Tommyland. Tommy Lee with Anthony Bozza. Simon & Schuster.
Words | 10/01/2005 at 22:43:27
What a wonderfully modern take on the picaresque. Our all-American hero Tommy Lee is plucked from a strip-mall Californian town and thrust into the carnal world of Hollywoods scuzzy metal scene. He wends his way through the leather and the homemade pyrotechnics in the search for truth, love and rock n roll and, man, is it a wild ride. If 2002s Motley Crue biog The Dirt was the ultimate word in hot tubs, blow jobs and hairspray then Tommyland is a much more personal, intimate journey. In fact, it should have a subtitle - Tommyland: One Man and His Penis. Mr Lee chooses to begin his autobiography with a 3 page conversation between himself and the aforementioned appendage. (Say Dick, whats up? Well Tommy, I am!) It certainly sets the tone for the rest of the book and Dick pops up again all over the place - with insights and comments where appropriate. Really. When hes not charming readers with his keen wit, Tommy Lee enjoys dishing out advice. In fact, Tommyland reads a lot like a self-help book. Learn to have sex like Tommy Lee its great while driving! Learn personal hygiene from Tommy Lee mow the front and the back lawn, please! Read the same books as Tommy Lee and continue your journey towards enlightenment theres a helpful list towards the end. Unfortunately, Tommy doesnt actually seem any wiser at the end of the book than at the beginning but then again, this is a man who found his lifes philosophy on a fridge magnet. There is, in spite of all the dick jokes and narcissism, a sliver of charisma in our main man and the chapter on Tommy Lees 4 month jail term for spousal abuse is actually handled with a great deal more weight and seriousness than you might expect. However, most readers are probably looking for the booze and hookers, in which case, The Dirt serves it up on a conveniently mirrored platter.
<b>Appeared in Time Out December 8th - 15th 2004</b>
Bearsuit. Betsey Trotwood. 07/11/04.
Words | 05/12/2004 at 17:01:40
Bearsuit are a joyous band and remind me of some of the bands that got me so stuck on music in the first place. They're less aggressive perhaps than the Washington State punk bands I adopted as my own, and possibly a little dreamier in subject matter, but this is a different time, I suppose. I found them playing a show in deepest, darkest Farringdon one recent Sunday night and reviewed the show for <a href="http://drownedinsound.com/articles/10682.html">DiS</a>.
Jens Lekman. Water Rats. 14/10/04.
Words | 05/12/2004 at 16:53:26
My god, but if this isnt the best gig ever! I think, beaming at the people around me. Everyone is a MUNCHKIN!! Small-boned, super-cute girls with giant eyelashes making tiny little boys in cardies and sweater vests blush
everyone is teeny and for the first time in my whole, gig-going life I have a view clear to the stage. Clear to the stage!!! Best gig ever!!!
But seriously though Jens Lekman? Power ballads for the twee-de-le-dee set? Well, yes and no. Despite the presence of a five-strong band our erstwhile troubadour chooses to begin the show with an a cappella number offset only by the occasional finger snap. In fact, the whole evening is quite gloriously understated the string section providing the lift for melodic arcs without ever overwhelming the other gentler elements of the songs performed. A Higher Power the best song Ive ever written about erotic suffocation - and You Are The Light (By Which I Travel Into This And That) swoon under the weight of their saturated, Technicolor loveliness without ever stepping over the line into schmaltz. The Cold Swedish Winter is almost spectral in contrast, its warm and cosy melody undercut by a deeper sense of melancholy. Apparently Jens Lekman is the 15th sexiest man in Sweden. Twirl your tiny girlfriend around in heady celebration!
<b>Appeared in the December 2004/January 2005 issue of Plan B Magazine</b>
Neils Children. Bull and Gate. 28/10/04.
Words | 02/11/2004 at 19:11:36
Neils Children formed a band. They played some shows and put out some records. Then they played a show near my house. I went to go see them. You can read how it played out over at <a href="http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/10583.html">Drowned in Sound.</a>
