More Real Life Rock

The Washington Post hails Greil Marcus as our greatest cultural critic. Writing in the London Review of Books, D. D. Guttenplan calls him probably the most astute critic of American popular culture since Edmund Wilson. For nearly thirty years, he has written a remarkable column that has migrated from the Village Voice to Artforum, Salon, City Pages, Interview, and The Believer and currently appears in the Barnes & Noble Review. It has been a laboratory where Marcus has fearlessly explored and wittily dissected an enormous variety of cultural artifacts, from songs to books to movies to advertisements, teasing out from the welter of everyday objects what amounts to a de facto theory of cultural transmission. Published to complement the paperback edition of The History of Rock & Roll in Ten Songs, Real Life Rock reveals the critic in full: direct, erudite, funny, fierce, vivid, astute, uninhibited, and possessing an unerring instinct for art and fraud. The result is an indispensable volume packed with startling arguments and casual brilliance.

A funny, fierce, and uninhibited musical chronicle of the convulsive past six years from one of our finest cultural critics "A one-of-a-kind guide to rock music’s resonance in every aspect of our lives.”—David Kirby, Wall Street Journal “A smart set of suggestions for further reading, viewing, and listening by a most trustworthy guide.”—Kirkus Reviews For the past thirty-five years, celebrated author Greil Marcus has applied his unmatched critical apparatus to everything from music, television, radio, and politics to overheard comments, advertisements, and happenstance street encounters—an eclectic collection of what he calls “everyday culture and found objects.” This book collects hundreds of items from the crisscrossing spectrum of culture and politics throughout the tumultuous past six years of American life, an essential travel guide to the scorched landscape of recent history. Tracking the evolution of national identity during the Trump administration, Marcus spotlights the most whip-smart cultural artifacts to compose a mosaic portrait of American society, replete with unexpected heroes and villains, absurdity and its consequences, humor and despair, terror and defiance—as seen through media, music, and more. Bursting with Marcus’s effortless, no-nonsense, unapologetic verve, this book features seventy-three columns from 2014 through February 2021.

Praised by Entertainment Weekly as “the man who put the fizz into physics,” Dr. Len Fisher turns his attention to the science of cooperation in his lively and thought-provoking book. Fisher shows how the modern science of game theory has helped biologists to understand the evolution of cooperation in nature, and investigates how we might apply those lessons to our own society. In a series of experiments that take him from the polite confines of an English dinner party to crowded supermarkets, congested Indian roads, and the wilds of outback Australia, not to mention baseball strategies and the intricacies of quantum mechanics, Fisher sheds light on the problem of global cooperation. The outcomes are sometimes hilarious, sometimes alarming, but always revealing. A witty romp through a serious science, Rock, Paper, Scissors will both teach and delight anyone interested in what it what it takes to get people to work together.

A stunning visual reference book for little geologists who love to find fascinating rocks all around them. Identify colorful gemstones, sparkly crystals, the toughest rocks, and ancient fossils. Packed with fun facts, information, and extensive photos all about the rocks and minerals that make up the world around us. Interactive learning that engages young scholarly minds. Learn about 64 different types of rocks and minerals, how to tell the difference between them and where to find them. Dig into all the interesting geological materials from deep space to the deepest caves. You’ll even discover glow in the dark minerals and living gems! Find out about the stuff our world is made of, and how rocks and minerals form over time. This captivating book introduces children to hands-on science with fun activities like starting your own impressive rock collection and how to stay safe on your rock finding missions. Written for kids aged 6 to 9 with bite-sized information and explanations. The easy-to-understand language gives them a rock-solid foundation for science subjects. The geology book includes the phonetic pronunciation of the rock and mineral names so your little one will sound like a rock expert in no time. Rockin’ It With Stones And Minerals • Stunning high-quality photographs. • Inspiring activities for little Earth scientists. • Over 64 types of rocks, their properties, and how they are formed.

Drooling fanatic, n. 1. One who drools in the presence of beloved rock stars. 2. Any of a genus of rock-and-roll wannabes/geeks who walk around with songs constantly ringing in their ears, own more than 3,000 albums, and fall in love with at least one record per week. With a life that’s spanned the phonographic era and the digital age, Steve Almond lives to Rawk. Like you, he’s secretly longed to live the life of a rock star, complete with insane talent, famous friends, and hotel rooms to be trashed. Also like you, he’s content (sort of) to live the life of a rabid fan, one who has converted his unrequited desires into a (sort of) noble obsession. Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life traces Almond’s passion from his earliest (and most wretched) rock criticism to his eventual discovery of a music-crazed soul mate and their subsequent production of two little superfans. Along the way, Almond reflects on the delusional power of songs, the awkward mating habits of drooling fanatics, and why Depression Songs actually make us feel so much better. The book also includes: • sometimes drunken interviews with America’s finest songwriters • a recap of the author’s terrifying visit to Graceland while stoned • a vigorous and credibility-shattering endorsement of Styx’s Paradise Theater • recommendations you will often choose to ignore • a reluctant exegesis of the Toto song “Africa” • obnoxious lists sure to piss off rock critics But wait, there’s more. Readers will also be able to listen to a special free mix designed by the author, available online at www.stevenalmond.com, for the express purpose of eliciting your drool. For those about to rock—we salute you!

A tell-all memoir from the lead singer of the 1980s hair-metal band Ratt reveals all the aspects of rock star excess, including the groupies, the trashed hotel rooms, and the drugs.

For the generation coming of age in the years from 1987 to 1994, RIP magazine was every bit as crucial as Rolling Stone. Life on Planet Rock describes how Friend, the editor of RIP, became the Zelig-like chronicler of the biggest musical moments of that time—from introducing Guns N’ Roses (in nothing but a top hat, underwear, and cowboy boots) to sitting in during the making of Metallica’s "Black Album." Life on Planet Rock provides revealing portraits of artists as varied as Kurt Cobain, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Axl Rose, James Hetfield, Steven Tyler, and many more. Part oral history, part candid and humorous memoir, it is a wormhole back to a fast-moving time in music that saw tastes flash from new wave to hair metal to grunge, told as only someone who was there through it all could tell it.

How to Rock Your Life is the book the author wished existed when she was suffering from a chronic case of post-show blues. Beating them with a rainstick, a hacky-sack, and a big boatload of intentional life changes, she knew she had to share what she learned. If youre a live music fanatic, youll go anywhere the music is playing for just one more taste of the good stuff. Is it possible to bring that live music magic home with you? It is, and Taraleigh Weathers will show you the way. Filled with entertaining, laugh-out-loud, inspiring, and vulnerable stories, been-there-done that advice, playful exercises, and many references to Phish and the Grateful Dead, How to Rock Your Life will guide you to maintain the live music magic in your everyday experience. Just like you do when your favorite band is performing, Taraleigh will show you how you can channel the wildest expression of your authentic self on a daily basis, feel those unique music festival feels at home, and find the magic in even the most mundane and uncomfortable of situations. Shell prove to you that it is indeed possible to surrender to the flow of the present moment before, during, and after the show. If you dont read this book, therell be curse placed upon you. From now until eternity, the person next to you at the show will never stop talking from the time the band plays the first note until the last. Just kidding. The truth is that if youre seated next to Loose Lips Lucy, after reading this book, youll have the tools to deal with that situation with ease and grace. Read the book.