Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #748775 in Books
• Published on: 1994-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

From Booklist
A book of lists seems an extremely lightweight way to comprehensively cover anything, but there's surprising substance to this volume. What sets it apart from other rock-trivia titles is authority (Marsh is rock's most prominent critic; hip-hop expert Bernard provides street credibility), attitude (the often irreverent lists diss nearly everyone), entertainment value (it's more rewarding to read about than listen to "The 40 Worst #1 Hits"), and some genuinely useful facts (though lack of an index makes them all but inaccessible). The hundreds of entries (many by critics, musicians, and other industry figures) appear in such categorical chapters as "Firsts and Debuts," "Hits and Flops," and "History" (i.e., lists like "Worst Career Moves," which includes "Michael Jackson invites his playmates to spend the night"). Sure, it's a new edition of a decade-old title, but it has been thoroughly overhauled, and given the trendy nature of the subject matter, libraries that own the original should grab the new book to cover such interim developments as MTV, rap, and alternative rock. Gordon Flagg

Customer Reviews

This Book Never Stops Being Interesting
I have owned two previous editions of "The Book of Rock Lists" and will soon be buying "The New Book of Rock Lists". Why? Because it's fun to read, witty, and incisive! The rock and roll heaven portion, where various deceased rock stars are broken down in terms of how they died, is definitely worth reading.

One or two others have already castigated author Dave Marsh for having somewhat of a left leaning bias in his stinging criticism of the PMRC and certain religious zealots, as well as his categorization of famous right wing rockers. I disagree with the reviewer who referred to Marsh as being "PC". However, if you turn your political filter off and you're not thin-skinned, you'll have some fun reading.

Very entertaining, if somewhat disturbing.
Dave Marsh has outdone himself. The Book of Rock (and Rap) Lists is subjective, annoying, and obsessive. It's also ridiculously entertaining. Marsh's opinions take on an almost disturbingly rabid flavor (no one he likes can do any wrong), and his politically correct mindset gets irritating. But this remains one of the greatest bathroom books ever.

Great Resource
This is definitely one of the greatest resources for fans of rock and roll. It definitely gives a comprehensive look at the history of rock as well as gives a detailed account of how rock has influenced modern society.

However, there are a few things that I do have to nit pick about. The first is Marsh's list of performers who appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival. One performer he has listed as playing there was Aretha Franklin. However, she never appeared there. In fact, the closest anything anybody heard from her was when Otis Redding sang his version of "Respect", which he wrote. He also omitted Lou Rawls from the list of performers. Rawls played there on the first night. Other than this criticism, I stil think that this is a great book.