A Chance to Win Some Summer Reading

Josh Kloke is a massive Tragically Hip fan. So massive that he's written a book about his experiences as a Hip fanatic entitled Escape is at Hand.  If you'd like a chance at winning a copy, go here.

The official book launch is Monday night at the Supermarket in Kensington Market, Toronto.  (And yes, I wrote the forward to the book.)

Book on How to be a Juggalo

The Juggalo Nation consists of an interesting sort of human.  They're a large underclass who, according to the FBI, sometimes exhibit gang-like behavior. Whatever your thoughts about Juggalos, you have to admire how they support their idols in Insane Clown Posse with religious fervor.  And you have to admire how ICP loves them back.

This fascinating culture moved AV Club writer Nathan Rabin to write a book about the Juggalos, which also veers into the territory inhabited by the equally as zealous followers of Phish.

The resulting book, You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me: Phish, Insane Clown Posse and My Misadventures with Two of Music's Most Maligned Tribes, is out now.  

Check out this Q&A Rabin did with Rolling Stone.

If You're a Fan of the Tragically Hip, Then This Book Is for You

Several weeks ago, Joshua Kloke, a Toronto-based music writer and teacher, asked me to take a look at a book he was writing about the Tragically Hip.

Wait.  That's not quite right.  The book is about him and how the Tragically Hip shaped a big part of his life. When I was done, I wrote the forward for the book.

Call it an analysis of the Hip's influence on the Canadian music.  Or maybe it's a memoir.  It's probably both. In any event, Escape Is At Hand will strike some familiar chords with anyone who grew up with Canadian music from the late 80s through to the end of the 90s.  

The book will be out later this month through Eternal Cavalier Press. There's also a special launch event in Toronto on June 24.

More Recommended Reading for Clash Fans

I'm not sure how I missed this book when it came out in the fall, but better late than never.  Besides, this is good summer reading.

Stealing All Transmissions:  A Secret History of the Clash (a line taken from "Radio Clash") looks at the Clash's relationship with America written by a former insider who was witness to it all.

And still with the Clash, a deluxed 12-disc box set entitled Sound System will be out in September.  It will feature five remastered albms along with a bunch of singles, B-sides and assorted rarities along with a DVD of every single cClash video.

Richard Hell, The Original Punk, Writes a Memoir

The legend goes that on a trip to a fashion fair in NYC, Malcolm McLaren ran across Richard Hell, a man so poor that he held together his disintegrating clothes with safety pins.  

Thinking that this was a brilliant fashion statement, McLaren took the idea back to his clothing shop on The King's Road in London and invented punk fashion.

True story or not?  The answer may lie in Richard's new autobiography.  Read an interview with him at Buzzfeed.