Rotten – No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs.

Of course there are two other authors credited in this, the tale of Johnny Rotten, superstar and giant among men. It’s a fair guess that the first guy drowned in bs so they had to bring in another guy to fill the void. If you can get past the stories of how Johnny Rotten practically invented reggae and just about everything else that has to do with popular counterculture you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It reminds me of a story that someone told me about Howard Devoto claiming to have invented oxygen. Lydon, or is it Rotten again? Anyway, he paints a pretty bleak picture of Malcom McLaren and pretty much everyone else around him. For the most part the consensus is that McLaren was/is a wanker but you still have to take what he (Lydon) says with a grain of salt. For a man who’s teenage years found him at the helm of histories most infamous band he’s had a tough act to follow in himself. You get the feeling that he’s a little resentful of the fact that his later efforts are’t going to be what he’s remembered by. He also seems a bit sour (rightfully so) on today’s scene. He’ll tell you that Nirvana aint punk. The Pistols may seem tame by today’s standards, but you’ll never be reading about how the first Marilyn Manson show kickstarted a generation or two of the last couple of decades most creative and popular bands. That said, there is some interesting reading in here. When he’s not contradicting himself you can learn a lot about his background and a little about what makes him tick, if you take his word for it. There are also a lot of funny stories like the one about torturing Glenn Matlock with hidden “protien additives” in his hoagies. There a quotes from other players on the scene including Pistols’ band members remeniscing about the origins of their tunes. Johhny includes a lot of early pictures of himself and family which give you a chance to see him looking like a hippie or a young Rod Stewart. An added plus is a detailed description and index of the photographs, something sorely missing from a lot of similar books. He also trys to give some insight into the person behind the cartoon character that was Sid Vicious. He’s more than happy to tell you that the “Sid and Nancy” movie was shit. Aside from that there are a lot of Johnny’s recollections of different tours and the circus that surrounded the Sex Pistols. This is a good book to get in paperback form cause you’re really not going to be using it as a reference, but it’s still good to have if you can take his ego in stride. You’ll be surprised to learn that behind the confrontational personality lies a sensitive and caring individual, and I’m only half kidding. Of course this was published pre-Mountain Dew commercial and pre-reunioun tour. Borrow a copy. Three and half gobs of spit out of five.

$22.95 hard cover