Book Club Archives - Stereogum

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Ani DiFranco’s New Book The Spirit Of Ani

Danielle Chelosky — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:19:40 +0000

Tomorrow, Ani DiFranco's new book The Spirit Of Ani hits the shelves. Following her 2019 memoir No Walls And The Recurring Dream, The Spirit Of Ani finds the legendary musician and activist in conversation with cultural anthropologist Lauren Coyle Rosen.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Ani DiFranco’s New Book The Spirit Of Ani appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Mike Huguenor’s Asian Man Records Book

Danielle Chelosky — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 14:54:30 +0000

Mike Huguenor has clocked time in Shinobu, Hard Girls, and Jeff Rosenstock's band, and has two solo records of his own. Lately, though, he's been working on a book about the legacy of Mike Park's Asian Man Records. Elvis Is Dead, I'm Still Alive is a comprehensive history of the prolific San Jose-based DIY label, whose output includes Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Bomb The Music Industry!, Joyce Manor, and countless more. The book arrives on Clash Books next year, and today we're doing a cover reveal and sharing an exclusive excerpt. Dive in below.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Mike Huguenor’s Asian Man Records Book appeared first on Stereogum.

“We Dressed To Sweat”: Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Book About The History Of Baltimore Club Music

Al Shipley — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:30:53 +0000

Stereogum contributor Al Shipley has written his first book, Tough Breaks: The Story of Baltimore Club Music, which will be published by Repeater Books on Aug. 19. Incorporating over 50 interviews conducted over the last 19 years, the book examines how Maryland's biggest city became a hotbed for a unique fusion of house music and hip hop that's influenced and been sampled by mainstream stars like Cardi B, Drake, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and M.I.A.

The post “We Dressed To Sweat”: Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Book About The History Of Baltimore Club Music appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over The World By Matt Bobkin & Adam Feibel

Stereogum — Wed, 28 May 2025 16:08:53 +0000

Below is an excerpt from the upcoming book In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over The World by Matt Bobkin & Adam Feibel, 2025, published by House of Anansi Press. Reprinted with permission from the publisher.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over The World By Matt Bobkin & Adam Feibel appeared first on Stereogum.

“Perry Was A Fucking Asshole, Straight Up”: Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Lollapalooza Oral History Book

Stereogum — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:35:20 +0000

Authors Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour told the salacious story of '80s hair metal in 2021's acclaimed Nöthin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored History Of The '80s Hard Rock Explosion, which was recently adapted into a docuseries. Four years later, they're back with another oral history offering a peek behind the scenes of Lollapalooza, the traveling festival that defined early '90s alternative culture. Out next month, Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival features interviews with dozens of key players from Lolla's heyday, all of whom offer candid takes on the backstage chaos, personal grievances, and industry politics that swirled around the era-defining road show.

The post “Perry Was A Fucking Asshole, Straight Up”: Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Lollapalooza Oral History Book appeared first on Stereogum.

Neneh Cherry’s NYC Punk Coming-Of-Age: Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Her New Memoir

Danielle Chelosky — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:50:10 +0000

In 2022, we got a taste of Neneh Cherry's eventful life in our career-spanning interview with the Swedish musician. She's best known for her eclectic 1989 debut Raw Like Sushi, which earned her a Grammy nomination, but she also clocked time in the beloved punk group the Slits and gave an performance on the UK's Top Of The Pops while pregnant.

The post Neneh Cherry’s NYC Punk Coming-Of-Age: Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Her New Memoir appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Moon Unit Zappa’s New Memoir EARTH TO MOON

Danielle Chelosky — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 15:07:49 +0000

Moon Unit Zappa is ready to share her story. The daughter of Frank Zappa, who appeared on his 1982 hit "Valley Girl," has lived an eventful life from the very beginning. The weirdness is detailed in her new memoir, EARTH TO MOON, which is out Tuesday and follows her unconventional upbringing in 1970s Los Angeles all the way up to the death of her parents.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Moon Unit Zappa’s New Memoir EARTH TO MOON appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Book Math Rock By Jeff Gomez

Stereogum — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:08:20 +0000

Below is an excerpt from Math Rock by Jeff Gomez (out today), the latest entry in the Genre: A 33 1/3 Series.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Book Math Rock By Jeff Gomez appeared first on Stereogum.

Read About Echo And The Bunnymen’s First Gig In An Excerpt From Will Sergeant’s New Memoir

Ryan Leas — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 14:27:05 +0000

The late '70s were an incredibly fertile time for rock music in England. Punk exploded and soon splintered into new movements, laying the groundwork for the Second British Invasion in the '80s. In the middle of all that, in Liverpool in 1978, vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant, and bassist Les Pattinson came together to form Echo & The Bunnymen. They'd go on to become one of the definitive bands of the post-punk/new wave generation.

The post Read About Echo And The Bunnymen’s First Gig In An Excerpt From Will Sergeant’s New Memoir appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Richard Marx’s New Memoir Stories To Tell

Ryan Leas — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:18:03 +0000

Long before Richard Marx got unexpectedly political on Twitter and even riled up a few insane right-wing senators, he had a long and fruitful career as a pop songwriter. From his early days making adult-contemporary hits in the late '80s and early '90s, through to co-writing some very famous songs for other artists, Marx has seen the music industry from a lot of different angles. We know Marx has no problem speaking his mind online -- and now he's doing the same in book form.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Richard Marx’s New Memoir Stories To Tell appeared first on Stereogum.

In Rob Halford’s New Memoir, The Judas Priest Frontman Gets Candid About His Sexuality And Alcoholism

Ryan Leas — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 14:24:04 +0000

It goes without saying, but Rob Halford is an icon. As the frontman of Judas Priest, he helped codify a whole genre, a whole aesthetic. He was one of the early heavy metal howlers, but he was also one of the guys who established aspects of metal's early iconography, decking himself out in leather and riding a motorcycle onstage. Through the dizzying highs of the band's success and the lows of Halford's personal struggles, he's lived a hell of a life. And now he's telling that story in a new autobiography called Confess.

The post In Rob Halford’s New Memoir, The Judas Priest Frontman Gets Candid About His Sexuality And Alcoholism appeared first on Stereogum.

Here’s The Story Behind Bad Religion’s Seminal Suffer, From A New Book About The Band’s History

Ryan Leas — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 17:34:00 +0000

Bad Religion is an institution. The legendary California punk outfit formed 40 years ago, when its founding members were all in high school. There have been a lot of twists and turns and rises and falls in the ensuing four decades, all of it an arc that defined Bad Religion as a resilient and influential group that helped codify a new punk sound for a new generation. Now, just in time for the milestone anniversary, there's a new book that attempts to tell that story: Do What You Want: The Story Of Bad Religion, a biography that the band put together with author Jim Ruland.

The post Here’s The Story Behind Bad Religion’s Seminal Suffer, From A New Book About The Band’s History appeared first on Stereogum.

Read About The Time Talking Heads First Met Lou Reed, From Chris Frantz’s New Memoir

Ryan Leas — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 14:24:13 +0000

Talking Heads are, obviously, one of the most storied bands in rock history. But along the way, their tale has only really been told in interviews. No member of the band has gone in-depth, exploring their rise and history and eventual dissolution. That changes today with Remain In Love, the new memoir from former Heads drummer Chris Frantz.

The post Read About The Time Talking Heads First Met Lou Reed, From Chris Frantz’s New Memoir appeared first on Stereogum.

The New Bad Character In Town: Quasimoto’s The Unseen At 20

Nate Patrin — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 15:20:37 +0000

The post The New Bad Character In Town: Quasimoto’s The Unseen At 20 appeared first on Stereogum.

Mark Lanegan Teaches Al Jourgensen A Painful Lesson

Scott Lapatine — Fri, 08 May 2020 15:12:05 +0000

As the rugged voice of Screaming Trees, Mark Lanegan was at the epicenter of Seattle's alt-rock gold rush at the turn of the '90s. An Epic contract and the momentum behind his band's surprise hit "Nearly Lost You" kept Lanegan in and out of studios and dingy clubs for most of the decade. But behind the scenes he was barely hiding a harrowing heroin and crack addiction he fed first alongside confidants like Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Alice In Chains' Layne Staley, then among fellow dealers living beside the freeway.

The post Mark Lanegan Teaches Al Jourgensen A Painful Lesson appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Liz Phair’s New Memoir Horror Stories

Stereogum — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:40:21 +0000

In the 26 years since she released her landmark debut Exile In Guyville, Liz Phair has been witness to just about every form of lunacy that the music business can offer. She’s been fetishized, demonized, worshipped, and scorned. Her music has changed a whole lot of lives for the better, and yet plenty of others spent years making a public sport out of dunking on her. It’s been a wild ride. In her new memoir Horror Stories, Phair tells us about some of the moments from that ride. We’ve pleased to present an exclusive excerpt from the book below.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Liz Phair’s New Memoir Horror Stories appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Excerpt From Ryan H. Walsh’s New Book On Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks

Ryan H. Walsh — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 13:59:20 +0000

For the last three three years I've been digging into the history of Van Morrison's classic LP Astral Weeks for my debut book Astral Weeks: A Secret History Of 1968, which is out now via Penguin Press. The story behind the album is every bit as unique and strange as the music itself. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite moment from the story, but it's not unfair to say that the story takes a significant turn when we get to September 25, 1968, the day the recording sessions began. And that is the scene we have chosen to excerpt today.

The post Read An Excerpt From Ryan H. Walsh’s New Book On Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Excerpt From The Cure Co-Founder Lol Tolhurst’s New Memoir

Stereogum — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 13:55:54 +0000

Next month, Da Capo Press will release Cured: The Tale Of Two Imaginary Boys, a new memoir by Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst, co-founder and former drummer of the Cure. As Da Capo describes it, the book "traces the Cure's journey to global success, weaving it into a story that recalls the highs and lows of the lifelong friendship between Lol and Cure lead vocalist Robert Smith, who met at age five on their first day of school together in Crawley, England, 1964." Its cover art was designed by longtime on-and-off Cure member Pearl (formerly Porl) Thompson, who also created many of the band's album covers. Says Tolhurst of the book: "This is a record of the things that have kept me awake at 4 a.m., the precious flowers of the past blooming in the dark corners of memory. I have tried my best to capture whatever that light shone on. I hope it illuminates events for you as much as it has for me."

The post Read An Excerpt From The Cure Co-Founder Lol Tolhurst’s New Memoir appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Excerpt From The New 33⅓ Book On LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver

Stereogum — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:53:20 +0000

Even in a year as overcrowded with events in the music world as 2016 has been -- whether the tragic loss of old icons, or the overflow of stunning releases from new icons -- LCD Soundsystem's sudden reunion is a big story. It's garnered perhaps as much exasperation from the doubtful as it has excitement from the devoted. But no matter how you look at it, LCD are one of the definitive indie artists of our time, and their return is as much a reason to anticipate what else James Murphy & co. may be able to achieve as it is to revisit the classics they left behind when they first disbanded.

The post Read An Excerpt From The New 33⅓ Book On LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The Definitely Maybe 33⅓

Stereogum — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 17:43:35 +0000

It was 20 years ago this week that Britpop first emerged as a major cultural force, thanks to the dual releases of Blur's Parklife and Pulp's His 'N' Hers. So we're celebrating Britpop Week here at Stereogum, looking back in admiration and fondness at the scene in its awesome, messy, beautiful entirety. Among the other major Britpop albums to be released in 1994 was Oasis' timeless debut, Definitely Maybe, which came out on August 29 of that year (and whose forthcoming Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set you can enter to win here). Next month, Bloomsbury is publishing Alex Niven's outstanding extended analysis of the album which explores in granular detail its creation as well as the culture that spawned it -- and then, the culture that followed it. Today, we're publishing an excerpt from the book's first chapter, in which Niven does a remarkable job summing up what made Oasis so special in that moment -- while also hinting at the demise that would follow. It's a fantastic book, and if you care about Oasis, you should read it. Start with this segment now.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The Definitely Maybe 33⅓ appeared first on Stereogum.

Read An Exclusive Excerpt From New Wave Oral History Mad World: Echo & The Bunnymen “The Killing Moon”

Stereogum — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 19:16:54 +0000

Next week, Abrams Books will release Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein's Mad World: An Oral History Of New Wave Artists And Songs That Defined The 1980s. The book features interviews with 35 artists from the era, including Duran Duran, New Order, the Smiths, and Depeche Mode. We've got an excerpt from the book for you to read today. It's Ian McCulloch discussing Echo And The Bunnymen's classic 1984 single "The Killing Moon" -- and with it, the history of his band and the scene in which they developed. He also calls Bono a "gibbering, leprechaunish twat." Check it out.

The post Read An Exclusive Excerpt From New Wave Oral History Mad World: Echo & The Bunnymen “The Killing Moon” appeared first on Stereogum.