It's Too Late to Die Young Now

by Mueller Andrew

It's Too Late to Die Young Now answers the what became of the rock writer the day the music died?There is no field of journalism more mythologised or more derided than rock journalism - with good reason, according to Andrew Mueller.And he'd know. Starting out writing for the Sydney music street press in his teens, by his early twenties, Mueller was working for the legendary UK music weekly Melody Maker , earning a living by listening to records, going to gigs, hanging out in seedy pubs and travelling the world with his favourite rock groups. In barely two years, he went from a childhood bedroom with a poster of Robert Smith to The Cure's tour bus.Though it didn't seem like it at the time, the years Mueller was living the dream - the late-eighties to the mid-nineties - were actually the last hurrah for the music scene as we knew it. The era of flourishing live pub venues and record stores, and rock journalists as cultural arbiters and agitators, is now long gone.Featuring cameo appearances from luminaries of the Seattle grunge boom and the Britpop response to it, and encounters with the likes of U2, The Cure, Pearl Jam, The Fall and Elvis Costello, It's Too Late to Die Young Now is an Almost Famous for Generation X, and a hilarious and heartfelt eulogy to a life that seems even less probable now than it did at the time.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a rollicking tale which inspires me to get fingers on the keyboard again, as much as it makes me aware I could not put together anything near as eloquent or entertaining as this, and really, maybe we'd all be better off if I just read books that made me happy and stopped wanting to be a writer.

[Peter O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even all the way over here in rural Australia where commercial radio was dominant and very much on rails, Melody Maker and the NME were my music bibles. Many was the time that a positive review in either mag would be enough for me to make a purchase of a band without hearing them. There were enough positive outcomes to make it worthwhile and it was enough to make me feel like I was ahead of the pack. This book tends to blow that whole concept out of thee water a little as a lot of the journos portrayed appear to be just a bunch of blaggers that were either easily swayed by popular opinion, so egocentric as to ignore it or more interested in becoming kingmakers. Despite that, the book is well written so I do tend to think that he gives himself a lot less credit for his talent than he should. Still, as a look behind the scenes of the English music press back when it was actually important, it is still a fascinating read and has enough references and encounters with bands of the era to make it a page turner. Despite dispelling the myth somewhat, I still wish the music actually mattered.

[Quathia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Mueller's previous books, and was really looking forward to this one, but it rather disappointed me. Rarely is he as funny as in the other two, and the memoirs just kind of meander without theme or direction.

[Eugenia Doran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would not have liked it as much if I hadn't read Rock and Hard Places, and also not as good, but still worth the read, especially for the last chapter. More like a three and a half star read, to be honest.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough memoir of rock journalism in '90s Britain.

[Blake Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

recommended for anybody who was in the music biz in the 90s

[Carrie Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look back at the days when nme and melody maker really mattered.