This is one of the best music books I've read. It takes a genre that is almost universally derided by critics and gives it the respect it deserves. I've always thought The Archies's "Sugar, Sugar" is one of the most brilliant songs of all time, and it turns out there's a lot more where that came from! I haven't learned as much from a music book in a long time, and it stayed entertaining too! The book is comprised of essays by different authors on an exhaustive variety of subjects surrounding the

This is one of the best music books I've read. It takes a genre that is almost universally derided by critics and gives it the respect it deserves. I've always thought The Archies's "Sugar, Sugar" is one of the most brilliant songs of all time, and it turns out there's a lot more where that came from! I haven't learned as much from a music book in a long time, and it stayed entertaining too! The book is comprised of essays by different authors on an exhaustive variety of subjects surrounding the music. Artists, producers, interviews, merchandise/cereal records, international scene, influence on other genres, etc. It's everything a reasonable person could want on the subject, but it hooks you into its world so deeply that you end up wanting more by reading it! If you want to retain any hope of having an "alternative cred" cool card then I don't recommend reading this, because as soon as there's a lull in the discussion on Joy Division you'll end up saying "Who's heard The Archies's "Jingle Jangle" album? Jeff Barry sure did some incredible stuff...so did Kasenetz-Katz, and The Monkees are the bomb!"

*promptly gets kicked out onto the street*

"But guys! Joey Ramone loved all that stuff! And so did Lester Bangs!"

*door shuts*