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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 19, 2020
The essential memoirs of a life spent most determinedly on the outside. Very highly recommended.
October 18, 2020
Morris’ assessments of The Clash and Wes Anderson are spot on.
January 4, 2019
Simon's humorous sensibility is both charming and disarming. Beautiful moments of intimate surprise bubble between the list-based nature of the text (and I am a lover of lists, so this works well-well-well for me) as it keeps growing. Autoportrait through art, or fiction through non-fiction, or just a series of thoughts, take your pick. A breeze.
December 27, 2020
A very welcome reprint of Simon's first book, released nearly 5 years ago in a numbered edition of 100. That sold out almost instantly and hasn't been available since. This new version adds an introduction by the publisher of the original, and includes some of Simon's emails written by Simon to the publisher while he was working on this book as a postscript. Nothing essential but nice nonetheless.
Like Simon's later work, this book has both memoir-style writing and portions of musical critique. In later books, those things are combined, but here they are separate - 30 pages of stories, followed by 150 pages of critique. In addition to music, he also covers film and literature and other miscellany. The first part is good, and would've fit well if published in Amphetamine Sulphate's chapbook series. I found the critique portion more interesting though.
A lot of music covered, both mainstream and underground. His writing is interesting even on bands I had no interest in. And when he covers a band I like (Grateful Dead, Skullflower and Neil Young to name a few), his overviews of their discographies are interesting, and I agree with his taste more often than not. Of particular interest is his self-critique of his own discography with Ceramic Hobs (and also some stuff about Smell & Quim.)
He also covers some of his favorite writers and film directors in the same style, along with other short segments. His reviews of specific albums/books/films are already not afraid to be harsh when he dislikes a particular work, but the most brutal reviews are saved for the "Throwing Shade" portion where he covers stuff he absolutely despises. One of the most entertaining parts of the books. "When Wes Anderson's films became popular I lost even more faith in humanity - he's the Sonic Youth of cinema."
If you're in the target audience for this stuff and unsure about picking it up, I would highly recommend you do. Very likely you will want to revisit a favorite album/film/book after reading, and even more likely you'll discover something unfamiliar that you want to check out.
Like Simon's later work, this book has both memoir-style writing and portions of musical critique. In later books, those things are combined, but here they are separate - 30 pages of stories, followed by 150 pages of critique. In addition to music, he also covers film and literature and other miscellany. The first part is good, and would've fit well if published in Amphetamine Sulphate's chapbook series. I found the critique portion more interesting though.
A lot of music covered, both mainstream and underground. His writing is interesting even on bands I had no interest in. And when he covers a band I like (Grateful Dead, Skullflower and Neil Young to name a few), his overviews of their discographies are interesting, and I agree with his taste more often than not. Of particular interest is his self-critique of his own discography with Ceramic Hobs (and also some stuff about Smell & Quim.)
He also covers some of his favorite writers and film directors in the same style, along with other short segments. His reviews of specific albums/books/films are already not afraid to be harsh when he dislikes a particular work, but the most brutal reviews are saved for the "Throwing Shade" portion where he covers stuff he absolutely despises. One of the most entertaining parts of the books. "When Wes Anderson's films became popular I lost even more faith in humanity - he's the Sonic Youth of cinema."
If you're in the target audience for this stuff and unsure about picking it up, I would highly recommend you do. Very likely you will want to revisit a favorite album/film/book after reading, and even more likely you'll discover something unfamiliar that you want to check out.
December 30, 2020
Simon's first book reprinted and the last of his for me to read. (I've read all the others).
Glad this was back in print, Simon sent me a PDF at some point I read a bit of but I way prefer an actual book to sit down with.
Starts out pretty bleak with tales of death and a hard life and moves onto reviews of music, booze, films books etc. There's a great sense of humor that comes through and several parts had me laughing loudly. (When he discusses the wild live show with 15 or so band members and the Wes Anderson review come to mind immediately).
If you're interested in "Alternative culture" (Whatever the hell that is?), or the world of kinda underground noise music Simon came from, its a no brainer to pick up and read this book. I'd honestly suggest everything written by Simon.
Glad this was back in print, Simon sent me a PDF at some point I read a bit of but I way prefer an actual book to sit down with.
Starts out pretty bleak with tales of death and a hard life and moves onto reviews of music, booze, films books etc. There's a great sense of humor that comes through and several parts had me laughing loudly. (When he discusses the wild live show with 15 or so band members and the Wes Anderson review come to mind immediately).
If you're interested in "Alternative culture" (Whatever the hell that is?), or the world of kinda underground noise music Simon came from, its a no brainer to pick up and read this book. I'd honestly suggest everything written by Simon.
April 6, 2024
“amidst madness and gallstones”
i’ve only recently learned to appreciate another through genuine critique and their memories
i’ve only recently learned to appreciate another through genuine critique and their memories
January 21, 2021
Warm, genuine, and comfortable—not in a cloying way. A talent gone far too soon, RIP Simon.
October 8, 2021
One of the strangest quasi-memoirs I've ever read. Part life story of a mentally ill poet/musician and part multicultural critique. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews