20th Century Rock and Roll: Alternative Rock (20th Century Rock & Roll)

Rating:
Summary: Factually Brilliant!
Review: Alan Cross' second book is a detailed (and loving) look at 25 alternative acts that influenced the shape of current modern rock. The artist profiles begin with The Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop & The Stooges and wind their way through the seventies (Bowie, Kraftwerk, The Ramones), the eighties (U2, Depeche Mode, The Cure) and end up in the nineties (with The Smashing Pumpkins). Along the way, Cross inundates readers with plenty of information, great "Fast Facts" and a timeline which connects it all together. Cross clearly knows this stuff inside out (it helps when you write and produce your own radio column for a Troronto alternative rock station) but a more personal voice (like the way Nelson George or Colin Larkin use in their writings) would have really brought this stuff home to first-time readers trying to get a handle on the music's scope and breadth. Readers may feel a little angry by the proofreading of the thing: a number of misspelled words appear, breaking the reader's "flow". But, for the sheer amount of information packed in its 206 pages, the book is a quick read that brings its topic into sharp focus. Its no-nonsense tone may be a little academic, but in the end, his observations win the day.

Rating:
Summary: Factually Brilliant!
Review: Alan Cross' second book is a detailed (and loving) look at 25 alternative acts that influenced the shape of current modern rock. The artist profiles begin with The Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop & The Stooges and wind their way through the seventies (Bowie, Kraftwerk, The Ramones), the eighties (U2, Depeche Mode, The Cure) and end up in the nineties (with The Smashing Pumpkins). Along the way, Cross inundates readers with plenty of information, great "Fast Facts" and a timeline which connects it all together. Cross clearly knows this stuff inside out (it helps when you write and produce your own radio column for a Troronto alternative rock station) but a more personal voice (like the way Nelson George or Colin Larkin use in their writings) would have really brought this stuff home to first-time readers trying to get a handle on the music's scope and breadth. Readers may feel a little angry by the proofreading of the thing: a number of misspelled words appear, breaking the reader's "flow". But, for the sheer amount of information packed in its 206 pages, the book is a quick read that brings its topic into sharp focus. Its no-nonsense tone may be a little academic, but in the end, his observations win the day.

Rating:
Summary: Everything you never knew you wanted to know about alt rock!
Review: This book is an incredibly informative and interesting source for the story behind modern and alternative rock music. Alan Cross does a fine job of delievering the lives, music, and impact of some of the last 4 decades' musicians. While some of what's in this book may be just intriguing trivia about your favorites well-known bands (i.e. Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M.) a good deal of the chapters deal with some of the lesser known gods of alt rock. But that's the best part I think. I have found that I have been introduced to all lot of my new favorite bands through reading this book. The other chapters however did provide an interesting new look at some of my old favorites. Overall, this book was a thouroghly interesting read that gave great insight into a lot of rock's most important bands and expanded my horizons as well. The only downside I found was that Alan Cross' writting seems a little dumbed down sometimes, as if he's writting to a much younger audience. Aside from the fact that you're not reading Rolling Stone quality reporting, this book is quite essential to anyone who wants to know all about alternative music. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Everything you never knew you wanted to know about alt rock!
Review: This book is an incredibly informative and interesting source for the story behind modern and alternative rock music. Alan Cross does a fine job of delievering the lives, music, and impact of some of the last 4 decades' musicians. While some of what's in this book may be just intriguing trivia about your favorites well-known bands (i.e. Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M.) a good deal of the chapters deal with some of the lesser known gods of alt rock. But that's the best part I think. I have found that I have been introduced to all lot of my new favorite bands through reading this book. The other chapters however did provide an interesting new look at some of my old favorites. Overall, this book was a thouroghly interesting read that gave great insight into a lot of rock's most important bands and expanded my horizons as well. The only downside I found was that Alan Cross' writting seems a little dumbed down sometimes, as if he's writting to a much younger audience. Aside from the fact that you're not reading Rolling Stone quality reporting, this book is quite essential to anyone who wants to know all about alternative music. Highly recommended.