshelf of those who believe in the transformative power of poetry and music.
A Nice Introduction to Rimaud.......2006-02-25
This book is a nice way to introduce the younger Morrison fan not already familiar with Rimbaud to his work, life and times. Someone already well acquainted with both poets will probably be disappointed. I applaud Mr. Fowlie's efforts, however, and the parallels drawn between the 2 men are well presented.
An Interesting Memoir Padded With Derivative Commentary.......2002-04-13
Wallace Fowlie, a French scholar, translator and commentator on many French poets, has written this short book on the connections between the lives and writings of Rimbaud and Morrison, two symbols of youthful, creative rebellion who lived more than a century apart. Unfortunately, while the short memoir of how Fowlie first came to connect these two figures is interesting and worthy of a short journalistic piece, the bulk of this book contains nothing more than truncated and regurgitated biographical sketches of Rimbaud and Morrison and disparate commentary on some of their writing.
Fowlie, who published an English translation of Rimbaud's collected poems in 1966, first heard of Morrison when he received a letter from him in 1968 thanking him for the English translation. Morrison implied that Rimbaud was an important writer for him: "I don't read French that easily . . . I am a rock singer and your book travels around with me." Fowlie didn't know of Morrison until, many years later, he heard some of the music and lyrics of The Doors and recognized the influence of Rimbaud on the writing of Morrison. Fowlie's memoir relates how his discovery of these connections led to a series of lectures on Rimbaud and Morrison, lectures which were (not surprisingly!) received with enthusiasm and interest by his young college students at Duke and elsewhere.
Fowlie's discussion of Rimbaud's poetry, in addition to being cursory, can only be understood with a copy of his poems close at hand; without reading the poems in their entirety, Fowlie's commentary is largely unintelligible. With respect to Morrison, Fowlie does nothing more than regurgitate biographical details gleaned from other authors and discuss a few of Morrison's poems. Again, understanding the discussion of the poems suffers if you don't have the texts of Morrison's poems available.
While Fowlie's prose is wonderful and his brief anecdote of the way that Morrison and Rimbaud connected in Fowlie's own life interesting, the bulk of the book in unremarkable and derivative.
an interesting novelty, but nothing special.......2001-11-05
if wallace fowlie was going to write a book about the similarities between arthur rimbaud and jim morrison, couldn't he have at the very least learned just a few things about morrison and wrote some new thoughts or little known facts about rimbaud, rather than just cutting and pasting from his old study of the surrealist legend? anyone who is even mildly acquainted with his work on the adolescent rimbaud will have at first a strange but strong sensation of deja vu while reading this book, and if they have a decent memory, will realize that most of the passages in this book were lifted from his earlier work. some people will see this as acceptable because most of the info and commentary is poignant and accurate (if not very penetrating and a tad superficial), but i find it a little disrespectful to the reader. as if we're not going to notice it when he rewrites, word by word, his previous work. it does have it's merits, and it is fairly entertaining to read his accounts of college lectures given on the two poets of youthful rebellion and the ideological similarities between the 60's counterculture and the philosophy of the surrealists, but there simply isn't enough substantial, original stuff in the book to make it truly memorable. it is worth reading, but only just.
Uncanny similarities.......2001-04-03
Not only do Jim and Arthur have unbelivable talent, but thier lives are practicaly parallel. Startng from the lack of a father as children these men have lived similar lives. A well written book, "Rebel as Poet" displays this fact very well.
Average customer rating:
- I salute you!!!
- Amazing!!!!!
- kurt cobain "oh well,whatever,nevermind"
- A journalist wrote this
- Best Kurt Cobain Book to Date
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Kurt Cobain: Oh Well, Whatever, Nevermind (American Rebels)
Jeff Burlingame
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
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Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0766024261 |
Customer Reviews:
I salute you!!!.......2007-06-04
A great book. I graduated with Jeff. He's talented and this book demonstrates his writing abilities. A definite must for any Nirvana fan. One day my daughter will enjoy it (she's only 22 mos). I wish him success with his future books.
Mark
Amazing!!!!!.......2007-03-14
I was totally amaze when i read the story of the greatest song writer and artist Kurt Cobain....It helps me a lot to understand what was his life all about....Anyway the only thing i can say is I was laughing and crying i was deep into it every pages..My thoughts and my deepest gratitude to my very best idol Kurt Cobain....I highly recommend this book to those who believe and a truly NIRVANA fan...Thanks to the author u do such a great job...keep it up....
kurt cobain "oh well,whatever,nevermind".......2007-01-10
i think it is great reflection of kurt cobain and nirvana it has loads of usefull info and any nirvana or kurt cobain fan should read jeff burlingame is one of the years best authors
A journalist wrote this.......2006-11-25
A real honest-to-goodness journalist wrote this book. More to the point, this is a reporter who worked for the newspaper in Kurt's hometown of Aberdeen AND grew up there. That means Jeff can capture the image of Aberdeen and what it was like for Kurt growing up in the timber town like the expert he actually is. This isn't just a book. This may be part of a grand memoir defining the everyman of Aberdeen while at the same time talking about Kurt's life as a whole. And because Jeff is a journalist, the freshness of his interviews are solid and his objectivity is clear. Unlike some other biographies out there, there are no made up theories here. Recommended for all ages.
Best Kurt Cobain Book to Date.......2006-11-09
I was waiting to buy this book until I read some reviews, then I saw a review online at the Nirvana Fan Club and decided to give it a shot. This book is written for an audience of teens and older so I wasn't expecting any new stories and was surprised that there are. There's a saddening story about Kurt's mom's reaction told by someone who was with her just after she heard about Kurt's death. There are some photos I've never seen before and pictures of two things Kurt drew, which I found most fascinating and there's an update on a memorial committee in Kurt's hometown that's trying to honor him there. The author knew Kurt when they were younger and the book says he is part of that group.
The book is a high-quality hardback and isn't dumbed down like I thought it might be. If you want to know every detail of Kurt's life, there are other books out there that do the job better (though often in error or by making things up). But if you want to know "just the facts" and learn some new stories along the way you should buy this. I was pleasantly surprised with its quality and was happy to add it to my Cobain collection.
Michael Mac
Book Description
Spector's achievements are well-chronicled in this tightly-written and very accessible book.
Customer Reviews:
Rebel he is !.......2007-09-04
This gave me some insight into Phil's life, as I am now seeing his Murder trial play out on Court TV. He has always had problems with Women, guns,and drinking to much, as well as possible pychotic episodes. A "Madman", he is called that cheated many a singer out of their due. And songs that I remember from the 50's, 60's, along with working on the Beatles album "Let It Be". This is an updated version and refers to the Lana Clarkson Murder Case, for which he is in, at the present time.
Joan
Truth Stranger than Life.......2007-05-25
"Truth is really stranger than fiction. While Phil Spector's murder trial continues in real life (with the TV movie sure to come), you can read the true life story of a rock n'roll legend who is now on trial for his life.
Rock's dreaded Spector.......2007-04-09
The author updates his 1989 biography of one of rock music's legendary geniuses with additional chapters that lead up to Phil Spector's murder trial this year. Ribowsky provides an inside look at the early days of the rock 'n' roll record industry, when record producers like Spector called all the shots and matched singers with songs until the Beatles kicked down the established formula for stardom. Spector's life was shaped by the early death of his father, being raised and dominated by his mother and sister, and his relentless drive for perfection in the recording studio. He created the so-called "Wall of Sound" and produced some of the best records in rock history, but left a trail of wreckage in his wake. Ribowsky captures the flavor of the music business and takes music fans through the behind-the-scenes stories of records made by the Ronnettes, Crystals, Gene Pitney, Beatles and Tina Turner.
Crazy in Cookstown.......2004-01-19
Just a short rebuttal to crazycgh, though one hardly seems necessary given his ludicrous -- and clearly absent-minded --citations of the "omissions" in Ribowsky's wonderful biography of Phil Spector.
The message is this: Hey, genius, if you'd, uh, like READ the book, you would see that on Page 131 there is a full discussion of "Do the Screw" (which incidentally is NOT the title of that track; it's "Let's Dance the Screw Part 1 and 2"), including the musicians who played on it, the studio where it was recorded, the delicious fact that the only copy of the song ever sent out was to the co-owner of Spector's label, whom he was trying to ease out, as well as a comment from said co-owner, to the effect that the record was Spector's way of saying, "F**k you buddy." One would have to be seriously narcoleptic to miss all that. So now we know a little something about crazycgh.
As his other quibbles demonstrate, perhaps crazy could find something to do in Cookstown, anything to get him out of the house more. Or at all.
A decent bio, despite discographical errors & omissions.......2002-09-11
OK, maybe I'm being a perfectionist nit-picker, not unlike Spector himself, but several glaring discographical references rankle me. In the edition I have, there is a photo reproduction of the 45rpm "HE'S A REBEL" on the dust jacket. The key to the images clearly states that it is "The ORIGINAL Philles issue of HE'S A REBEL". However, the Collectables catalog number of COL 3200-A identifies the record as an '80s reissue.
In the discography itself, key suffixes (such as the X on #119 for the Christmas release) are missing. This is an important fact, since the catalog number was used more than once. And, where is "DO THE SCREW", Spector's angry legal retort to a mandated Crystals release ?
Alternate B-sides (such as on WAIT TIL MY BOBBY COMES HOME) are not indicated, and the discography continues the ongoing falsehood that Philles 123,134,135, and 136 were not released. I have stock copies of all but 136.
In the text, the writer refers to Gene Pitney's EVERY BREATH I TAKE as a "flop". Sure, # 42 on Billboard isn't a HUGE hit, but it is FAR from a flop.
With all that said, the book is still fun to read, and there are genuine glints and gleans into Spector that add to the history of the legendary producer.
Amazon.com
An encyclopedic narrative of the role of women in rock and pop over the last four decades, from Big Mama Thornton, who topped the R&B charts with "Hound Dog" three years before Elvis, to the female musical powerhouses of the '90s. Compulsively readable and thoroughly entertaining, this is a spirited and much-needed retelling of rock history which has tended to treat women peripherally at best. And unlike most rock journalists, Gaar knows how to do research, and how to both tell a long story with attention to detail and keep readers' attention for a long time.
Book Description
Gillian G. Gaar’s critically acclaimed, breakthrough book, the first full history of women in rock and pop ever written, became an instant classic upon its publication in 1992. Arranged chronologically and told with impassioned detail, She’s A Rebel charts a half century of women performers from the early R and B singers of the 1950s, to the girl groups, Motown acts, folksingers, and rock chicks of the 1960s, to the punk rebels and pop divas of the 1970s, to the brash all-girl bands, rappers, and riot grrls of the 1980s and 1990s. This expanded ten-year anniversary edition features over 75 photos and includes three all-new chapters on all the major artists of the last decade as well as an insider’s look at the music industry and the emerging power of women rock stars. With new preface by Yoko Ono and dozens of new profiles and interviews with performers—such as Courtney Love, L7, Bikini Kill, the Breeders, Sarah McLachlan, Ani di Franco, Sheryl Crow, Sleater Kinney, Alanis Morrisette, Lucinda Williams, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, Lauryn Hill, Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado, Bjork, and many others— this book captures the amazing explosion of women’s voices and talent in the music world. “[She’s A Rebel] is as thoroughly entertaining as it is researched ... It’s exhaustive and exhilarating.”—Billboard
Customer Reviews:
A long overdue story.......2004-10-23
This book is chock full of information about women's entire history in music. It doesn't just focus on rock music, but also includes pop, r&b, and hip hop. I bought this book mainly for the 'Enjoy Being A Grrrl' chapter, which features information about the Riot Grrrl movement which really interests me. It also focuses on modern sexism in the music industry. Some are blindingly obvious like Eminem and Woodstock '99 (which ended in numerous sexual assaults) and some of them are less unknown like Blink 182 asking female fans in the audience to 'Show us your t*ts!' on the Warped Tour. It also mention groupies and how they may feel they are "rebelling against the plastic uptightness of straight American society but their rebellion only reaffirs a social system in which women are defined by the man they are aligned with." I couldn't agree more.
Something I noticed is that there were some major artists overlooked, Stevie Nicks for example (like someone else before mentioned). I also noticed a tiny mistake where the author said that 'Sugar Baby Doll' wrote the songs 'Quiet Room' and 'Best Sunday Dress' when in reality it was actually the 'Pagan Babies' (another band that Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland had) who wrote and performed the songs. Not that this really matters, maybe I'm just being picky. My only major compliant about the book is that the author had to put in the Spice Girls and Britney Spears, which I think is a little uncalled for.
Other than that, the book is great and I especially enjoyed reading about different bands like Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney. It makes me want to go out and buy their albums! Interesting facts like how Big Mama Thornton originally sang 'Hound Dog' before Elvis proves that women have always been overlooked in music, and this book tries to change that.
The basic text on rockin' women!.......2004-03-26
I agree with a previous critic who complained about some of the omissions in this book. Not only are the women from Fleetwooc Mac missing but so is Chaka Khan, the most influential female R&B singer since Aretha Franklin! But except for those omissions - and the author's apparent bias in favor of those women who let her interview them - "She's a Rebel" is the basic and essential text on women in rock. At a time when the rock establishment continues to ignore women - the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has not inducted a single woman in several years - we need an author like Gaar to remind us of the contributions that women made and continue to make to our pop music. A special salute to Gaar for including in her book the often-ignored, and mostly-unknown, "womyn's music".
Don't let lack of Nicks nix this book.......2003-03-11
While I love Stevie Nicks as much as the next person, this book is very important - even without space devoted to her. Sure she is an important figure in rock & roll, but "She's a Rebel" shines valuable light on some of the less-well-known figures in the history of rock. Don't discount a book that should be essential reading to every fan of rock music just because of an omission.
basically a fine overview of women in rock..........2003-02-18
Includes many of today's rock divas as well in this edition. But how can anyone write a book of women's contributions to rock and roll and ignore Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac? They were not strictly ornaments, they wrote most of the Mac's hit songs and were fine musicians in their own right. I just find that hard to accept, as will many others.... Women like Sheryl Crow, Courtney Love and Sarah McLachlan have acknowledged their debt to them. Not to mention Stevie's triumphant return in 2001..
The rest of the book is fine, it covers well known and not so well known women in rock, mainstream and non-mainstream.
Average customer rating:
- Johnny Depp Biography
- dont waste you money !!
|
Secret World of Johnny Depp: The Intimate Biography of Hollywood's Best Loved Rebel
Nigel Goodall
Manufacturer: John Blake Publishing, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1857825977 |
Book Description
Johnny Depp, Hollywood's most famous outsider, is one of this generation's most impassioned, highly praised stars. Nigel Goodall looks at his often turbulent life, his love affairs, and his extraordinary career in film.
The star of some of the best and most unconventional American films in recent history, Johnny Depp has also been a source of media fascination since the nineties. His film roles have always been idiosyncratic, earning him international respect and adoration—from Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Donnie Brasco to his Oscar-nominated turns as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and as J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland. His good looks, oddball charm, and tempestuous love affairs have helped push him into the limelight and kept him there. Now, in this updated biography (originally titled
What's Eating Johnny Depp?), Nigel Goodall looks at his bad-boy image, his rise to fame, and his high-profile romances.
Customer Reviews:
Johnny Depp Biography.......2006-11-10
This is a well written book by someone who is quite familiar with his subject. There are things inside the book I had not known before even though I am a very big fan of Johnny Depp. The book is very well researched and written in a friendly knowledgeable manner. I really enjoyed it and it is an asset to my library of Depp books.
dont waste you money !!.......2006-07-13
if you are interested in reading about the plots for all of johnnies movies i suggest you buy this book---to call it an intimate BIOGRAPHY is a joke---i can find more interesting info about johnny depp browsing the internet. there were of course a few facts about his life sprinkled in among the details of his movies---i SAW all of his movies i didnt need a synopsis of them all over again----look around, folks, i am sure there is something much more interesting than this book.
Book Description
The ever-controversial Shakur offers a great occasion for a close, passionate reading of rap and ghetto culture. White’s understanding of Tupac’s art will uncork the bottled up rage and confusion that attends the way hip-hop culture is produced and received. Rebel details each step in Shakur’s development, from his early exposure to racism and political activism to his move from New York to the West Coast and his innovative work with early hip hop culture and music. Through connections drawn between Shakur and Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G., Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Sister Souljah, White examines Shakur’s life as a prism for the hip-hop world. Photographs, a useful chronology of important dates in the life of Shakur, and an updated discography and filmography of his career as a rapper and actor are included. “Talk about diversity, talk about identity, talk about icons—White’s in-depth look at Tupac Shakur talks about all of ’em.”—Booklist “White has written a nuanced, expansive and impassioned study of the life and art of Tupac Shakur.”—Tyrone Williams, Metro Times Literary Quarterly “Rebel ... is a means of analyzing the rage, fatalism and rootlessness of the contemporary rap scene.”—Select Magazine
Customer Reviews:
the worst book ever!!!.......2003-02-01
this book was not well thought out. it was just an attempt to sound intelligent, but failed. the purpose of a book the should be to enlighten your readers not with big sounding words but with good ones that best describe the situation you are trying to get across. to me the book had nothing to do with tupac, it dealt with the author's lack of ability to put words together to form a sentence that could capture his audience. he just used the icon's name to sell his book, and true we fell for it, the true fans of tupac. we try so hard to grasp hold on anything and anyone that can give us more facts than we already have, so it pains me when people do things like this book which was so so so poorly written. i would hate to have a face to face conversation with him. PAC will always be in our hearts, thoughts and thanks to the real Gs he will be on our radios, TVs, VCRs & DVDs. as PAC would say, "NEVER IGNORANT GETTING GOALS ACCOMPLISHED."
Better Than Dyson, Great Tupac X-Ray.......2002-08-17
A great x-ray of Tupac and a much better book than Michael Eric Dyson's foolish cashing-in on a dead rapper's tattooed body. A lot of stupid stuff has been written by the VIBE and Village/Stone people who just want to make money off 'Pac. REBEL makes you understand Tupac's confusion and the analysis of the rap lyrics are the best I've ever read about a rap star. (The chapter on "Dear Mama" should be included in every school literature class.) I recommend this book to anybody who loves 'Pac and loves hiphop. When Dyson's stupid book goes the way of the dodo, REBEL will still be read. It's the most serious and amazing Tupac book anyone could want.
pac.......2002-04-20
a dude like pac only come around once (maybe twice) a life. get this book. it have pictures too.
2Pac THE REAL MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC EVERYBODY LOVED!!!.......2001-04-13
Ever since the first time I heard 2pac rapping with Digital Underground. I feel in love with the lyrics he put out from Brendas got a baby, to Got keep your head up! And so many more. No matter what people though of him as being the THUG N***** he was somebody real. When others never understood where 2pac was coming from he made music that everybody could groove to and understand. He's the one who put potery to its most. The day he passed a way felt like I had lost some one I knew and loved. I'am a true Tupac lover and only wish he was still here blessing everyone and even ME with his True words of wisdom. It's been almost six years since his death and no matter if he's dead or alive he'll continue to put out the music he so muched loved to do and the music everybody loved. This is a man that should've e still been here and listening to his new ablum makes me think if he is still alive and if you are may GOD be with you and you with him in your deepest glory. Bury me as a "G" RIP I LOVE YOU TUPAC. L-Boogie and S Loc OKC
2Pac THE REAL MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC EVERYBODY LOVED!!!.......2001-04-13
Ever since the first time I heard 2pac rapping with Digital Underground. I feel in love with the lyrics he put out from Brendas got a baby, to Got keep your head up! And so many more. No matter what people though of him as being the THUG N***** he was somebody real. When others never understood where 2pac was coming from he made music that everybody could groove to and understand. He's the one who put potery to its most. The day he passed a way felt like I had lost some one I knew and loved. I'am a true Tupac lover and only wish he was still here blessing everyone and even ME with his True words of wisdom. It's been almost six years since his death and no matter if he's dead or alive he'll continue to put out the music he so muched loved to do and the music everybody loved. This is a man that should've e still been here and listening to his new ablum makes me think if he is still alive and if you are may GOD be with you and you with him in your deepest glory. Bury me as a "G" RIP I LOVE YOU TUPAC. L-Boogie, OKC
Book Description
From Thomas Mapfumo to Bob Marley, William Parker to Frank Zappa, Edgard Varèse to Ice-T; from American blues to West African drumming, hip hop to son, gospel singing to rock'n'roll cabaret, rebel music is at the heart of some of the most incisive critiques of global politics. With explosive lyrics and driving rhythms, a new wave of rebel musicians are helping to mobilize movements for political change and social justice, at home and around the world.
Original in concept, unrivaled in content, Rebel -Musics is alone in placing human rights issues side by side with different forms of music. A wide range of -accomplished contributors, from a variety of disciplines and performance contexts, examine the ways in which human rights and music are explicitly linked, how musical activism resonates in practical, political terms, and how musical resistance is enacted.
Apart from the editors, contributors include: cabaret artist, author, and musician Norman Nawrocki; film makers Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy; musician Jesse Stewart; poet George Elliott Clarke; author Timothy Brennan; economist Spencer Henson; author Martha Nandorfy; radio host Ray Pratt; editor, author, and music -reviewer Ron Sakolsky.
Daniel Fischlin is professor of English at the University of Guelph and co-author with Martha Nandorfy of Eduardo Galeano: Through the Looking Glass (Black Rose Books). He has been active as a musician for most of his life and this is his fourth book devoted to an interdisciplinary musical topic.
Ajay Heble is professor of English at the University of Guelph. He is the author of Landing on the Wrong Note: Jazz, Dissonance, and Critical Practice and coeditor (with Daniel Fischlin) of The Other Side of Nowhere: Jazz, -Improvisation, and Communities in Dialogue. Artistic director and founder of The Guelph Jazz Festival, he is also an accomplished pianist.
Average customer rating:
- A Good Book about Johnny Depp
- Revised and updated
- good enough
- fantastic
- Johnny Depp: A modern Rebel
|
Johnny Depp: A Modern Rebel
Brian J. Robb
Manufacturer: Plexus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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What's Eating Johnny Depp?
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The Man Who Cried
ASIN: 0859653854 |
Book Description
Known for his quirky, edgy roles and smoldering good looks, Johnny Depp is one of Hollywood's most obsessively followed superstars. Although Depp has been making movies for over 20 years, he's clearly still in the prime of his career: his recent roles, in The Man Who Cried, Blow, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory show an actor at the top of his game, oozing the sex appeal and intense sensitivity with which he first mesmerized audiences in earlier oddball classics such as Cry Baby, Edward Scissorhands, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Currently ensconced in a quiet quarter of France with partner Vanessa Paradis, Depp's sturdy persona is penetrated in Johnny Depp. Updated to include the films Depp has made since the last edition, plus future projects and his several short-lived marriages and assorted romances, this book provides a thorough look at one of Tinseltown's least-understood actors.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Book about Johnny Depp.......2007-03-08
It's a well written and comprehensive book about a great actor. It also has a lot of really nice photos.
Revised and updated .......2006-10-15
Perfectly timed for the latest 'Pirates of the Caribbean' blockbuster film is Johnny Depp: A Modern Rebel: a biography of the quirky actor whose good looks and lively adventures hide a rebellious young man whose drug-filled adolescence seemed unlikely to create a celebrity. From his volatile relationships and life to his evolving career and interest in independent, adventure-laden roles, is Johnny Depp: A Modern Rebel is revised and updated and comes packed with black and white and color photos.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
good enough.......2006-08-03
I'd give 4 stars to that book just because I wanted to know more about Depp's childhood n stuff, but this book tells mainly about the movies Johnny has chosen. Still, it was an interesting read ! I think I would recommend.
fantastic.......2005-10-12
This book's format of Johnny Depp's life, movies and unique story is wonderful. I couldn't put it down. Each chapter is a movie title, showing how each part of his life changed during that movie experience. I didn't want to give it 5 stars, it deserves 10 stars!!!!
Johnny Depp: A modern Rebel.......2005-09-03
I thought this book was very well written. It was informative and the many photos were great. I have read other autobiographies and quite a few were not well written and could not keep my attention. This book was able to keep me wanting to read it to the end. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Johnny Depp.
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