FM : The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio

Rating:
Summary: Personal and meandering, but informative
Review: The most important thing to know before starting this book is that it is not meant to be a historical document of the free-form radio era. A lot of the book has the feel of a man setting his memories to paper before they fade. Fortunately Neer has more interesting memories than most.

All in all, FM is a clear window into the workings of WNEW in New York during the formative years of rock radio. Of particular interest to listeners during that time, Neer brings you into the restricted access world of radio, devulging the conflicts and hijinks that result on the battlefront between air personality and management.

Although his stories of internal WNEW stife and rock stars in their formative years are facinating, any time the subject strays to other subjects, such as other free-form stations of the era, the narrative loses alot of the viceral energy of his personal experiences. Also, Neer will often follow stories to thier conclusion, jumping decades at a time and then back, leaving one very confused as to when a perticular event is happening.

Despite the flaws, FM is still an interesting read and while it fails to give a comprehensive view of free-form radio, the warm and often humorous radio recolections are well worth the purchace price.

Rating:
Summary: This One Goes to 11
Review: The title of this book really says it all. Rock radio's place in major markets these days is about as stable as Anne Heche. But, as Richard Neer chronicles in his book, it was once very much alive and well. To quote Spinal Tap film-biographer Marti DeBergi, Neer captures, "the sights, the sounds, and the smells", of hard working rock radio stations and personalities. I enjoyed the book from start to finish. My only regret is that Neer did not do more on the role rock radio played in the rise of rock's loudest band, Spinal Tap.