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Night People: How to Be a DJ in '90s New York City
From Mark Ronson, one of the most distinguished musical influencers of our time, comes a memoir that captures the music, characters, escapades, and energy of his DJ days in '90s New York.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 535 reviews
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September 19, 2025This book is a hilarious and biting satire of nepo babies and gentrification.
I’m not certain the author knows that, though.
I’m not certain the author knows that, though.
September 18, 2025
love this man idgaf
September 2, 2025
is it cruel to give this book one star well i dont care i’m doing it anyway this was so bad
September 28, 2025
This was one of my favorite reads of the year: a deep dive into 90s New York night life that reads like a love letter to a lost art of partying and the music that soundtracked it. Delivering it in a memoir format where we see Mark Ronson’s upbringing and working his way up the DJing ladder—before the success he is generally categorized by today—was all consuming; in the sense that I just wanted to keep living in the pictures Ronson painted with days worth of music to listen to with the record names dropped alone and the vivid imagery of every scene. The writing style was compelling, the story interesting, and the respect paid to the black and brown people who created the music Ronson was spinning and who were setting the trends of the scene was so artfully done, a refreshing integration into the narrative that was so deeply appreciated. There was no pretentiousness to the way Mark talks about music, there’s maybe my own insecurities about not matching his level of knowledge, nonetheless it was astounding to read the reverence held for the music of his youth; a sincerity that comes from being deeply enamored. I’d never considered DJing much of an art until this book; previously associating it with cross fading and playlist curation as opposed to the boundless knowledge of what pairs or works with what, the effort of carrying crates of vinyls that are marked up and practiced on hundreds of times over, reading a crowd and their energy levels and creating the atmosphere, resonates like a sommelier of sound. I was frequently considering the notion that older generations may actually love music more than we do; feeling geriatric in saying that we as a generation take for granted the relatively easy access we have to music through streaming nowadays, but it’s the truth! I’ll additionally add that we end up in echo chambers of sonic similarity, unless you’re actively seeking new music and pushing the bounds of what you know. It feels like there’s been a death of radio and other organic ways of discovering music, which for me added to the intrigue of reading about 90s club life through the eyes of a DJ. I don’t know, I think if I say more I’ll continue to talk in circles, I just really enjoyed this book and would like a playlist of every song and record mentioned curated for me immediately thank you!
September 21, 2025
I don't know why I went into this sort of expecting not to like it - but even though yes, Mark Ronson is definitely not beating the nepo baby allegations, this book actually ended up being super charming and I enjoyed it a lot
September 19, 2025
I’m ready to party
October 7, 2025
what an awesome memoir! i don’t have a single complaint about it, & after the last book i read, this felt like a breath of fresh air. ronson is brutally honest in such a captivating way where you feel like you’re right alongside him watching him put blood sweat & tears into his work!!! i love the way he spoke about music & the general idea of putting your body through so much wear & tear just to be apart of something you love. it was absolutely inspiring & the fact that it was set in 90’s new york was even BETTER, i got a glimpse of my favourite era! & how he spoke about people coming alive at night, just breathtaking. so many good stories, this was genuinely AWESOME i sped through it!!
October 15, 2025
I love you Mark Ronson but this felt like a surface-level and shallow attempt at a memoir / history of nyc club culture. I feel similarly about this book as I did to Dave Grohl’s memoir.
December 5, 2025
it would be easy to write this off as the dreamy retelling of a privileged journey by a world famous nepo baby...
...if Mark didn't spend every other page sharing what an awkward poser he was at times.
This was fun, funny, and very human.
He talks about his writing process a bit at the end regarding how he interviewed a lot of people for this book, because although it is a memoir he wanted it to capture the era and the scene. I read this book because of my interest in the era, and I think he did a fantastic job bringing that world to life.
...if Mark didn't spend every other page sharing what an awkward poser he was at times.
This was fun, funny, and very human.
He talks about his writing process a bit at the end regarding how he interviewed a lot of people for this book, because although it is a memoir he wanted it to capture the era and the scene. I read this book because of my interest in the era, and I think he did a fantastic job bringing that world to life.
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November 24, 2025shoutout Rodrigo Corral, awesome cover design
October 24, 2025
I'm sure there must be an extremely narrow niche audience for this unique book, but unless you grew up dancing in New York City in the 1990s or love obscure music tracks it's a disappointment coming from a guy who must have a fascinating life story (which he overlooks on these pages). We'll never know because Ronson totally focuses on how he became a club DJ during the 1990s and there's little about what the rest of we know him for.
As a Jewish boy from England who grew up in New York, his rich upbringing allowed him to have access at a young age to people and places that 99.9% of the rest of us would never have a chance. Sounds like it would make fascinating stories, right? Yet we learn little about how his family or early years impacted him--instead he jumps right into his playing records for parties as he glosses over his illegally being hired as an underage child and his lawbreaking drug or alcohol usage.
Instead, it's page after page of songs I've never heard, artists I don't know, and NYC places few readers will identify. Ronson fails to provide much context or background on any of this, more excited to brag about his accomplishments and failures with energy fueled by the night.
He hits the point over and over that he is part of the rare group of "night people" who thrive from 1:00 to 4:00 a.m., yet through all of it I thought "who cares?" Everything he reaches for is extremely shallow (maybe that's how he helped pen the Oscar-winning Star is Born hit?)
Along the way he makes a few offensive statements, the worst being that he brags about using the K-word for Jews that rhymes with bike. "Taking after our black heroes in music, we'd decided to reclaim the slur." Seriously?
How about instead having a deep discussion of the appropriateness of music using terms that are offensive to the masses (while hypocritically condemning non-blacks or non-Jews for using such terms), or using excuses to "reclaim" something that's unjustifiable?
Then it's ironic that this hip-hop loving DJ capitalizes "black" throughout the book (despite it being grammatically incorrect and he doesn't capitalize white) yet the K-word about his own Jewish people he doesn't capitalize, despite the American Jewish Committee's description of the derogatory term being a capital K.
Then to make things worse, he bemoans the fact that "there were only three black students in a class of fifty" at his high-priced elitist high school--but that 6% MATCHES THE PERCENTAGE OF BLACK MALES IN AMERICA. If he as a liberal wants true "representation," then his school was doing just fine, though he doesn't seem worried about other minorities--this guy is addicted to black culture.
The college dropout admits that well into adulthood he was "bad with money...I was lucky--I had a safety net in my mother." But he also says he'd hang out with other "kids of rock stars, public servants...and academics...we were know-it-alls--the good kind, mostly." Ha! No, Nark Ronson, rich know-it-alls are by nature NOT good. They demean others, think of themselves as much more talented than they really are, end up stealing riffs from other songs and mooching off those close to them in order to keep the high going. No matter how successful he is at playing records on a dance floor, that doesn't make him "good."
Why is it that so many of these narrow-minded talentless elitists are praised for simply mixing music that others created? (Paris Hilton is a similar example.) At least Ronson graduated beyond the clubs to doing more recent actual creative work, but that's barely mentioned here.
Instead of thinking "night people" are the greatest, he should take a good hard look at his self-centered myopic life and start going to bed early so in the next book the daylight can shed light on your real life.
As a Jewish boy from England who grew up in New York, his rich upbringing allowed him to have access at a young age to people and places that 99.9% of the rest of us would never have a chance. Sounds like it would make fascinating stories, right? Yet we learn little about how his family or early years impacted him--instead he jumps right into his playing records for parties as he glosses over his illegally being hired as an underage child and his lawbreaking drug or alcohol usage.
Instead, it's page after page of songs I've never heard, artists I don't know, and NYC places few readers will identify. Ronson fails to provide much context or background on any of this, more excited to brag about his accomplishments and failures with energy fueled by the night.
He hits the point over and over that he is part of the rare group of "night people" who thrive from 1:00 to 4:00 a.m., yet through all of it I thought "who cares?" Everything he reaches for is extremely shallow (maybe that's how he helped pen the Oscar-winning Star is Born hit?)
Along the way he makes a few offensive statements, the worst being that he brags about using the K-word for Jews that rhymes with bike. "Taking after our black heroes in music, we'd decided to reclaim the slur." Seriously?
How about instead having a deep discussion of the appropriateness of music using terms that are offensive to the masses (while hypocritically condemning non-blacks or non-Jews for using such terms), or using excuses to "reclaim" something that's unjustifiable?
Then it's ironic that this hip-hop loving DJ capitalizes "black" throughout the book (despite it being grammatically incorrect and he doesn't capitalize white) yet the K-word about his own Jewish people he doesn't capitalize, despite the American Jewish Committee's description of the derogatory term being a capital K.
Then to make things worse, he bemoans the fact that "there were only three black students in a class of fifty" at his high-priced elitist high school--but that 6% MATCHES THE PERCENTAGE OF BLACK MALES IN AMERICA. If he as a liberal wants true "representation," then his school was doing just fine, though he doesn't seem worried about other minorities--this guy is addicted to black culture.
The college dropout admits that well into adulthood he was "bad with money...I was lucky--I had a safety net in my mother." But he also says he'd hang out with other "kids of rock stars, public servants...and academics...we were know-it-alls--the good kind, mostly." Ha! No, Nark Ronson, rich know-it-alls are by nature NOT good. They demean others, think of themselves as much more talented than they really are, end up stealing riffs from other songs and mooching off those close to them in order to keep the high going. No matter how successful he is at playing records on a dance floor, that doesn't make him "good."
Why is it that so many of these narrow-minded talentless elitists are praised for simply mixing music that others created? (Paris Hilton is a similar example.) At least Ronson graduated beyond the clubs to doing more recent actual creative work, but that's barely mentioned here.
Instead of thinking "night people" are the greatest, he should take a good hard look at his self-centered myopic life and start going to bed early so in the next book the daylight can shed light on your real life.
September 2, 2025
I....uh, am not a club kid and never was. Wait, that's a lie. There was a brief time in my 20s that I would frequent clubs but it was all an act.
Night People by Mark Ronson is the story of his life and New York City in the 1990s. Name drops include Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono. White privilege bleeds out across the page a bit thicker than nepotism.
The writing is a bit all over the place, but as someone who spent his youth at Limelight, I wouldn't expect anything else.
This is a fun look at the 90s club scene, but don't expect any life-changing advice.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Night People by Mark Ronson is the story of his life and New York City in the 1990s. Name drops include Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono. White privilege bleeds out across the page a bit thicker than nepotism.
The writing is a bit all over the place, but as someone who spent his youth at Limelight, I wouldn't expect anything else.
This is a fun look at the 90s club scene, but don't expect any life-changing advice.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
October 12, 2025
Listened to this while I unpacked! Ty hottie Mark Ronson! This was fun and had great vignettes but I wanted the JUICE! Hearing about what NYC nightlife was like during that time was rly cool
September 24, 2025
Heard about this book on a podcast so I listened to it! Mark’s narration was lively and his stories about the club scene back then were awesome. I learned a lot and I loved the cast of characters he ran into. Some stories painted him in a bad light and I appreciated him being honest to readers about his career. Oh how I long for a night on a 90’s dance floor…
September 25, 2025
4.5⭐️ this memoir made me want to be a club rat in 90’s NYC soooo bad
October 15, 2025
Deliciously nepo. I love nyc nightlife history. This was really cool.
October 16, 2025
What is this, name drop city?
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January 14, 2026Marc Ronson is the correct type of nepo baby! LOVED this!
January 5, 2026
Made me want to be a 90s DJ. Owning the NYE playlist is the same, right?
October 8, 2025
Just discovered I can listen to kind of dumb audiobooks while I work so this was awesome. I like mark ronsons silly little accent. One of my fav nepo babies
August 26, 2025
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an early copy of Night People
Mark Ronson is behind some of the biggest moments in modern pop history - producer on Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, creator of Uptown Funk, co-writer of Shallow and the brains behind the Barbie soundtrack. But before that, he was a young DJ in New York City, spending years honing his craft night after night. We already know that Ronson can be considered a musical genius; now we can say he's also an outstanding writer.
Club culture and DJing have never interested me, but the way in which Mark Ronson brings this environment to life in Night People is extraordinary, immersing you in the heady lifestyle of DJs in 90s New York. The warmth and passion with which he speaks about this dying art form (DJing with vinyl, as opposed to modern software) will draw in any music lover.
As nepotism in the entertainment industry continues to be a hot topic, Ronson presents his privileged upbringing candidly, not shying away from the opportunities it brought him throughout his career, but without overshadowing the credit he's due for his own hard work.
Night People is an exceptional piece of music writing, crafted with pure joy and artistry from one of pop music's greatest minds. A vital read for music fans.
Mark Ronson is behind some of the biggest moments in modern pop history - producer on Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, creator of Uptown Funk, co-writer of Shallow and the brains behind the Barbie soundtrack. But before that, he was a young DJ in New York City, spending years honing his craft night after night. We already know that Ronson can be considered a musical genius; now we can say he's also an outstanding writer.
Club culture and DJing have never interested me, but the way in which Mark Ronson brings this environment to life in Night People is extraordinary, immersing you in the heady lifestyle of DJs in 90s New York. The warmth and passion with which he speaks about this dying art form (DJing with vinyl, as opposed to modern software) will draw in any music lover.
As nepotism in the entertainment industry continues to be a hot topic, Ronson presents his privileged upbringing candidly, not shying away from the opportunities it brought him throughout his career, but without overshadowing the credit he's due for his own hard work.
Night People is an exceptional piece of music writing, crafted with pure joy and artistry from one of pop music's greatest minds. A vital read for music fans.
September 21, 2025
Overall I really liked this book but wish he spent a little more time on how he came to work with some of the greats to make some of the best songs. It was really interesting to hear his story and but we could have gone a tiny bit deeper
September 20, 2025
Really liked this. Such a cool guy and his love for music is insane
October 21, 2025
“What musical lottery had I won to be here”
Don’t make us say it, Mark.
2.5
Don’t make us say it, Mark.
2.5
October 25, 2025
2.5…very niche book but I still enjoyed some of it
November 20, 2025
As another denizen of the 1990s and 2000s club music scene, I certainly enjoyed Mark Ronson’s memoir. Ronson liberally sprinkles the recounting of his experiences with myriad song titles and descriptions of many songs' strengths, as well as specific details about hip-hop artists, breaks and samples.
I listened to Ronson narrate his tale (and he did that well), but I'll need to pick up a print copy to follow up on all the song titles I want to hear.
Recommended for anyone who loves club music culture or wants more than a peek at the dancefloor. Even more on point if you love remixes and hip-hop, with a healthy mix of jazz, soul, rap, and R&B. If you grooved at Club USA, Webster Hall, Tunnel, and/or Limelight, you'll probably find some laughs and refresh your potential memories of great nights out.
I listened to Ronson narrate his tale (and he did that well), but I'll need to pick up a print copy to follow up on all the song titles I want to hear.
Recommended for anyone who loves club music culture or wants more than a peek at the dancefloor. Even more on point if you love remixes and hip-hop, with a healthy mix of jazz, soul, rap, and R&B. If you grooved at Club USA, Webster Hall, Tunnel, and/or Limelight, you'll probably find some laughs and refresh your potential memories of great nights out.
January 12, 2026
This book made me realize I don’t care at all about the 1990s New York club scene. It’s mainly name-dropping people I don’t know and unexciting stories. There’s probably a very specific person who would enjoy this book, but I’m definitely not that person.
January 13, 2026
I wanted to like this more, but it felt a little…shallow? Repetitive? I feel like it was in this awkward middle zone where it would have benefited from either (a) zooming in by including some deeper introspection from Mark, or (b) zooming out by incorporating perspectives from other DJs. Writing isn’t his strong suit but I loveeee the music industry/nepo baby gossip. Recommend the audiobook for the silly accent
January 9, 2026
Honestly I really like Mark Ronson’s music so I was excited to read this but it felt more like the spark notes of a memoir than an actual memoir.
It could have been written in bullet print format of music he played during his DJ sets because that’s all he touches on.
No introspection whatsoever.
It could have been written in bullet print format of music he played during his DJ sets because that’s all he touches on.
No introspection whatsoever.
December 17, 2025
Cool to hear all the name drops and some of these stories. Unfortunately, the writing was quite boring for such a cool life.
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