Released last fall, Sticky Fingers, the biography of Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner sent shockwaves through the publishing community. Wenner randomly ran into author Joe Hagan and asked him to work on his biography which eventually Hagan did after much deliberation. At over 500 pages, Sticky Fingers is well researched with many facts but mostly focusing on what a terrible person Wenner is. Tawdry tales of sex, drugs and not as much rock and roll as would have been expected; politics plays a bigger role throughout the book. Almost shockingly in the Afterword, Hagan notes that Wenner is “one of the great magazine editors of my lifetime”. Touching on Wenner’s personal life but putting it in greater context of the times or the publishing business would have been more interesting than all the tiresome stories that appear here. 6/10
The Sri Lankan born, Canadian based author Michael Odjaante is most famous for his book The English Patient which won the Booker Prize in 1992. In total he has published seven books including the recently released Warlight. Published in 2011, The Cat’s Table is his sixth book and tells the story of a young boy who travels from Sri Lanka to England aboard a ship called Oronsay. His travelling companions are Ramadhin and Cassius along with his aunt and cousin. The book switches between the boat and what happens to the characters after their journey. It’s a fascinating book with beautiful passages throughout including a wonderfully described scene at an art gallery many years later. 7.5/10
Steve Martin started his entertainment career doing card tricks at Disneyland as a young boy then worked his way all the way up to touring arenas in the late 70s. Born Standing Up is about the growth of both Martin as a person and his comedy act. A quick read, it touches on both philosophy and self-improvement strategies that many self-help books promote (working hard, letting go of what’s not working, dedicating time to your craft, research, etc). Born Standing Up is an entertaining account of Martin’s rise through touring comedy before walking away completely. 7/10
Way back in the 90s Belle & Sebastian became a much loved band in the world of indie rock. Besides excellent albums such as If You Are Feeling Sinister and The Boy With The Arab Strap, the band released several coveted EPs. In late 2017 and 2018 B&S released three EPs one month apart which were then collected on one disc entitled How To Solve Our Human Problems. This idea recalls the 1997 boxset of three early EPs albeit in different packaging.
On various message boards, one constant thread is the struggle to follow new music while keeping up with ever growing physical and digital collections. It’s easier to keep up with a sliver of a niche than try to be everywhere but what fun is that? Meghan Remy’s cleverly named U.S Girls project is one of those that passed us by when she signed to 4AD in 2015 after 4 studio albums. The Illinois born, Toronto based artist’s second release on that prestige label caught our ear after hearing the excellent Citizen Kane inspired single “Rosebud” and In A Poem Unlimited started getting rave reviews.
