Sunday 29 April 2012

April's book review: THIS IS A CALL

Because I swore I would post at least one book review per month this year, I'm using my spare Sunday during the A-Z to keep my promise to myself! The book I'm going to review was a present from my brother and his wife for Christmas (which Christmas? Yes, it was the most recent Chrismas...). I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, though I do believe in that saying, "Truth can be stranger than fiction", and I paraphrase. Anyway, I still start out by stating that, in my opinion, this book is not the kind you should read if you're not interested in music. Maybe you're interested in Dave Grohl, maybe you've got a little crush on the purported "nicest man in rock" (though the man himself disputes he's this ALL of the time)...but if you're wanting to read 400 pages all about Dave, this isn't the book for you. If, however, you love rock music and are interested in the history of certain genres in America (and elsewhere, for that matter), then you'll enjoy it.

The book has a great focus on the punk/hardcore scene of Washington D.C., since that's what Dave Grohl "grew" up on. It also touches on other areas like, naturally, grunge, and also the underground (or overground in the case of Metallica) metal scene. It does tell Dave's story, from humble beginnings to the monumental heights he's reached today. It also tells the Foo Fighters' story, and it was news to me that they've had such dramatic moments in that history. Back in the day, I would have known it all - as a teenager utterly obsessed with music, I knew every detail of my favourite rock stars' lives. Basically because I wanted to be part of their lives! Nowadays, I know a lot more about their music than their personal lives. I suppose that's healthier, right? Anyway...from this read I have gathered that, in spite of all he's gone through with his various bands, there's one thing Dave Grohl hasn't lost: his utter enthusiasm for life, for music, etc. This guy's gotta be just a little bit ADD, surely? ;)

I loved how the book ended, with that scene with Dave, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic revisiting some "mouldy oldies". Oh, what I would have given to be in or near that room while that particular jam session was going on! Anyway, in conclusion this is a great read for anyone who's enthusiastic about music in general. Not just Dave Grohl. But it does help if you're interested in his story! And yes, Kurt is mentioned a lot. For other people, apparently this was a problem, but for me, who hasn't read any Nirvana or Kurt biographies (or hardly any biographies at all, really), it wasn't a bother at all. Even if it did remind me how sad the whole damn thing was.

R.I.P. Kurt, and long live Dave Grohl!

6 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting. A biography that gives you a bigger picture as well as details of the subjects life are usually better.

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  2. Does it explain why he and the Foo Fighters supported 'Alive and Well', and thereby implicitly supported their fans participating in unsafe sexual and medical practices? They appear to have stopped supporting the 'charity' now that the founder died of complications from the AIDS she denied she had, but that's still a long period of mind-boggling support. I ask because I will never give them a single cent of my money, but I am genuinely curious as to whether or not he had anything to say on that regard.

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    1. It was written in 2009, not sure when that 'Alive and Well' stuff happened?? I haven't ever heard about that, but...wow, sounds pretty crazy! It was an unauthorised biography too, but the guy who wrote it basically is a friend of Dave's so it was almost authorised :)

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  3. Ooo, I might have to check this out. My next MS might be around music.

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    1. If it's going to be about bands, I have another book to recommend to you that I read for 'research' purposes :) It's by Jacob Slichter, a guy who was in the band Semisonic. Look him up on GoodReads :)

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  4. I'm not a huge nonfiction fan either but sometimes I go in spurts when the mood strikes. This one kind of intrigues me. I'll have to give it a go, especially since last week I was jamming in my office to some serious Metallica. :)

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Thanks for your words, me hearties! and don't forget to leave a link to your blog somewhere I can find it!