The Royal We is one of the best memoirs by a rock star that I’ve ever read, period, and the kind of debut that ushers in an undeniable voice of American letters. Truly canonical king shit. Your silent reviews are perfect, and books, like salads, are meant to be tossed. Can’t wait for your novel!
I am often gifted books to read and they are added to my growing stack which gets read in no particular order besides what the feeling is at the time when I want something to read. Sometimes it meshes perfectly and sometimes the combo of timing to book works out perfectly. I just finished a memoir handed to me last summer, so... some people are voracious readers and swallow it all up regardless and some have their unique orders of business... In the best scenario the reviews and feedback from the ones you sent your book to specifically will trickle in over time so the energy continues and the momentum doesn't fade... That being said, a simple thank you note goes a long way, people!
The silent book reviews are fabulous. I’ve been reading 2 books a week. It’s on a kindle app on my phone, and I do it while I walk my cats (2 bengals get two walks a day each) but I love it, and my brain is firing on all cylinders because of it. Thanks for the inspiration Roddy 🖤
Thanks, Mr. I had a kindle but turned on it. I was in Hawaii by a pool and was reading Anna Karenina and Anthony Hopkins suddenly was walking by and I was like god dammit if I'd been reading the actual book he'd have seen what I was reading and would have stopped.
I wanted to save reading your book until I met you at Criminal Records on your book tour. It’s unique among rock n roll memoirs. Articulate and poetic. My wife asked you what you were reading and you seemed a little stumped, but she admired what you came up with. I bet you are really ready for that question now. Keep it up Roddy!
Roddy, I've been a fan of your work since Introduce Yourself came out when I was 12 or 13. The memoir was an absolute delight! As a latch-key California kid myself (from SLO), there are notable echoes and resonance.
I appreciate the Silent Book Review, though I wouldn't mind some noise! As a bibliophile with highly diverse tastes, I offer you an off-the-cuff medley of reading list recommendations to consider -
Queer literature:
Samuel Delany - a brilliant writer and powerful counterculture voice as one of the few openly queer African-American writers in the 20th century. Winner of multiple literary awards across genres. He has a large body of work, I've only read a portion and can't really say what the best entry point is, but I've yet to read any of his work that I didn't find incredibly rich or stimulating [see https://www.samueldelany.com ]. His massive [800 page], unclassifiable 1975 novel of apocalyptic dusk, bisexuality, reality seizures, urban entropy, youth gangs, sex, drugs & poetry, etc, Dhalgren, [often listed as Sci-fi] completely blew my mind and is a personal favorite -- though, for over 20 years I found it impenetrable, I tried to read it several times but could never get more than 30-40 pages in, then a decade ago something clicked and I became completely enraptured, devouring it in about 3 days.
Tom Spanbauer - it's been some years since I've read him to see how his work has aged, but I loved Now is the Hour, In the City of Shy Hunters, The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon, etc, when they were released -- each funny, beautiful, and full of grief and love. "There's so much hope in a hard-on."!! https://www.tomspanbauer.com
Moby-Dick - I read Melville's masterful maelstrom of a book for the first time earlier this year and was shocked to find it to be one of the queerest damn works of literature I've ever experienced! That is queer in all its multiple meanings. I'm rather astounded and can't quite get over how unexpectedly funny, diverse and deeply weird the greatest American novel actually is... there's something psychoactive about the prose, the entire work acted as a "gateway drug" to whales for me. I'd written a series of musings to friends while reading it and just assembled some of these into a single piece which I uploaded as my first Substack post the other day (I otherwise avoid social media), see https://benkamm.substack.com/p/a-multifarious-maelstrom
I touch on some of the queerness in the bottom section and include an excerpt of one of the most remarkable passages in the book, Ishmael 'trippin' homoerotic while squeezing "sperm"!
A few other fiction recommendation:
Nearly anything by Rikki Ducornet, a wordsmith who feels the animacy of the alphabet, each letter a whole kingdom and phylum of life, an author inebriated by language, the poetry and eros of the natural world, the beauty and horror of history, of the human. Phosphor in Dreamland, Entering Fire, The Fanmaker's Inquisition, The Fountains of Neptune are among my favorites... https://www.rikkiducornet.com
John Crowley - a friend and one of my all time favorite writers, an alchemist of words and narrative who is not only an incredibly gifted storyteller, but has a sublime understanding of the grace and potency of language and the antipodes of the human heart. A writer's writer who writes across genres, though his early stuff was marketed as sci-fi/fantasy. He's best known for Little, Big, a wondrous family chronicle and psychedelic fairy tale (I helped with the 40th anniversary edition, read about at - https://sacredsucculents.com/little-big-art-book-anniversary-edition ). Some of my other favorites are - Engine Summer, a haunting and endearing, tender hearted, post-apocalyptic pastoral; Ka, a story about mortality, an immortal crow and his journey into the human imagination; The Translator, a young woman in the '60s becomes an exiled Russian poet's translator... to name a few.
Walter Tevis - a well known/unknown writer, author of Queen's Gambit and The Man Who Fell to Earth; he'd only written a handful of books when he died in '84, but all are excellent. My personal favorites are Mockingbird -- a unique and lovely exploration of what is means to be human set in a strange dystopian future; and The Steps of the Sun -- a bizarrely affecting and absolutely hilarious science-fiction "space-opera" of erectile dysfunction and longing for tumescent glory on a grand scale that leads to interstellar exile, alien eco-drug trips, and beautifully potent sublimation of male toxicity -- far ahead of its time and like nothing else...
Some biographies:
The Life of W.B. Yeats, by Terence Brown - while I find some of Yeats poetry moving, I've never been a particularly huge fan of his work, however, I have always found him a fascinating character, especially as part of the occult counterculture movements of his time. This, plus the fact that the author, Terence Brown, is an excellent writer and you have what is simply a beautifully written and unexpectedly affecting biography.
A Screaming Life a memoir by Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil - a quick, engrossing read. A FNM interview actually pointed my 14 year old self to Soundgarden in '89 and the band had a huge impact on me before all the hype set in. Kim's writing is insightful and amusingly opinionated, just what you'd hope from an august indie-rocker. I appreciated his astute honesty, it takes bravery to make oneself vulnerable, especially the very raw pain that is present towards the inescapably devastating end with Chris Cornell's sudden suicide in 2017. Kim's intelligence and personality really emanates from the pages, like you're hanging with the dude, listening to him reminisce (I found it surreal that Kim's expressive manners strongly reminded me of my friend Bruce Pavitt, who Kim grew up with in IL. Something weird in the water there!).
As an ethnobotanist and conservationist with a keen interest in history, cultural studies and a thousand other things, I read a lot of non-fiction, but I'm suddenly self conscious of how long this "comment" has become! and will leave further book adoration to another time, or message benkamm@monitor.net for more.
As a small reciprocation to all you've contributed to my life over the past four decades, I'd be happy to send you a couple books I've helped produce, fiction & non. Just email a delivery address.
But to add to that, the work it requires to write a book, a novel, and especially a memoir like yours is an exhausting task! You are such a staunch supporter and champion of your growing family of weirdos and artists and motivators. To anticipate a return is only natural and fair!!! I just recently had a show and most of the people I know in LA did not go see it. That is like a month of opportunity for free viewing and when you see no feedback, the question marks can begin to overshadow the attributes, if any. But someone is most likely paying attention and that will most likely lead to something! And people usually wake up late and are busy. So to be on the forefront, ahead of the curve?: I guess some people are going to be left behind initially and you gotta be ok with that, right? Or, kind of not! Lots of love Roddy! The book is so easy to read and really fun and loving
It's hard to not want priority but for sure. I know this and I'm the same way. I get around to the books when I do and there are soooooo many. I wish I'd been in LA, I'd have seen your show. What happened to that hippie looking piece that I loved. Weren't you gonna give it up. It was like hippies in a car maybe or something?
The Royal We is one of the best memoirs by a rock star that I’ve ever read, period, and the kind of debut that ushers in an undeniable voice of American letters. Truly canonical king shit. Your silent reviews are perfect, and books, like salads, are meant to be tossed. Can’t wait for your novel!
You’re so sweet, salad tosser, thank you
I am often gifted books to read and they are added to my growing stack which gets read in no particular order besides what the feeling is at the time when I want something to read. Sometimes it meshes perfectly and sometimes the combo of timing to book works out perfectly. I just finished a memoir handed to me last summer, so... some people are voracious readers and swallow it all up regardless and some have their unique orders of business... In the best scenario the reviews and feedback from the ones you sent your book to specifically will trickle in over time so the energy continues and the momentum doesn't fade... That being said, a simple thank you note goes a long way, people!
My algorithms were all pointing me to check your book reviews out and I'm thankful. We don't always have the same tastes and I like that too.
Those with started qualms about tossing books around may not understand how most library book drops work...
I love the look of a worn library book. A well read book that’s been handled and pored through? perfect! Thanks JLB
Those with qualms about throwing/tossing books may not understand how most public library book returns work.
Only trustworthy critic out there in my very humble opin.
Aw, Becky. Thanks.
Obsessed. A perfect break in the day to see some love and shrugs to the books that you’re taking the time to explore.
Can’t wait to read whatever you’re working on next!
Thank you sweet Jonathan
The silent book reviews are fabulous. I’ve been reading 2 books a week. It’s on a kindle app on my phone, and I do it while I walk my cats (2 bengals get two walks a day each) but I love it, and my brain is firing on all cylinders because of it. Thanks for the inspiration Roddy 🖤
Thanks, Mr. I had a kindle but turned on it. I was in Hawaii by a pool and was reading Anna Karenina and Anthony Hopkins suddenly was walking by and I was like god dammit if I'd been reading the actual book he'd have seen what I was reading and would have stopped.
Love the silent book reviews.
Thank you, Jason. I do them with the utmost respect for readers and books and writers and reading.
I’m glued.
I'm happy you are.
Merci amour
The world is waiting for your kisses.
the world's a mess it's in my kiss
favorite lyric of all time maybe.
Fun fast sweet and easy. I like it. Toss on.
I wanted to save reading your book until I met you at Criminal Records on your book tour. It’s unique among rock n roll memoirs. Articulate and poetic. My wife asked you what you were reading and you seemed a little stumped, but she admired what you came up with. I bet you are really ready for that question now. Keep it up Roddy!
I’m always flustered at that question. Thanks for being onboard.
Love you.
Love you, Randy
Roddy, I've been a fan of your work since Introduce Yourself came out when I was 12 or 13. The memoir was an absolute delight! As a latch-key California kid myself (from SLO), there are notable echoes and resonance.
I appreciate the Silent Book Review, though I wouldn't mind some noise! As a bibliophile with highly diverse tastes, I offer you an off-the-cuff medley of reading list recommendations to consider -
Queer literature:
Samuel Delany - a brilliant writer and powerful counterculture voice as one of the few openly queer African-American writers in the 20th century. Winner of multiple literary awards across genres. He has a large body of work, I've only read a portion and can't really say what the best entry point is, but I've yet to read any of his work that I didn't find incredibly rich or stimulating [see https://www.samueldelany.com ]. His massive [800 page], unclassifiable 1975 novel of apocalyptic dusk, bisexuality, reality seizures, urban entropy, youth gangs, sex, drugs & poetry, etc, Dhalgren, [often listed as Sci-fi] completely blew my mind and is a personal favorite -- though, for over 20 years I found it impenetrable, I tried to read it several times but could never get more than 30-40 pages in, then a decade ago something clicked and I became completely enraptured, devouring it in about 3 days.
Tom Spanbauer - it's been some years since I've read him to see how his work has aged, but I loved Now is the Hour, In the City of Shy Hunters, The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon, etc, when they were released -- each funny, beautiful, and full of grief and love. "There's so much hope in a hard-on."!! https://www.tomspanbauer.com
Moby-Dick - I read Melville's masterful maelstrom of a book for the first time earlier this year and was shocked to find it to be one of the queerest damn works of literature I've ever experienced! That is queer in all its multiple meanings. I'm rather astounded and can't quite get over how unexpectedly funny, diverse and deeply weird the greatest American novel actually is... there's something psychoactive about the prose, the entire work acted as a "gateway drug" to whales for me. I'd written a series of musings to friends while reading it and just assembled some of these into a single piece which I uploaded as my first Substack post the other day (I otherwise avoid social media), see https://benkamm.substack.com/p/a-multifarious-maelstrom
I touch on some of the queerness in the bottom section and include an excerpt of one of the most remarkable passages in the book, Ishmael 'trippin' homoerotic while squeezing "sperm"!
A few other fiction recommendation:
Nearly anything by Rikki Ducornet, a wordsmith who feels the animacy of the alphabet, each letter a whole kingdom and phylum of life, an author inebriated by language, the poetry and eros of the natural world, the beauty and horror of history, of the human. Phosphor in Dreamland, Entering Fire, The Fanmaker's Inquisition, The Fountains of Neptune are among my favorites... https://www.rikkiducornet.com
John Crowley - a friend and one of my all time favorite writers, an alchemist of words and narrative who is not only an incredibly gifted storyteller, but has a sublime understanding of the grace and potency of language and the antipodes of the human heart. A writer's writer who writes across genres, though his early stuff was marketed as sci-fi/fantasy. He's best known for Little, Big, a wondrous family chronicle and psychedelic fairy tale (I helped with the 40th anniversary edition, read about at - https://sacredsucculents.com/little-big-art-book-anniversary-edition ). Some of my other favorites are - Engine Summer, a haunting and endearing, tender hearted, post-apocalyptic pastoral; Ka, a story about mortality, an immortal crow and his journey into the human imagination; The Translator, a young woman in the '60s becomes an exiled Russian poet's translator... to name a few.
Walter Tevis - a well known/unknown writer, author of Queen's Gambit and The Man Who Fell to Earth; he'd only written a handful of books when he died in '84, but all are excellent. My personal favorites are Mockingbird -- a unique and lovely exploration of what is means to be human set in a strange dystopian future; and The Steps of the Sun -- a bizarrely affecting and absolutely hilarious science-fiction "space-opera" of erectile dysfunction and longing for tumescent glory on a grand scale that leads to interstellar exile, alien eco-drug trips, and beautifully potent sublimation of male toxicity -- far ahead of its time and like nothing else...
Some biographies:
The Life of W.B. Yeats, by Terence Brown - while I find some of Yeats poetry moving, I've never been a particularly huge fan of his work, however, I have always found him a fascinating character, especially as part of the occult counterculture movements of his time. This, plus the fact that the author, Terence Brown, is an excellent writer and you have what is simply a beautifully written and unexpectedly affecting biography.
A Screaming Life a memoir by Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil - a quick, engrossing read. A FNM interview actually pointed my 14 year old self to Soundgarden in '89 and the band had a huge impact on me before all the hype set in. Kim's writing is insightful and amusingly opinionated, just what you'd hope from an august indie-rocker. I appreciated his astute honesty, it takes bravery to make oneself vulnerable, especially the very raw pain that is present towards the inescapably devastating end with Chris Cornell's sudden suicide in 2017. Kim's intelligence and personality really emanates from the pages, like you're hanging with the dude, listening to him reminisce (I found it surreal that Kim's expressive manners strongly reminded me of my friend Bruce Pavitt, who Kim grew up with in IL. Something weird in the water there!).
Non-fiction:
I guess I'll shamelessly link a cool science-art project/book I recently contributed to - https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org
As an ethnobotanist and conservationist with a keen interest in history, cultural studies and a thousand other things, I read a lot of non-fiction, but I'm suddenly self conscious of how long this "comment" has become! and will leave further book adoration to another time, or message benkamm@monitor.net for more.
As a small reciprocation to all you've contributed to my life over the past four decades, I'd be happy to send you a couple books I've helped produce, fiction & non. Just email a delivery address.
A deluge of gratitude!!
Lots of kisses - how many received a touch of tongue?!
But to add to that, the work it requires to write a book, a novel, and especially a memoir like yours is an exhausting task! You are such a staunch supporter and champion of your growing family of weirdos and artists and motivators. To anticipate a return is only natural and fair!!! I just recently had a show and most of the people I know in LA did not go see it. That is like a month of opportunity for free viewing and when you see no feedback, the question marks can begin to overshadow the attributes, if any. But someone is most likely paying attention and that will most likely lead to something! And people usually wake up late and are busy. So to be on the forefront, ahead of the curve?: I guess some people are going to be left behind initially and you gotta be ok with that, right? Or, kind of not! Lots of love Roddy! The book is so easy to read and really fun and loving
It's hard to not want priority but for sure. I know this and I'm the same way. I get around to the books when I do and there are soooooo many. I wish I'd been in LA, I'd have seen your show. What happened to that hippie looking piece that I loved. Weren't you gonna give it up. It was like hippies in a car maybe or something?