Product Description

For the generation coming of age in the years from 1987 to 1994, RIP magazine was every bit as crucial as Rolling Stone. Life on Planet Rock describes how Lonn Friend, the editor of RIP, became the Zelig-like chronicler of the biggest musical moments of that time—from introducing Guns N’ Roses (in nothing but a top hat, underwear, and cowboy boots) to sitting in during the making of Metallica’s Black Album. Life on Planet Rock provides revealing portraits of artists as varied as Kurt Cobain, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Axl Rose, James Hetfield, Steven Tyler, and many more. Part oral history, part candid and humorous memoir, it is a wormhole back to a fast-moving time in music that saw tastes flash from new wave to hair metal to grunge, told as only someone who was there through it all could tell it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50485 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-11
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this nomadic, at times humbling memoir, former RIP magazine editor Friend recalls a quarter-century spent as a ringleader in the music industry circus. From the early 1980s to the late '90s, Friend enjoyed an insiders' perch for some of rock's greatest moments—he worked as a DJ, a rock journalist, editor of heavy metal's most popular magazine and had a segment on MTV. In energetic prose he invites readers along on bonding experiences like golf dates with Alice Cooper and riding in private jets with Kiss, as well as exposing moments of professional soul-searching at the hands of Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Pearl Jam. Remarkably, Friend's narrative maintains an even keel, whether he's being ignored by Kurt Cobain or wooed by Gene Simmons, and he candidly portrays the compromised, often confusing role of the rock journalist, constantly teetering between friend and patsy. The most enlightening part of the book is Friend's brief, failed stint as an A&R man, when the journalist who made a career on megabands staked his A&R career on the Bogmen, a quirky but brilliant New York outfit, and even made a run at Eels. Through success, excess and failure, music fans will enjoy Friend's anecdotes and his clear-eyed, hardly jaded view of the industry. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Lonn lives where the reckless heart of rock still thunders in your chest. No one else can throw a literary dinner party where Henry Miller sits side by side with Kurt Cobain and Jon Bon Jovi.  That's Lonn's planet, and that's his vivid personality.  Soulful and rowdy and always hilarious, Life on Planet Rock reminds you why you ever turned it up, all the way up.”
—Cameron Crowe

“Dark, brutally honest, and hilarious at the same time, Lonn's tales of rock-and-roll debauchery, excess, and bad business are a love letter to the rock gods.”
—Scott Ian Rosenfeld, founder/guitarist, Anthrax

“Lonn Friend. If anybody is entitled to write about rock in L.A. in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s him. This is a good book. Steal it!”
—Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer, Motörhead

“Its humor, insight, and behind-the-scenes honesty have captured me and whisked me away to a very special mind space. I am content. All is well on Planet Rock . . . I ought to know, I've lived here all my life.”
—Kevin Cronin, lead singer, REO Speedwagon

About the Author

LONN FRIEND was born in 1956, the year Elvis brought rock ’n’ roll to the mainstream. He has been around music—as a DJ, writer, reviewer, developer of talent, and editor—ever since. He has had a regular spot on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball, and he lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

This book is awesome, dude!
I can't even begin to do this book justice. It is an autobiography of former RIP editor Lonn Friend and chronicles not only his adventures with various rock n' roll performers, but his divorce and career struggles. It also serves as a time capsule of America during the late 1980's and early 1990's. I only bought this book to read the chapter about Guns n' Roses, but it is so beautifully and poignantly written, I was hooked! I am going to make all my co-workers read this book.

A good glimpse onto life on planet rock
For those who remember journalist Lonn Friend from Rip magazine and MTV's Headbanger's Ball, this book, an inside account of life in the late 80s-early 90s heyday of hard rock, is a welcome resource.

Friend is first and foremost an aficionado of the music, and his enthusiasm for his work is reflected in his memoir. He's the ultimate rock fan who lives out a rock fan's ultimate dream: he not only gets to see the bands he loves, but he gets paid for it, and he gets to go backstage to boot. Some of the stories he relates are poignant--there's one, for instance, where he attempts to interview a famous guitarist who is completely strung out on heroin. Others are delightful, such as the one where he embarks on a roadtrip with his young daughter, takes her to a Pearl Jam concert and manages to get her home in time for preschool.

Criticisms: I would have loved to read more details on the day-to-day workings of Rip and its demise. Friend mentions the latter only in passing. Some of the chapters also have a bit too much name-dropping: Friend will mention he hung out with so-and-so, but never delves deeper into the meetings or provides any insight. These quibbles are minor, though, and this book really is a wonderful look into life on Planet Rock, from one who was one of its most prominent citizens.

Life on Planet Rock
This book was a great read. Wish there was more! Lonn Friend makes you feel like you are standing right next to him during this period of rock and roll.