Rock Book Show

In this episode our guest is Lisa Whittington-Hill, author of ”The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat” from the 33 1/3 Series.  We discuss the musical and greater cultural impact of the iconic debut album from The Go-Go's, whether it was an intentionally feminist touchstone, and why it still sounds so good 40+ years after it's release. ”The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat” and the entire 33 1/3 Series is available from Bloomsbury Academic Books. Lisa's other new book, "Girls, Interrupted: How Pop Culture is Failing Women" is available from Véhicule Press.

In this episode our guest is Christine Feldman-Barrett, author of "A Women's History of The Beatles".  We discuss the very important but seldom-discussed influence the Fab Four had on women's culture and Sixties & Seventies Feminism, and the women (some well-known, some not) who were instrumental in The Beatles rise to international fame. "A Women's History of The Beatles" is available from Bloomsbury Academic Books.

Seattle-based photographer Mike Hipple joins us this episode, as we discuss his fantastic book "Lived Through That, '90s Musicians Today", featuring members of Nirvana, No Doubt, Jesus Jones, Lush, Letters To Cleo, Throwing Muses, The Posies, and more. If you're a fan of 90's alt-rock and are curious what your fave artists of the era are up to, this book is meant for you! We'll discuss Mike's methods of interviewing artists who may have been out of the public eye for a while, why these particular artists are still creative and vital, and the interesting trend of alt-rockers pivoting to careers creating very cool kid's music.

Journalist and author Caryn Rose (Pitchfork, Salon, Billboard, The Guardian, many more) joins us to discuss her fantastic new book, and she chats about being the first female author of a book about Patti Smith, Smith's incredible work ethic, interviewing Bruce Springsteen for the book, and why if you haven't yet seen a Patti Smith concert, you must. For more on Caryn Rose and her upcoming book-signing events visit www.carynrose.com.

SoCal punk rock historian and author Jim Ruland joins us to discuss his book "Corporate Rock Sucks - The Rise & Fall of SST Records", a deep-dive and even-handed history of the iconic label, which was/is home to records by Black Flag, Soundgarden, Husker Du, Screaming Trees, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr., among others.  We discuss how the label came to be, the innovative pre-internet marketing that fueled its early success, how a fragile distribution network nearly brought the label down a few times, and what SST means to rock history now from a historical context.

Rock author and essayist Annie Zaleski (Rolling Stone, NPR Music, Stereogum, many more) joins us in our first episode as a podcast, where she discusses her fantastic analysis of Duran Duran's iconic Rio album for the 33 1/3 series of books, and chats about the influential Birmingham scene, the band's initial failure to catch fire in the US market, and how they've evolved from pop darlings to critics' faves over the years.

We announce Rock Book Show's return as a podcast, and share a classic past episode with Mike Scott of The Waterboys discussing his memoir, Adventures of a Waterboy.