The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll: Collected Music Writings / 2005-09

by Robert Forster, Andy Vella (Designer)

“Sometimes I play a game in my name the five best American rock bands of the ’60s. My list The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Doors, and then I stall on the fifth. Creedence? The Band – although they’re mostly Canadian. Simon and Garfunkel? Jefferson Airplane? The Lovin’ Spoonful? But I plump for The Monkees.”—Robert Forster Robert Forster was a Go-Between, and now has an acclaimed solo career, but in recent times he has also established himself as one of the finest music critics in the business. In The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll , Robert Forster takes readers on a roller-coaster ride through popular music – from Bob Dylan, AC/DC and Nana Mouskouri through to Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and … Delta Goodrem. Accompanying Forster’s acclaimed writing for The Monthly are a short story about Normie Rowe and stunning new pieces in which he sets out the 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, ponders on ‘The 10 Bands I Wish I’d Been In’, reflects on the influence of The Velvet Underground, and gives a moving tribute his partner in The Go-Betweens, Grant McLennan. Funny and illuminating, The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll shows a great critic at work.

254 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2017

About the author

Robert Wallace Forster, Jr. (born July 13, 1941), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool and Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He appeared in films such as Mulholland Drive, The Descendants, Olympus Has Fallen, and its upcoming sequel London Has Fallen. He also appeared in television series such as Heroes, Alcatraz, Last Man Standing, and Breaking Bad. He is a member of the Triple Nine Society.[1]

Reviews

[Gary Fowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that Robert Forster is a dab hand when it comes to writing music reviews, shouldn’t really come as a huge shock. What was a pleasant surprise was how much the reader can glean about Forster’s own songwriting from what he writes about others.
Along with various reviews are a couple of touching pieces about his former bandmate, Grant McLennan and some amusing fiction. A decent companion to his superb Grant & I.