Jacob Slichter

Slichter's a pretty damn good writer. I never heard of his band, Semisonic, prior to reading the book but it got some excellent reviews that piqued my interest. They were, I guess, the sort of decent band that wanted the big bucks and got made into sausage by the corporate music machine. Slichter's a smart guy and his self-depreciating and humorous anecdotes help make his story of the corporate rock machine palatable, if not at times, quite enjoyable.

Considering how many god-awful rock show more memoirs are out there, this book is the needed antidote to the usual "I started as a humble lad but am still one of the boys," garbage. show less

I rarely read memoirs, but I loved this. It feels like an incredibly detailed diary of five years in the life of a one-hit wonder. Forming, gaining steam, getting interest, recording an album, shooting videos, touring, not making it, touring more, still not making it, recording another album, suddenly making it big, suddenly being huge deals, living the high life, then almost before you can catch your breath, being has-beens. So many details. So much insight into the music business. Highly show more recommended for anyone who's ever dreamed of being a rock star. This is what it's really like. show less

Well written & clear, the book suffers a little from dated-ness. There are a number of tense issues; things Shlichter talks about in the present tense that either probably or definitely don't exist today. One reviewer said that the stuff detailing music business things like recoupable debt was not fun, and I thought so too, at first; but then I decided I liked the his sort of nebbishy attitude about the business and the process. If I were gonna be famous I'd be popping tums like crazy too. show more But really, in music, 1998 seems like a thousand years ago. The book doesn't help us view it through that lens, which makes the reader wonder whether they should bother since it seems likely that things have changed. show less

This might be the best insiders book about the music biz i've ever read. Very smart, and very funny.