10 books everyone in the scene should read

Rock ‘n’ roll has a rich history. Without the punk movement, the grunge movement, new wave and hardcore, the scene as we know it today would not exist. Here are 10 books everyone involved in our scene should read that deliver innovative views on various forms of alternative music.

Heavier Than Heaven by Charles R. Cross

This book is widely considered to be the most accurate and in-depth depiction of Kurt Cobain’s life. It starts with Cobain’s  childhood and extends to the legacy he left behind. Heavier Than Heaven reads like a novel, connecting you with the characters on a personal level and debunking many of the rumors surrounding Cobain’s life and death.  (And no, he did not ever live under that bridge.)

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story by Chuck Klosterman

Almost any of Klosterman’s collections of essays could have worked for this list (Eating The Dinosaur has a great piece on My Chemical Romance and Lady Gaga), but Killing Yourself to Live is more of an adventure story in which Klosterman connects his own life struggles to that of the rock stars who died far too early in their careers, making it one of his most cohesive and well laid-out works to date.

Love Is A Mixtape: Life And Loss, One Song At A Time by Rob Sheffield

Most people know Sheffield as one of the top writers for Rolling Stone, however, Love Is A Mixtape is what truly sets his writing style apart.  Reminiscing about his late wife, Sheffield goes through stages of happiness and grief by tracing what songs helped get him through various points in his life. Sheffield is an enthusiastic writer and shows that music really can be one of the biggest focal points in anyone’s day-to-day experiences.

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History Of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

This is the best depiction of the punk movement from the 1960s to early 1990s, period.  Taken from interviews and conversations with the people who were directly involved in the scene, this book sheds light onto the lives and careers of the Ramones, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Patti Smith, New York Dolls, the Stooges and more. It is unfiltered, informative, gritty and a blast to read, placing the reader in both London and New York as if they were simply a show-goers watching the chaos unfold as it happened.

A Riot Of Our Own: Night And Day With The Clash by Johnny Green and Garry Barker

Told through the eyes of Clash road manager Johnny Green, this book paints the beloved punk band in a highly unconventional light, depicting the good, the bad and the ugly of tour life with the Clash over a three-year period.  Unlike most on-the-road pieces, the band is less glorified and more humanized in this book as they face turmoil from various vices and unexpected roadblocks. The life of a roadie can be just as interesting as the lives of the rock stars.

Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung: The Work Of A Legendary Critic: Rock ‘N’ Roll As Literature And Literature As Rock ‘N’ Roll by Lester Bangs

Lester Bangs is one of the most famous and influential rock critics of all time—this book proves it. Published after the writer’s death, this book is a collection of some of Bangs’ best works including features on Iggy Pop, Richard Hell and David Bowie.

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From The American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad

If you like Black Flag, Minor Threat, the Replacements or Sonic Youth, you will love this book. Obviously these bands are common names in music history now, but that wasn’t always the case. Punk, hardcore and no wave were experimental subgenres of rock during the ‘80s and ‘90s and no one knew what they would turn into. Luckily, Azerrad gives in-depth insight into the struggles of DIY bands starting from the ground up.

England’s Dreaming: The Sex Pistols And Punk Rock by Jon Savage

This book is a behemoth, weighing in at 602 pages on the Pistols alone. However, Savage’s work is some of the most well researched, and he has captured a historical account of a band that arguably shouldn’t have existed. From insults to the queen to whether or not any of the band members actually knew how to play their instruments, England’s Dreaming tells the tale of how a group of guys who used to loiter in a clothing store made it (briefly) as one of the biggest punk bands in history.

How Music Works by David Byrne

David Byrne is best known as the vocalist of the new-wave band Talking Heads, and he very much helped inspire the craze of wearing black skinny jeans in the rock world. His semi-autobiographical book How Music Works delves into his life and career but also focuses heavily on music theory and studio composition. The book does what it says: explains how music works. If you want to learn to rock (technically), this is the book for you.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids is a love story; it’s music history; it’s the best depiction of a strong female in the rock world told by that woman herself. Just Kids chronicles Smith’s time developing her music career along with her relationship with famous photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Glamorizing and romanticizing the grit and grime of New York City in the mid to late 20th century, Just Kids tells the stories that fueled one of the most poetic songwriter’s career.