Mia Tyler Releases Autobiography– Creating Myself

Mia Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith’s legendary frontman Steven Tyler, recently released her autobiography, Creating Myself, on August 26th, a tell-tale turn of events about growing up in a dysfunctional rock n’ roll family. In her memoir, Tyler dishes about childhood life on the road with Aerosmith, meeting her sister Liv for the first time, her marriage to Papa Roach’s former drummer, Dave Buckner (which occurred, naturally, on-stage at an Aerosmith concert), along with numerous other antics that make Tyler who she is today.

The book starts off on a positive note with amusing pre-teen tales about bouncing from school to school, hanging backstage with the members of Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row and Billy Idol, and the late-night strangers who would show up at her house unannounced, hoping to catch a glimpse of her celebrity rocker father. But then it takes a downward turn, when she touches on her parent’s divorce, rehab stints, self-mutilation and suicide attempts. Tyler makes it known that being the daughter of a rock star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Read more

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

Chuck Klosterman is not just a writer for Spin Magazine; he’s a writer unlike any other. He somehow manages to combine his extreme intelligence and sarcastic humor in order to over-analyze just about every aspect of the world we live in. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs is a book about… well, nothing really. It’s not directed towards any specific plot or subject. It’s basically a collaboration of Klosterman’s assorted thoughts as it relates to music, television, technology and society today.

When I first started reading the book, I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about Klosterman’s obscure view of the world, until I came across the “When Harry Met Sally” discussion on page 9, where Klosterman states that, “Every relationship in fundamentally a power struggle, and the individual in power in whoever likes the other person less.” I have to admit, this quote is not hilarious because it’s funny; it’s hilarious because it’s true. From there on, I was intrigued. Read more

Book Review: Heavier Than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain

Lately, I have been reading a lot of musician biographies and autobiographies. It has been a rocky road, with downs (Bob Dylan Chronicles Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan) and ups (John by Cynthia Lennon.) Most recently I tackled Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain, by Charles R Cross. It was recommended to me by a friend who works in the music industry so I decided to read it; although, I actually didn’t know too much about Cobain, besides the general information that everyone who was alive in the 90’s knows. Still, I decided to give it a go. Read more

Book Review: Don’t Sleep With Your Drummer by Jen Sincero

“Don’t Sleep With Your Drummer” is the sarcastically hilarious journey of Jenny Troanni, a twenty-eight year old music lover who decides to up and leave her full time job to pursue her dreams of being in a rock band.

Items on Jenny’s to-do list include:

1) Quit going-somewhere copywriting job and get going-to-band-practice job.
2) Break up with Hootie and the Blowfish-lovin’ boyfriend.
3) Hang out in skanky bars. Meet musicians. Read more

Book Review: How To Kill A Rock Star

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the music business? I’m talking about everything that goes with the territory of becoming a rock star: negotiating contracts, dealing with record labels, traveling on a tour bus, the whole nine yards. Well, if you’ve ever wanted to get an idea of what the life of a rock star is like, now’s your chance.

How To Kill A Rock Star is a musically inspired romance novel written by an author by the name of Tiffanie DeBartolo about a music journalist, Eliza Caelum, who moves to New York and falls in love with Paul Hudson, the lead singer of her brother’s band, Bananafish. Bananafish ends up signing a record deal with a major corporate label, which sets Paul on the fast track to rock stardom and causes quite a few problems for him and Eliza. Read more