Sex Genes Rock N Roll

Why are people getting fatter? Why do so many rock stars end up dead at 27? Is there any hope of curbing population growth, rampant consumerism and the environmental devastation they wreak? Evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks argues that the origins of these twenty-first century problems can be found where the ancient forces of evolution collide w...

Explains how evolution and genetics affect how we experience modern life.

What led scientists to have acrobats copulate inside an MRI machine? Why do wordless patterns of sound send shivers down our spines and tickle ancient parts of our brains? How did a chemist's quest to create a drug to ease the pain of childbirth result in the creation of LSD? And did it change our understanding of the brain forever? From tortoiseshell condoms to superstar athletes on hallucinogens, science writer Zoe Cormier dissects these and other burning questions, amplifying them with insights from some of the world's bravest, cleverest, and downright weirdest scientists. Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll explores science at the edge, where scientists ask big, strange questions -- and sometimes experiment on themselves to find answers. It shines a light into the lesser-known corners of scientific research to gain insight into the nature of consciousness, happiness, and humanity. Not to mention our parties. Here are stories of unconventional scientists, innovative inquiries, hedonistic impulses -- and how the renegades of science have illuminated the secrets of our baser impulses.

Over 60 gripping accounts tracking the dark side of rock 'n' roll from the early days of the drugs-and-drink culture, and the birth of rock 'n' roll, through The Beatles, Stones, Sex Pistols, Madonna, Kurt Cobain and Oasis, to Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and other stars of the current rock-music scene. From trashed hotel rooms to cars in swimming pools, all rock 'n' roll's excesses are here, including murder and sexual deviancy, surprising brushes with the law that the stars thought they'd kept quiet, early and tragic deaths, drug overdoses, robbery, mis-marriages and groupies by the truckload

This is a witty, sparklingly argued study about the links between rock, maleness, and the Greek myths. In a boldly original thesis, Ruth Padel examines a hundred interweaving strands of image and influence. She takes us from the pop single to the operatic aria; from opera to Greek drama; and from there to the Greek myths which became the West's blueprint of sexual adventure. She relates the spotlit, adulated rock god to his classical ancestors - Dionysus, Narcissus, Hercules. She also tracks the story of rock through 20th century history, investigating the links betwen male dreams of violence, misogyny, and - above all - of blackness.

In Fever, music critic Tim Riley argues that while political and athletic role models have let us down, rock and roll has provided enduring role models for men and women. From Elvis Presley to Tina Turner to Bruce Springsteen to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, Riley makes a persuasive case that rock and roll, far from the corrosive force that conservative critics make it out to be, has instead been a positive influence in people's lives, laying out gender-defying role models far more enduringly than movies, TV, or "real life."