I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne with Chris Ayres

As previously stated I’ve just moved and am CDless. This meant that I spent most of the day applying for jobs and being bored out of my skull. So I decided to combat that and bought the Ozzy Osbourne book, as it was the cheapest one in Waterstones that I was interested in. Bizarrely for an island renowned for being a tax haven Jersey deem books taxable so I paid more than I thought I was going to. Its all right as yacht fuel is still tax-free!

I have read The Dirt by Motley Crue and Neil Strauss and this book is meant to be a sort of companion piece to slide alongside, covering as it does the same Ozzy Osbourne/Motley Crue tour that featured in The Dirt. The difference between those two books is great though. While The Dirt covered all the parties and drugs, leading to a masterpiece that was equally a comedic monster and upmost heartbreaking, usually at the same time, Ozzy’s mentions his memory isn’t as great as it should be and many things are glossed over quicker than it should be. I also feel that ghostwriter Chris Ayres is not as talented as Neil Strauss and stories that should rip your heart out, like the death of Randy Rhoads are mere tragedies compared to the Earth shattering devastation you feel when reading about the death of Vince Neil’s daughter in The Dirt.

Having said that there were things I learnt about Ozzy from this book. I never knew he spent time in prison as a teenager, I never realised the whole biting the head of a dove and bat and pissing on the Alamo all happened in such a small space of time.

Overall I now feel slightly jaded about reading about celebrities’ glorification of their drug habits and living vicariously through them. I would much rather just enjoy magic mushrooms myself.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

I was not originally going to buy this book. I had read Ian Penman’s scathing review of it in The Wire (Issue 315 if you are interested) and finding Smith’s musical output usually rather staid and insipid had not bothered to look it up. However a sunny full day in Taunton with absolutely nothing to do after look in Black Cat Records led me to HMV where the book was on some sort of discount (all books in HMV are generally less than RRP. The Taunton one has a wide selection of choice. I also recommend the Plymouth branch for books).

My previous knowledge of Patti Smith’s writings extends to a few of her poems and her epic ‘The Coral Sea’. ‘Just Kids’ follows ‘The Coral Sea’ in subject matter. It is an autobiography of Smith and her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Smith is an excellent writer and I cannot but help feel that Music’s gain (loss possibly) the literary world has lost a great, especially if she is as fond of crime fiction as she states she is in the book. She could have been a more poetic Elmore Leonard. There are issues with the book. I have to echo Penman’s criticism about Smith filtering everything through art. You are not Lee Krasner because you stole something. You are either poor or a wrong ‘un.

Patti Smith has written an excellent recollection of her time with Robert Mapplethorpe and just because she quickly glazes her musical work is not a reason not to buy or Lee Krasner the book. It is an excellent piece of work that Penman wrongly criticised as Smith’s art filter and naivety hardly spoil the flow and interest of the book whatsoever. My biggest criticism would be the tacked on chapter at the end of the paperback version, which tends to be a regular occasion for autobiographies, which serves no purpose except to show some photos and some small poems.

Why Be Something You're Not: Detroit Hardcore 1979-85

It's a good question. Why be something that you're not?

Detroit has a long glorious history of pop music. The home of Motown, the birth of Proto Punk with the Stooges and the MC5. In the present day they have Eminem representing in the world of Hip Hop. However when the early days of Hardcore Punk is looked at Detroit does not get a look in. Everyone is interested in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston and even New York who for the most part were years behind the rest of the country or doing their own thing with No Wave that the scene did not get going to the latter part of the 80s.

This aim of this book, I presume, was to alter that view somewhat. Detroit had a lively Hardcore scene. Its easy to forget, what with the blowing up of the alternative scene in the late 80s that Touch & Go originated in Detroit and only moved to Chicago later on. The scene was very much alive in Detroit. While initially taking its cue from the burgeoning L.A. scene, midwestern Hardcore Punk soon developed their own personality, which Rettman argues soon switched this around and the L.A. bands started to copy bands like the Fix and Necros. Refreshingly as well, the main Detroit bands had no problem having fun, getting drunk etc. This made them occasionally butt heads with the D.C. bands and sometimes led them to being beaten up. Similar to stories in other areas of the US the decline came when the scene started to grow and younger kids came through, who followed holier than thou ideals and all dressed the same. A music genre that came from not wanting to be the same as every one else, soon descended into a scene where everyone looked the same and those who did not were often met with violence.

Why Be Something You're Not is written by Tony Rettman in a style reminiscent of the Touch & Go 'zine. It is also padded out with verbal histories with all the major players of the scene (Tesco Vee, Dave Stimson, Corey Rusk, the guys from Negative Approach) and also equally impressive scores of flyers, photos and articles written in various fanzines and newspapers. This book really does give an impressive overview of the Detroit scene and I doubt that I will dismiss it as easily as I did when I look back at the great Hardcore scenes of the early 80s again.