Rock On: An Office Power Ballad
How do you land a sweet six-figure marketing gig at the hallowed record label known for having signed everyone from Led Zeppelin to Stone Temple Pilots? You start with a resume like Dan Kennedy's: - Dressed up as a member of Kiss every Halloween - Memorized Led Zeppelin IV at age ten - Fronted a lip-sync band in junior high - Worked as a college DJ while he was a college drop-out In his outrageous memoir, McSweeney's contributor Kennedy chronicles his misadventures at a major record label. Whether he's directing a gangsta rapper's commercial or battling his punk roots to create an ad campaign celebrating the love songs of Phil Collins, Kennedy's in way over his head. And from the looks of those sitting around the boardroom, he's not alone. Egomaniacs, wackos, incompetents, and executive assistants who know more than their seven-figure bosses round out this power-ballad to office life and rock and roll.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1565125096
ISBN13:9781565125094
Release Date:February 2008
Publisher:Algonquin Books
Length:224 Pages
Weight:0.60 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.7" x 8.2"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Greatest Book!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Hey this is one funny book! Buy it read it laugh a lot. I loved it and I know next to nothing about music just about nothing about working in an office..and nothing about being a guy. BUT I loved it. Very funny. Very smart writer. !
Hilarious!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
I gave this book as a gift, after hearing the author on NPR. The book is really hilarious, and was a big hit as a gift.
Brilliant!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
As a 40-year-old white guy who grew up in the suburbs, played in occasional bands, and worked in record and book stores, I was immediately smitten with this book. Fortunately for me, I steered clear of the major label nightmare world that Kennedy hilariously describes, and I'm grateful to him for reassuring me that was a good decision. This book is certainly a must for anyone who's spent time working in the "music biz" but it also should appeal to anyone who's worked in the surreal and maddening world of big corporate America.
No Sympathy for the Record Industry
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
Very amusing, and worth buying if only for the fantastic description of an Iggy Pop concert, an authentic moment that highlights the inauthenticity and phoniness of the record business Kennedy exposes throughout the rest of the book. The McSweeney's/DF Wallace style may not be to all tastes, but "Rock On" shows why the major labels deserve everything that's happened to them.
Funniest book I've read in a long time
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
This was hilarious. My favorite lines (out of many): Free lyrics for any all-girl rock band trying to win over the middle-aged white suburban male demographic: I think that's muscle, not fat I think your hair's still rad . . . I think your four-door rocks, I love those sandals with those socks . . . I also thought his "corporate goodbye email never sent" was hysterical. An excerpt: "As we all know, these are challenging times. Not for the mail-order homemade salsa and sauces business (Bob from radio promotions, I think you were right to choose this time to take the leap of faith), but these are certainly challenging times for the record business." If you loved The Office and love music, I highly recommend Rock On.
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