So this year I've read a few books about music, mostly biographies and autobiographies. Here's what I've read:

Wilco: Learning How to Die, by Greg Kot
Chronicles Volume 1, by Bob Dylan
This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band, by Levon Helm

The Wilco book was disappointing. Kot had a great opportunity, being granted exclusive access to the band, and he blew it. He's just not a very good writer. It's worth reading for the interviews with Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy, and I guess it compliments the movie (I Am Trying to Break Your Heart) pretty well, but it's too bad that it doesn't stand well on its own.

The Dylan book is awesome and everyone needs to read it. Nothing more to say.

Levon Helm's book is also great, and not just because he's one of my heroes. If you're interested in The Band, Robbie Robertson or The Last Waltz, those sections of the book are required reading. Levon is not fond of Robertson, Scorcese or the Last Waltz, and he isn't afraid to say so. He even goes so far as to blame Robertson for Rick Danko's death, albeit indirectly. A great read, written by a great musician.

Anyone got any others?

t

i just read learning how to die...i'll agree the writing style wasn't that good at all..but nonetheless there was tons of interesting information to me, considering i knew very little about the band before

some of the sections i did have to just skim through though, obviously

Yeah, i didn't know much about wilco (besides their albums) before reading it, so the information part of it was great. But the whole time I was reading it I kept thinking, I wish this was written by a better writer.

The worst part was when Kot talks about the lyrics to Uncle Tupelo's "If That's Alright." There's a line in the song like "The carousel goes around, but the slides are all upside down," and Kot says something like, "Tweedy sings about watching a slideshow of upside down pictures, which for whatever reason takes place on a carousel." Is he serious?

Anyone read Cash by Johnny Cash? That might be next, but it looks like a beast.

t