Free time music books to read.

This is a repost from Unibloggal, a blog some pals and I used to frequently vent upon. I wrote it in June of 2006, but little has changed. However, now I use proper capitalization and have more time to read. Since you may also have time for such shenanigans, I am passing this list along to you. Enjoy:

i read a lot. sometimes my friends yell at me for watching tv, riding the bus, playing my game boy, talking on the phone and/or emailing while hanging out with them AND reading a delicious piece of written word. i may, occasionally, provide you with a list of reading material that you're free to enjoy during your precious freetime. that is, when you're not injesting the satisfying content of this blog.

today's list focuses on one of my favorite genres: rock and roll music (or music in general) - auto/biographies/novels and other stories.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band - this book was written by the members of motley crue. i called in sick one day because i couldn't stop reading this book. it was the fall of 2003, i'd just moved to san francisco and needed something to provide me with some vicarious insanity. this did the trick. and when waiting in the ambient death metal aisle of amoeba for spiritualized to play one afternoon, it was an excellent distraction from the annoying and smelly people around me.

The Long Hard Road Out of Hell - this is marilyn manson (brian warner's) autobiography. i highly recommend it because right now you probably think he's an idiot. after you read this book, you will think he's a hilarious idiot.

How Soon is Never? - this is a novel by a real life rock journalist who does drugs about a make believe rock journalist who does drugs. the make believe rock journalist tries to reunite the smiths. the real life rock journalist only got to interview morrissey, something the make beli...wait, i don't want to ruin the ending.

And I Don’t Want to Live this Life - this book was written by nancy spungen's mother. it almost made me cry...ALMOST.

Heavier than Heaven - this book really did make me cry! i was on a plane home from new york and because it was so depressing, it had taken me several months to slowly get my way to the end of this book. when i finished it, i was a teary pile of crybaby. it's excellent. and pretty much contains all of the teen angst you will ever need in a book.

We Got the Neutron Bomb - for a second, this book makes you think that maybe once upon a time LA wasn't a huge infected waste of space. but then you realize that you were wrong.

Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs - i ate this book up. it includes great accounts by vivienne westwood, chrissy hinde, and other females who could kick my ass. i read it in 1995 when people in orange county liked the offspring and PUNK! i felt like i was providing myself with some imaginary roots. oh, to be 18 again.

Lords of Chaos - this book is evil.

Have Gun Will Travel - in may of 2000 rolling stone published an article (the rock was on the cover) about the deaths of biggie and tupac. it was an excellent article and i was HOOKED. the article lead me to investigate more on the topic and eventually i found this book. it's VERY long and VERY detailed, but it includes accounts of every rotten thing that suge knight ever did. i'm scared of him.

An artist's everything.

I suggest doing/watching/reading/listening to someone's everything. Read every book by a certain author. Watch every movie directed by or staring a certain person. Ask your most artistically sound friend to make you CDs of songs by their favorite artist. In short, broaden your horizons. Taking in all of this EVERYTHING will make you feel smart, keep you from watching The View and will give you things to talk about when you get out of your pajamas to attend happy hours and the like. Here are some of my personal recommendations:

• Actor: OK, you might think I am joking but I think you should watch every movie staring Angelina Jolie. But seriously, she's in some good stuff. I don't recommend going pre-Hackers but her catalog spans the spectrum from period pieces like The Good Shepherd, to action movies like Gone in Sixty Seconds (with grossy McCagey) and Wanted, to dramatic awesomeness like Girl, Interrupted and GIA. And she's easy on them eyes.
• Director: If you're not familiar with the work of Nicole Holofcenter, please look into it. Not only has she directed episodes of Six feet Under and Sex and the City, but her movies Walking and Talking, Lovely & Amazing and Friends with Money are very much worth watching. 
• Author: I have a problem with book and author collecting. I get obsessed with reading the work of certain writers and I can't stop. Some of those I recommend are: Augusten Burroughs, Bret Easton Ellis, Alice Sebold, Douglas Coupland, James Frey and John Irving. These are mainstream authors whose books you can find used on the internet with almost zero problem. Or I can be a good citizen and lend you my copies. Just ask. 
• Musician: I highly recommend the work of someone named Blake Schwarzenbach. He has been in bands called Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil. Once upon a time I addressed how I felt about his music on another blog. You can read about it here. 

Regardless of which artists you choose, just invest in it. Maybe they have a biography. If this obsession doesn't tickle your fancy, maybe you can just stalk a crush on the internet. That's a fine way to pass a few days.