The Rock Star Autobiography Podcast

Google Art Garfunkel, and two things will appear on your screen immediately.  One is the question, "Did Art Garfunkel write any songs?"  (The answer, dear listeners, is No).  And the second thing you'll see is that Art is worth $95,000,000.00.  How is this possible?  Is the answer in his memoir What Is It All But Luminous ?  Martha and Christian jump into Art's diary and explor...

Robert Smith is worth 25 million dollars.  Someone with whom you went to high school was covered in head-to-toe black because of his band The Cure.  And for better or worse, even country-music fans know "Friday I'm in Love."  For all that creativity and success, however, Robert Smith's greatest talent is, apparently, being the best friend you could ever hope to have.  Just ask...

Ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone’s   “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”, The Talking Heads were progenitors of Art-School Preppy Punk.  Everyone knows David Byrne and that crazy white suit, but behind him was Chris Frantz, the drummer with whom Byrne formed the band.  As a founding member, he was there to have lunch with Andy Warhol, tour with The Ramones, and stumble onto a #1 hit with The Tom...

The Go-Go's were the first all-female band to have a number-one record of self-penned songs with Beauty and the Beat , a feat unrivaled to this day.  A winning combination of punk, surf rock, and sugar in the raw, they were integral to the musical landscape of the 80s.  Kathy Valentine was part of that experience, slipping into the bassist spot just as the band tipped into national success. ...

"TAKE.  MY.  TEARS.  AND. THAT'S.  NOT.  NEAR-LEE ALLLLLLLLLLL, TAINTED-", oh, come on.  You know. That song.  Soft Cell's Tainted Love spent 43 weeks on Britain's Billboard charts and ranked #5 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders .  You've probably heard the song yourself once or twice, whether it be on the dance floor or while ordering a Subway sandwich make-...

Whoa-oh here he comes!  Before there was Whole Foods, there was Whole Oates, the musical mash-up of Daryl Hall and John Oates (and eventually just Hall & Oates).  A duo whose look was perennially out of touch, their music has nevertheless remained in heavy rotation, heavily sampled, and  referenced for close to 40 years.  To most people John Oates was the lucky sideman, but John begs to differ...

Some achievements speak for themselves: Climbing Mt. Everest.  Discovering Fire. Creating the planet Earth.  To this pedigree another can now be added: Reading Steven Patrick Morrissey's List of the Lost.  Few readers have done it, although many have tried.  Recipient of the Literary Review "Bad Sex Award," and described by The Times as "unreadable in places", literature&a...

We were all beautiful once, especially Sebastian Bach, who was so good looking that James Hetfield had to touch his face just to believe it was real.  But beauty fades for everyone, especially if someone from a biker gang puts you in a headlock and rearranges your nose.  Listen as our hosts do time with Sebastian Bach on Skid Row, learning about his daily vocal exercises, his unexpected stint on B...

Did you know that apart from being one of the most-charted female vocalists of all time, Dionne Warwick genuinely enjoys smoking cigarettes?  In good times, in bad times, that's what this podcast is for.  Smoke em if you got em as Christian and Martha discuss Dionne's love letter to herself, My Life, as I See It, wherein she lovingly details the size, shape, and weight of every award she...

If, on the eve of success, you were kicked out of a band you'd help to start, sent home on a greyhound bus with not a penny in your pocket, you'd probably give up the game.  Not Dave Mustaine.  With nothing but his ambition, fiery red mane, and battle ax in hand, Dave overcame the abandonment of his family, the betrayal of Metallica, and the suburbs of Costa Mesa and Whittier, California...

Lenny Kravitz has sold over 40 million records. He has married and divorced a Huxtable. But perhaps his greatest achievement is reducing hosts Martha and Christian to tears.  How can someone once named Romeo Blue, whose autobiography belongs in the Young Adult section of the bookstore, who had the most privileged childhood in rock--how can that someone have turned our hosts into salty puddles?  Fi...

Few musicians can say they grow more beloved with each decade, but Willie Nelson can.  His bandana is eternal; his braids are mystic.  Even if you don't know his music, you know that Willie smokes his weed, never stops touring, and is an American icon.   Get on board Willie's never-ending smoke-filled tour bus with Martha and Christian as they discuss his many wives, many singing partner...

Well done, Patti Lee.  You were best friends with Robert Mapplethorpe.  You dated Sam Shepard while living in the Chelsea Hotel, the counter-culture mecca of the 60s.  Morrissey, Michael Stipe, and The Library of Congress revere your debut album Horses as a cultural "landmark."  And your book Just Kids won the National Book Award. But have you really accomplished anything if Martha or Ch...

Galaxie 500.  Luna.  If you've never heard of these bands, don't worry, you're just most people.  But to a small segment of the population, very little compares to the acquired taste of Dean Wareham's two bands and his guitar playing in particular.  Join Christian and Martha as they explore Dean's Black Postcards , wherein Dean narrates the tragic demise of the former grou...

Audience members routinely spat  on Billy Idol as a member of Generation X.  Gross?  Yes.  Punk?  Even more so.  Orgies in the studio, near-death motorcycle rides, and combustible relationships--no one can deny that Billy Idol ate the Punk-Rock Kool-Aid straight from the packet.  Martha and Christian sink another book and delve behind the most famous sneer of the 80s in Billy's Dancing with M...

Peter Hook was bass player for New Order and Joy Division.  And apparently he took copious notes along the way.  But does his book have "Substance"?  Listen as Christian and Martha get their trousers wet, wading through over 700 pages of Hooky's dive into Manchester, the Hacienda, New Order, crazy band managers, and the musings of this bass player who now spins records for a living....

Joy Division's tragic demise should have permanently snuffed out its band members' careers.  But Bernard Sumner, armed with drum loops, programmed beats, and a Blue Monday, emerged from those ashes to create an upbeat New Order, sell millions of records, and wind up in a John Hughes film.  How does it feel, to read Bernard Sumner's autobiography through and through?  Find out as Chr...

When Bernard Butler quit Suede and took his prodigious musical talent with him, Brett Anderson could have licked his wounds and quit.  Instead, he soldiered on a with a 17-year old guitar wunderkind and pushed Suede to bigger chart success--sort of.  Listen as Christian and Martha discuss Brett Anderson's second memoir Afternoon With The Blinds Drawn , wherein Brett lays bare the diesel-and-g...

For a brief moment the songwriting team of Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler were untouchable, flying into the sun with Suede, a group the press famously described as the best band in Britain even before their debut LP had even been released. (And yes, the album was that good). But mid-way through the recording of their sophomore classic, the duo bitterly split, and neither one got custody of the...

After the success of Take It Like a Man , Boy George waited twenty years to go Straight . Listen as Martha and Christian read and discuss his career as a DJ, the never-ending dramas of his heart, his musical Taboo, and how a soccer-mom named Rosie O'Donnell wound up in behind the scenes of it all. If you enjoyed this episode, click here to purchase your own copy of the book. We are partners w...

As founding member of Culture Club, Boy George landed like a cultural grenade.  Learn how George O'Dowd took his rags and turned them into a costume of riches, and how this self-described Queen learned to "Take It Like a Man." If you enjoyed this episode, click here to purchase your own copy of the book. We are partners with Bel Canto Books, and we earn from qualifying purchases. We...

Punk icon, muse of Andy Warhol, lead singer of Blondie, and one-time Playboy Bunny, Deborah Harry was the face of the 70s.  But do cheek bones a good memoir make?  Join Martha and Christian as they look Deborah in her oft-painted eyes and Face It." If you enjoyed this episode, click here to purchase your own copy of the book. We are partners with Bel Canto Books, and we earn from qualifying p...

Against all odds Phil Collins--"patron saint of ordinary blokes"--went from child actor to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.  Join Christian and Martha as they take a look at him now and discuss Not Dead Yet .  Soo-Soo-SOO-DEE-YO! If you enjoyed this episode, click here to purchase your own copy of the book. We are partners with Bel Canto Books, and we earn from qualifying purchases...

It turns out that the key to Wham! and George Michael’s success was the other guy in the band, Andrew Ridgeley. Who knew? Find out why a great attitude just might be the key to pop stardom as Christian and Martha discuss Andrew Ridgeley’s “Wham! George Michael & Me.” If you enjoyed this episode, click here to purchase your own copy of the book. We are partners with Bel Canto Books, and we earn...

John Taylor and Duran Duran, with their music and good looks, dominated MTV and the walls of millions around the world.  But being a rock star with the face of a super model doesn't come without its temptations, and John was tempted by them all.  Save a prayer for Martha and Christian as they delve into John Taylor's "Pleasure Groove", emerging with their diagnosis of Duran Dur...