Selected writings on three decades of popular music from one of the most influential critics of his generation. Spanning three decades worth of astute, acerbic, and overall astounding music writing, Kick Out the Jams is the first large-scale anthology of the work of renowned critic Dave Marsh. Ranging from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain, from Nina Simone to Ani DiFranco, from the Beatles to Green Day, the book gives an opinionated, eye-opening overview of 20th century popular music—offering a portrait not just of an era but of a writer wrestling with the American empire. Every essay bears the distinct Dave Marsh attitude and voice. That passion is evident in a heart-wrenching piece on Cobain’s suicide and legacy; a humorous attack on “Bono’s bullshit;” an indignant look at James Brown and the FBI; deep, revelatory probes into the work of underappreciated artists like Patty Griffin and Alejandro Escovedo; and inspiring insight into what drives Marsh as a writer, namely “a raging passion to explain things in the hope that others would not be trapped and to keep the way clear so that others from the trashy outskirts of barbarous America still had a place to stand—if not in the culture at large, at least in rock and roll.” If you want to explore the recent history of pop music—its politics as well as its performers—Kick Out the Jams is the perfect guidebook.

Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts is the definitive biography of one of the most important songwriters and performers of the last three decades. Critic Dave Marsh has traced Springsteen's career from its beginning, and has earned the singer's respect through his careful documentation and critical description of Springsteen's work. This biography brings together for the first time Marsh's two previous biographies, Born To Run (which covered Springsteen's early career through the mid-'70s) and Glory Days (which took him through the mid-'80s). Both were widely praised for their insightful and near definitive coverage of Springsteen's life and music. For this book, Marsh has written a new chapter covering major developments in Springsteen's career to today, particularly focusing on his album The Rising and its impact on American culture.

Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts is the definitive biography of one of the most important songwriters and performers of the last three decades. Critic Dave Marsh has traced Springsteen's career from its beginning, and has earned the singers respect through his careful documentation and critical description of his work. This biography brings together for the first time Marsh's two previous biographies, Born To Run (which covered Springsteen's early career through the mid-'70s) and Glory Days (which took him through the mid-'80s). Both were widely praised for their insightful and near definitive coverage of Springsteen's life and music. For this book Marsh has written a new chapter covering major developments in Springsteen's career to today, particularly focusing on his album The Rising and its impact on American culture. Until Springsteen writes his autobiography, this book will stand as the best single introduction to a major force in American culture.

A new edition of Dave Marsh's classic work on the three-chord song that rocked the world A tale as compelling as any John Grisham thriller. -Rolling Stone Dave Marsh's Louie Louie is part rant, part rock criticism and part cultural analysis, with a good dose of Ripley's Believe It or Not! thrown in. -The New York Times Book Review Marsh keeps the story of one trashy song interesting by revealing how 'three chords and a cloud of dust' contains within it the history and future of rock 'n' roll. -Booklist What you don't know about 'Louie Louie' probably won't hurt you. But everything you need to know is in Marsh's book, including the lyrics-the real ones and the ones people thought they heard. If there is a better measure of your pop-cultural IQ, I don't know where to find it. -USA TodaySince his days as the original editor of Creem, Dave Marsh has been revered as one of rock's greatest critics. During the 70s he was record editor at Rolling Stone, and in 1983 he founded Rock & Roll Confidential. His other books include Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s (1987), and Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who (1983).

Quotations from Chairman Elvis -- Wisdom from the Hip-Hop Nation -- 10 Ways to Tell If a Rapper's Careers on the Way Out -- 21 Rockers, Rappers and Poppers Who'd Lose to Beavis & Butthead in a Meeting of the Minds -- 10 Worst Performers of All Time -- 30 Artists Who've Never Won a Grammy -- What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record? -- Famous Turndowns -- Famous Musicians Who Have Appeared on U.S. Postage Stamps -- Best & Worst Rock and Rap Movies -- 10 Best Things About MTV -- 10 Worst Things About MTV -- The 10 Best Metal Videos -- Fashion Accessories for the Serious Funkadelic Clone -- She's Your Lover Now: Best Non-Dylan Dylan Records -- Fab Five Freddy's 10 Favorite Hip-Hop Moments -- The Sons of Kenny G: The Dozen Worst Instrumentals -- Songwriters Who Never Wrote a Song -- The 30 Essential Metal Albums -- Hits at the Wedding Dance: The 75 Songs Most Favored by Mobile DJs -- It'll Never Fit If You Force It: The 10 Phoniest White Soulboys -- Dancin' with Mr. D: The Devil Music Top 40 -- Chuck D Picks 11 Hip-Hop Albums That No One Can Do Without -- Record Companies That Turned Down the Beatles -- The Ten Commandments of Love

Before I Get Old is one of the best books ever written about rock'n'roll, discarding much of the mythology that often surrounds a lesser informed appraisal of the Who. It tells the story of six personalities - songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, drummer Keith Moon and singer Roger Daltrey, plus their original managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.
Here are the band's origins within the steamy nightlife of London, their meteoric rise to fame, the laughter and the pathos, the craziness of the world they inhabited, the drugs, the destruction, the vandalism, the debts - and, of course, the music. In short, every element that makes up the fascinating, shocking and hilarious story of the Who.
Before I Get Old is essential reading, an exhaustive study of an exhausting band who always lived up to their legend.