Recommendations based on Rip it Up and Start Againby Simon Reynolds

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991

    by Michael Azerrad
    History of the American indie rock scene, showcasing influential bands and their legacy.

    This is the never-before-told story of the musical revolution that happened right under the nose of the Reagan Eighties–when a small but sprawling network of bands, labels, fanzines, radio stations, ... (Goodreads)

  2. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

    by Legs McNeil
    An exploration of the punk rock movement through interviews with its pioneers and participants.

    A, Time Out, and, Daily News, Top Ten Book of the Year upon its initial release,, Please Kill Me, is the first oral history of the most nihilist of all pop movements. Iggy Pop, Danny Fields, Dee Dee ... (Goodreads)

  3. Just Kids

    by Patti Smith
    Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.

    In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)

  4. Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time

    by Rob Sheffield
    A memoir of music, love, and loss told through a collection of mix tapes.

    In this stunning memoir, Rob Sheffield, a veteran rock and pop culture critic and staff writer for Rolling Stone magazine, tells the story of his musical coming of age, and how rock music, the first ... (Goodreads)

  5. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

    by Mark Fisher
    Critique of late capitalism, exploring the oppressive power of neoliberalism.

    After 1989, capitalism has presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system. What effects has this “capitalist realism” had on work, culture, education and mental health? Is it ... (Goodreads)

  6. Simulacra and Simulation

    by Jean Baudrillard
    Analysis of the effects of technology on our lives, exploring the concept of hyperreality.

    The publication of Simulacra et Simulation in 1981 marked Jean Baudrillard's first important step toward theorizing the postmodern. Moving away from the Marxist/Freudian approaches that had concerned ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century

    by Alex Ross
    A journey through the music of the 20th century, exploring its cultural and historical context, and its impact on society and politics.

    The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century is a voyage into the labyrinth of modern music, which remains an obscure world for most people. While paintings of Picasso and Jackson Pollock ... (Goodreads)

  8. Chronicles: Volume One

    by Bob Dylan
    A memoir tracking Bob Dylan's musical journey from humble beginnings to iconic status.

    WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE The celebrated first memoir from arguably the most influential singer-songwriter in the country, Bob Dylan. “I’d come from a long ways off and had started a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  9. The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band

    by Neil Strauss
    The wild and debaucherous story of Mötley Crüe, from their rise to fame to their darkest moments.

    Whiskey and porn stars, hot reds and car crashes, black leather and high heels, overdoses and death. This is the life of Mötley Crüe, the heaviest drinking, hardest fighting, most oversexed and ... (Goodreads)

  10. Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys

    by Viv Albertine
    A memoir of a young woman's journey to self-expression and liberation in the punk rock music scene.

    The guitarist for seminal female punk group The Slits recounts playing with Sid Vicious, touring with the Clash, dating Mick Jones, inspiring “Train in Vain,” and releasing her solo debut in 2012 Viv ... (Goodreads)

  11. How Music Works

    by David Byrne
    A comprehensive look at the history and science of music, exploring its impact on culture.

    Best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the iconic band Talking Heads, David Byrne has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll ... (Goodreads)

  12. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness

    by Jon Kabat-Zinn
    Comprehensive guide to using mindfulness meditation to manage stress, pain, and illness.

    2005 15th anniversary edition reprint Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is perhaps the best-known proponent of using meditation to ... (Goodreads)

  13. No Logo

    by Naomi Klein
    A critique of the negative impact of corporate branding and globalization on society and culture.

    With a new Afterword to the 2002 edition, No Logo employs journalistic savvy and personal testament to detail the insidious practices and far-reaching effects of corporate marketing—and the powerful ... (Goodreads)

  14. Life

    by Keith Richards
    A personal journey of a legendary rockstar, reflecting on the highs and lows of his life.

    With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the original rock and roll life. Now, at last, the man ... (Goodreads)

  15. On the Genealogy of Morals / Ecce Homo

    by Friedrich Nietzsche
    Philosophical examination of power, morality, and the history of human values.

    The Genealogy of Morals consists of three essays exploring morality and its origins where Nietzsche makes ample use of his training as a philologist. These works contain Nietzsche's most thorough and ... (Goodreads)

  16. On the Genealogy of Morals

    by Friedrich Nietzsche
    Exploration of morality, power, and the origin of human values.

    On the Genealogy of Morals (1887) is a book about the history of ethics and about interpretation. Nietzsche rewrites the former as a history of cruelty, exposing the central values of the ... (Goodreads)

  17. Hammer of the Gods

    by Stephen Davis
    A biography of Led Zeppelin, exploring their rise to fame and the wild excesses of their rockstar lifestyle.

    They were legends based on myths myths of fantasy, power, and black magic. The tales of their tours were the most outrageous in the already excess-laden annals of modern music. The era of Led ... (Goodreads)

  18. Between the World and Me

    by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.

    “This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)

  19. Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

    by J. Mark G. Williams
    A practical guide to finding inner peace and balance through mindfulness.

    From one of the leading thinkers on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, a pioneering set of simple practices to dissolve anxiety, stress, exhaustion, and unhappiness.In "Mindfulness," Oxford ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    by Malcolm X
    A gripping account of one man's transformation from criminal to civil rights leader.

    Alternate cover for ISBN 9780345350688 Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his ... (Goodreads)

  21. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

    by Michael Lewis
    How an unconventional approach to baseball changed the competitive landscape.

    Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every ... (Goodreads)

  22. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

    by Anthony Bourdain
    A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.

    A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Best and the Brightest

    by David Halberstam
    A detailed account of the decision-making process that led to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.

    The Best and the Brightest is David Halberstam's masterpiece, the defining history of the making of the Vietnam tragedy. Using portraits of America's flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces ... (Goodreads)

  24. No One Here Gets Out Alive

    by Danny Sugerman
    Biography of Jim Morrison, exploring the life and legacy of the legendary singer-songwriter.

    Here is Jim Morrison in all his complexity - singer, philosopher, poet, delinquent-the brilliant, charismatic, and obsessed seeker who rejected authority in any form, the explorer who probed "the ... (Goodreads)

  25. Contagious: Why Things Catch On

    by Jonah Berger
    Exploring the science behind why some products and ideas become popular.

    New York Times bestseller and named Best Marketing Book of 2014 by the American Marketing Association What makes things popular? Why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? ... (Goodreads)

  26. Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety

    by Eric Schlosser
    An exploration of nuclear weapon safety and the risk of catastrophic accidents.

    A myth-shattering exposé of America’s nuclear weapons Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Long Hard Road Out of Hell

    by Marilyn Manson
    An autobiographical account of Marilyn Manson's rise to fame and struggles with celebrity.

    The 150,000-copy national bestselling autobiography of Marilyn Manson, America's most controversial celebrity icon, is offered with a bonus chapter not included in the hardcover. "By turns moving, ... (Goodreads)

  28. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

    by Stephen King
    A series of personal reflections on the art of writing, and the power of story-telling.

    "Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is ... (Goodreads)

  29. The White Album

    by Joan Didion
    Collection of essays exploring 1960s counterculture in America.

    First published in 1979, Joan Didion's The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermaths of the 1960s. Examining key events, figures, and trends of the era—including Charles Manson, the ... (Goodreads)