JUMBLED UP

by Joel Gion

Go back into the Jungle with these further adventures of The Brian Jonestown Massacre during the heady 1990s. A companion piece to the acclaimed cult classic memoir, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle, this is a return ticket to the San Francisco music underground during its last pre-internet gasp of the California Wild West. Los Angeles and all of its unconditional indifference is also returned to as the band finds themselves deep in the eye of the Dig! documentary film cameras while hitting the blastoff button to blowing it so big that after the finished film was praised around the world, it had to be celebrated as if victory.

In the Jingle Jangle Jungle was released in the UK in 2024 by White Rabbit books to much praise, including winning a spot on Rough Trade’s prestigious top ten books of the year list and awarded Resident Music’s 2024 Book of the Year.

The process of editing In the Jingle Jangle Jungle started with over a thousand pages, about a third of which became the book, another third perhaps belonged on the cutting room floor, but the other odd-third there just simply wasn’t room for being that I was given a 400-page cap.
The book’s format is made of standalone stories in chronological order that can move from one to the other without my having to re-explain the basics to readers already familiarized with the people and places.
The wheels of the publishing industry can move so slow that I’ve decided to self-release Jumbled Up to you now, so for those who while waiting for book two to arrive, would like to take the first ride again with all new material, this book has been made exclusively for you.
— Joel

203 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2025

About the author

Joel has been the tambourine-playing frontman of The Brian Jonestown Massacre for the last thirty years. He's THAT good at it. The band was formed in 1990 and immediately established itself as not only the torch-bearers of the classic 60s 'San Francisco Sound', but also as the most prominent US chapter of Shoegaze and Britpop.
The prestigious Sundance Film Festival's 'Grand-Jury Prize' of 2004 was unanimously awarded to Dig!, a documentary based on The Brian Jonestown Massacre and their interchangeable friends/foes The Dandy Warhols. It quickly became a global cinematic sensation and catapulted BJM onto the world stage, where they have remained ever since. While the film's main focus was on the two bands' lead singers, many consider Joel to be the scene-stealing star of the show.
Joel describes himself as “less a musician, more a writer who happens to be a musician”. His first book, In the Jingle Jangle Jungle: Keeping Time with the Brian Jonestown Massacre, was published in the UK by White Rabbit Books in 2024 and its companion piece book, Jumbled Up, was released in October of 2025. He is also a regular contributor to Creem Magazine.

Reviews

[Jay Slayton-Joslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can kinda see why some of these were cut from the main book. Cohesively, not quite there as much as in The Jingle Jangle Jungle -- but I don't think this pretends to be anything other than a companion piece.

I know Gion loves his Oasis and Britpop, so this may not be the Whats the Story to follow his debut, but this can be his The Masterplan -- a solid collection of b-sides and rarities.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would argue that this self release is better than the full publishing house book. Slightly more random, chaotic and psychedelic with a bigger Bukowski meets Hanna-Barbera vibe. I'm not sure how Joel remembers all of this but it was highly entertaining.

[Paperback Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect companion to in the jingle jangle jungle — thoroughly enjoyed!

[Marcus Charlston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comical & inspiring, hmm quite the combo. Dedication to rock n roll epitomised, the BJM sonic assault will never be compromised. Thanks Joel :)

[Roger Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read . Loved In the jingle jangle jungle and this is just as good 👌🏻 keep them coming Joel x