InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for Entertainment / Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Book Report – Court Justice by Ed O’Bannon

by

The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with a very vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

Decades after Curt Flood and Oscar Robertson sued their respective leagues to gain free agency, the college system is still operating under a set of archaic rules governing “amateurism,” even as young stars in hockey, tennis, and Olympic sports are reaping the benefits of today’s free market.

In his new book, Court Justice, former UCLA Star Ed O’Bannon details his nearly ten year battle with the NCAA to establish that athletes are entitled to compensation for use of their likeness in video games and other areas. In fact, it all began innocently enough with a video game. O’Bannon describes how a friend’s son showed him how his avatar did battle in an EA sports college basketball video game.

He writes, “My lawsuit was really about former players like myself being duped by the NCAA and companies that made video games, rebroadcasts, and merchandise using our names, images, and likenesses.”

O’Bannon’s narrative proceeds in a very personal and candid style. He describes his upbringing, his college and professional years, and life after basketball. An interesting fact from the book was that Ed originally wanted to play at UNLV, not UCLA, and ended up in Westwood, only after Jerry Tarkanian advised him that his program was going on probation. Again the all powerful NCAA flexing its muscle.

The reader gets an inside look at the litigation, the trial, and the subsequent appeals. The book is very timely with references to current sports controversies.

Unlike some authors who disparage the process or the system, but don’t offer any solutions, the last chapter of the book has twelve ideas on how to fix college sports.

Court Justice is an excellent and worthwhile read. An eye opening look at the hypocrisy of college sports, and the efforts of one man to force the NCAA to give these “amateurs” a stake and a say in their sports.

Book Report: Bobby Skafish – We Have Company

by

I’m supremely jealous.

Bobby Skafish had the ultimate gig. Interview some of the biggest rock stars on the planet at the behest of Chicago’s prominent rock stations.

Wow.

And now he’s recounting his experiences as interviewer, emcee, and observer.

The book is called “We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters.”

Rock music on the radio in the Windy City is synonymous with WXRT, WLUP, Q101, and WDRV. Skafish had stints at all of these outlets.

Beginning with an attempt to sneak into a Todd Rundgren show, and including such rock royalty as Jimmy Page and David Bowie, Skafish engages the reader as he chronicles encounters with everyone from The Ramones to Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. The late keyboardist Ray Manzarek tells him some Jim Morrison stories during an interview.

Bobby does admit to a minor faux pas as he honed his craft, on his way to becoming the go-to interviewer, when touring acts came to Chi-town. He also describes a few times when he interacted with these starts as he emceed their concerts, including a few at now defunct venues.

As someone who attended several of the concerts described in the book, it really resonated with me. However, even if you’ve never set foot in the Midwest, you will delight at hearing stories about Debbie Harry, David Lee Roth, David Gilmour,  Dave Matthews, Ron Wood, and more.

Johnny Lydon, Tom Waits, Lenny Kravitz, Bruce Hornsby, Suzanne Vega, John Mayer, Nancy Wilson (Heart) are among the icons sharing a microphone with Skafish.

Bobby joined me on Acid Flashback radio. We played music from the artists and bands covered in the book, and he recounted a few of these stories.

Hour 1

Hour 2

Louder Than Hell – The Definitive Oral History of Metal – by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman

by

Louder_Than_Hell__The_Definiti_6_4_2013_8_47_52_PMHeavy Metal is one of those musical genres with very little middle ground – you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I was a fan of the progenitors of the style, but didn’t really pay much attention once the Metallicas and Megadeths of the world took over. Regardless of my personal preferences however, I found this book to be of the “can’t put it down” variety, as Wiederhorn and Turman do a terrific job of capturing the essence of metal via hundreds of interviews with the dramatis personae of the movement.

From the early chapters with my heroes, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, and the irrepressible Lemmy Kilmister (God rest his soul), to the latter-day Slipknots and Disturbeds of the world, the authors keep your attention with the expected and unexpected, as they dive deeply into the heart and soul of the music with commentary from the players themselves. As one would expect, there is lots of drug use, sex with groupies, and general mayhem. But what sets this apart from the usual rock’n’roll journalism is the delving into the extremes unique to this milieu. Some of those who embraced the lifestyle (Alice Cooper, Dave Mustaine) have embraced Christianity, and now heavy metal is just an act to make money. Others took it further by placing rotting animal flesh onstage so as to embrace the smell of death. Some just died from way too many drugs, and then there’s the purveyors of Norwegian death metal, who took the lyrics literally and engaged in burning churches, suicide, and even murder.

Reading this book, one learns that some of the most famous purveyors of this music are also the most disliked, as Dave Mustaine, Fred Durst, and Phil Anselmo are revealed as hard to embrace human beings, who have made many enemies. Regardless of your musical tastes, this is a worthwhile read, providing those of us who have never delved into metal with a primer on the motivation behind the music as well as a historical account thereof.

Book Report – Junior Seau by Jim Trotter

by

junior-seau-patsA review of “The Life and Death of a Football Icon”

ESPN football analyst Jim Trotter didn’t have to dig too deep for his biography of NFL linebacker Junior Seau. Trotter covered the Hall of Famer while at the San Diego Union Tribune.

Trotter has crafted a compelling story chronicling Seau rise from modest beginnings in San Diego as the son of Samoan immigrants in rough and tumble Oceanside, California to the pinnacle of football excellence. That was where Junior developed his strong sense of family and community that was to be one of his greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses.

Trotter has compiled a detailed portrait of Seau’s life, built not just from his own interviews as a beat writer, but with input from Junior’s own family, friends, teammates, and coaches. At times, it’s not a very flattering picture of a man who had a child out of wedlock with his high school sweetheart, and then was an absentee father of his three other children.

However, it does give a very in depth look at Seau’s college and pro career, that endeared him to teammates and coaches, while frustrating and terrorizing opponents. At the same time he garnered the respect of friend and foe with his intensity, heart, along with the innate ability to be in the right place at the right time.  The only thing that Junior failed to accomplish in his professional career was to win the Lombardi trophy, despite two trips to the Super Bowl.

Typical of players who competed at the highest level of sports, Seau’s work ethic was second to none.  However, that competitive spirit also led to infidelity, heavy drinking, and gambling. Also there is some discussion of whether the numerous concussions that Seau suffered throughout his twenty year playing career may have exacerbated his proclivities.

Whether it Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) or the side effects of Ambien, that caused Seau to drive his SUV over the side of a cliff in 2010, and led to his taking his own life two years later may never be known. Did that exacerbate his distress over the end of his playing career and mounting personal debt?

Even casual NFL fans will enjoy Trotter’s story of the man who touched the lives of so many people, yet never forget where he came from. Unfortunately, that desire to help so many, led to his being pulled in too many directions, making bad business decisions, and undertake questionable, risky behavior.  Despite that, it shouldn’t diminish his stellar on field accomplishments.

purchase Junior Seau: The Life and Death of a Football Icon from Amazon.com

The Martian – by Andy Weir

by

“SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE” – martian with Matt Damon no less. This book was on my “to-read” list even before I started seeing the trailer on the internet and on TV. Now that the movie is coming out shortly (October 2015) I figured I’d better get on with reading it. Good choice. As someone who reads a LOT of science fiction and fantasy (sometimes as many as 3 books at a time – one for bedside, one for the daily train into work, and one audiobook for the car), I can honestly say this was one of the most readable examples of the genre I have come across in a long time.

I gave a copy of this book to my college student daughter who is majoring in chemical engineering, because the gist of the book is that science is cool, and not only is it cool, it can save your life. The Martian tells the tale of Mark Watney, an American astronaut who is inadvertently left for dead on Mars by his crewmates on the 3rd manned mission to Mars. So as to avoid too many plot spoilers before you see the movie, I will tell you only that the novel is about how Watney uses his scientific knowledge (particularly his knowledge of chemistry) to stay alive on Mars until such time as a rescue mission can reach him.

Many books written by writers who are A) real scientists, or B) writers with a science background, can be way over the heads of those of us who lean more towards the creative, or “soft skills” side. Refreshingly, in this one, the science is presented to the layman in a very understandable fashion. Not only that but this book is FUNNY, as in John Scalzi snarky humor. I had to constantly remind myself that this was not a Scalzi book or blog post.

Having viewed the trailers several times, I only see one instance where they embellished the book, it’s that good, as in it needed no embellishment. I plan to see the movie, I would encourage even the most casual sci-fi fan to both read the book and see the movie, I most definitely plan to do the latter after having done the former. This was one of those books where as you read, you are visualizing what the movie would look like. Without having seen the movie, I will say if it is anywhere close to the book, it will be a must-see for 2015.

Black Sabbath – Symptom Of The Universe by Mick Wall

by

BSbookThis book should be sub-titled “A Cautionary Tale on the Perils of Drug Abuse”. After the release of their first two albums, the eponymous Black Sabbath and the stone classic Paranoid, Black Sabbath were poised on the cusp of superstardom, along with fellow Birmingham, England native son John Bonham and Led Zeppelin. But then began not years, but decades, of drug abuse and its ensuing chaos, and instead of reaching the pinnacle, they began a decline that ultimately put them in the unfortunate position of being the actual inspiration for Spinal Tap. This then is an ode to what might have been, with glimpses of all that wasted potential surfacing over the years since their heady, heavy heyday.

I, like many of the classic rock generation, lost interest after that second album, upon reading this book, I discovered why. As no more than a casual fan, who, like many, felt that (and still do) the only “true” Black Sabbath consisted of Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne, I learned a lot from this book.  For instance, that Tony Iommi (much like the late Chris Squire with Yes) was the only constant in a revolving door lineup, which at times included some of my favorite Seventies artists, such as Cozy Powell, Glenn Hughes, and Ian Gillan, that Sharon Osbourne was responsible for Ozzy’s solo career, which completely eclipsed the Sabbath of the time, and that Sharon ultimately wrested control of the band from Tony.

As far as rock bios go, this is one of the better ones I have read, it actually falls into the “can’t put it down” category. I found myself staying up much later than I intended on several occasions (the lot of the aspiring writer being that one has to keep the soul-crushing “day job”) as I read of Tony’s domination of the band (he actually bullied Ozzy on the schoolyard when they were growing up, and that relationship continued for many years), Bill Ward’s hellish existence as the butt of the band’s jokes (Tony actually set him afire to the tune of third-degree burns), Ozzy’s live-to-party life, their failed attempts at outlandish stage props (yes, they actually attempted to re-create Stonehenge on stage) and much, much, more. Author Mick Wall actually worked with the band as a publicist, so many of the accounts are first-hand, but where other authors present that type of access in a wink, wink, nudge, nudge, I’m-cooler-than-you’ll-ever-hope-to-be fashion, Wall presents the story in a matter-of-fact yet fascinating manner.

Bottom line is, if you’re a child of the Sixties, teenager of the Seventies, or just want to know more about one of the most influential bands of all time, this is a must-read.

 

 

Book Review – Prog Rock FAQ (All That’s Left To Know About Rock’s Most Progressive Music) by Will Romano

by

Prog Rock FAQThe sub-title says it all, as the first thing that struck me after a few chapters of this book was that this was not entirely an FAQ for neophytes, casual fans, or even those who imagine themselves to be “proggers” thru and thru. Those expecting a linear history of the evolution of the genre, with the major players prominently featured, will be for the most part disappointed. There is nothing chronological here at all, the introduction gives a current “state of the genre”, then delves into the true purpose of the book, which is to bring to light some of the forgotten/obscure/tragic figures of the movement. From there Romano doesn’t work his way backward, or start at the beginning, but rather gives the reader a collection of unrelated, save for the unifying thread of the genre, essays on various topics.

The FAQ title is not entirely without merit, as there are several chapters that do fall into the “frequently asked” category. Of particular interest is a history of the Mellotron, that distinctively prog keyboard that “made” so many of the classics of the genre (“Watcher of the Skies” and “Court of the Crimson King” come to mind immediately). Romano gives the usual description of the instrument as an unwieldy beast that would not stay in tune (if you need proof of that, take your ears no farther than the studio version of that classic rock warhorse “Free Bird”, this musician cringes every time he hears the 3rd verse), but then goes on to give the further history of the instrument as well as some insight into its manufacture. Other topics that lie squarely in the FAQ realm are a biography of the ultimate prog journeyman, John Wetton, the obligatory treatise of the fall from grace of the genre in the late 70s as the record labels dumped prog bands to sign punk and New Wave artists, and not one but two essays on cover art, which of course was an integral part of the prog experience in the 70s. These latter are particularly jarring in the Digital Age, as Romano describes the time and expense that went into manually creating many of the classic prog album covers, of course now they could be done on a PC or Mac very quickly and at little or no expense.

An honest review of this book must mention that a couple of the chapters are nearly unreadable, I forced myself to slog through them since I had committed to publishing a review. The chapter on “concept albums that aren’t” I found to take stretching a point to new extremes, as many of these albums have never been considered concept albums by anyone I know or have read. Romano’s writing style in this chapter is “early 20th century academic treatise”, i.e. very dry, and even, I hate to use this word but I must, pompous. The pomposity is found in further writings on long-form songs, and the occasional “nudge-nudge-wink-wink I know the real story of Joe Blow, but I can’t tell you”.  The dryness appears as well in a chapter on proto-prog bands of the 1960s, it feels like reading all those “begats” in the Old Testament. Fortunately the whole book is not written in this style.

A recurring theme in the book is the guitarist who left an up-and-coming band just prior to the band hitting it big, as the author writes about Mick Abrahams (Jethro Tull), Anthony Phillips (who left Genesis prior to their prog-rock success with Peter Gabriel), Steve Hackett (who left the same band prior to their pop success with Phil Collins), and the late Peter Banks (Yes). Some of these artists are completely satisfied with how their lives and careers turned out, others not so much.

The “All That’s Left To Know” part comes into play with articles on somewhat-familiar bands such as Univers Zero, Van der Graaf Generator, and Happy The Man, and a history of the RIO (Rock In Opposition) movement. Bands that are obscure to even the most die-hard fanboys (and girls) are described with great zeal, these include District 97, Dimensionaut, and Scale The Summit. To American fans, even the more well-known Italian bands such as Primiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, and Le Orme are somewhat obscure, Romano takes a step further into the depths with discussions of two “lost classics” from Italy, the albums Zarathustra by Museo Rosenbach and Opera Prima by Paolo Rustichelli and Carlo Bordini.

The nice thing about living in the YouTube age is you can actually listen to almost all of this music as you read about it, to do that back in the day, you would have had to send your money to one of those sketchy mail-order houses with the Xeroxed catalog (with colored construction paper cover of course) and keep your fingers crossed that you would get an album in return. While this is probably not the book to give to your 13-year-old progeny that you are trying to expose to the music you or your parents loved as a teenager, if he or she takes a liking to Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Genesis and Yes, then this would make a great follow-up gift (and you could sneak a read to learn more about your favorite genre).