Search results for ""Author Jake Austen""

From Elvis and a hound dog wearing matching tuxedos and the comic adventures of artificially produced bands to elaborate music videos and contrived reality-show contests, television—as this critical look brilliantly shows—has done a superb job of presenting the energy of rock in a fabulously entertaining but patently "fake" manner. The dichotomy of "fake" and "real" music as it is portrayed on television is presented in detail through many generations of rock music: the Monkees shared the charts with the Beatles, Tupac and Slayer fans voted for corny American Idols, and shows like Shindig! and Soul Train somehow captured the unhinged energy of rock far more effectively than most long-haired guitar-smashing acts. Also shown is how TV has often delighted in breaking the rules while still mostly playing by them: Bo Diddley defied Ed Sullivan and sang rock and roll after he had been told not to, the Chipmunks' subversive antics prepared kids for punk rock, and things got out of hand when Saturday Night Live invited punk kids to attend a taping of the band Fear. Every aspect of the idiosyncratic history of rock and TV and their peculiar relationship is covered, including cartoon rock, music programming for African American audiences, punk on television, Michael Jackson's life on TV, and the tortured history of MTV and its progeny.

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For nearly twenty years, the much-beloved music magazine Roctober has featured work by some of the best underground cartoonists, exhaustive examinations of made-up genres such as “robot rock,” and an ongoing exploration of everything Sammy Davis Jr. ever sang, said, or did. But the heart of the magazine has always been the lengthy conversations with overlooked or forgotten artists. Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll gathers the most compelling of these interviews. Eccentric, important artists—including the rockabilly icon Billy Lee Riley, the jazz musician and activist Oscar Brown Jr., the “Outlaw Country” singer David Allan Coe, and the pioneer rock ’n’ roll group the Treniers—give the most in-depth interviews of their lengthy careers. Obscure musicians, such as the Armenian-language novelty artist Guy Chookoorian and the frustrated interstellar glam act Zolar X, reveal fascinating lives lived at rock’s margins. Roctober’s legendarily dedicated writers convey telling anecdotes in the fervent, captivating prose that has long been appreciated by music enthusiasts. Along with the entertaining interviews, Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll features more than sixty images from the pages of Roctober and ten illustrations created for the book by the underground rock ’n’ roll artist King Merinuk.ContributorsSteve AlbiniBen AustenJake AustenJohn BattlesBoscoKen BurkeMike MalteseKing MerinukKen MottetJonathan PolettiJames Porter"Colonel" Dan SorensonJacqueline Stewart

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Fans of punk rock and New Wave music will be impressed by this collection of never-before-seen images The first-time release of this private photo collection, Zone's photo memoir will give new insight into what some might see as a saturated field, proving that underground rock royalty will never grow old This book is the chronicle of a 14-year-old boy through his teens; so he was invisible to the people he was photographing, giving him an extra boost in terms of taking candid photographs Fans of Blondie will flock to this insider's guide to the era Inspirational volume of D.I.Y. style that appeals to youth and adults around the world, even more culturally relevant in the face of an ever-changing New York While most teenagers daydreamed of summer break while playing rock 'n' roll in their bedrooms, fourteen-year-old Paul Zone danced away his youth in underground clubs with those very same rock stars, exploring the concrete playground with actors, drag queens, and drug addicts. The mid-1970s was a time when the death of glam and the birth of punk rock collided in a celebration of glitter and grunge, and Zone had a front-row seat to it all. In this incredible photo memoir, Zone shares personal images that have never been released to the public alongside memories of the era, all through the eyes of a youngster whose reverential regard to his subjects made him a regular fixture in the lives of these greats. Zone captures the joys and the fantasy of the New York underground with a genuine intimacy, making this volume a worthy tribute to the legends of underground rock royalty.

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