I’m obsessed with death and suicide. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. Before you become too concerned (as if!) the fact that I’m now 56 ‘going on’ 57 and haven’t attempted to off myself even once (but I do think about it a lot) should give you a few dots to connect. I’m also obsessed with music. But this is not really about me.
This is about “Rock Shrines”. It puts death on your coffee table in a clever and fashionable package. That’s the kind of book it is. Definitely something you’d want to display if you owned it. After all, this tome is priced at $35.00 (US). And baby, what a tome it is!
Counting the cold corpses from 1953 (Buddy Holly bites the dust) through 2009 (Michael Jackson beats it) you get sex, drugs, death and rock & roll for one low price (did I mention this before?) of only $35.00. But the value of this ink and paper work of art is really priceless. Why is it priceless, you may ask? That’s an excellent question.
Did you know that one of the members of groundbreaking glam rock duo of the ’70s died by inhaling a cocktail cherry? Or that Mama Cass Elliott didn’t choke to death on a ham sandwich? What about the rocker who went down in flames in an airplane after his bass player told him he hoped “…your old plane crashes”.
No, it’s not just the funky little factoids about the followers of the forever after but it’s that this bound hard-cover also offers up little wax paper packaged surprises. Between the glossy, rarely-seen photos and the concise sound byte sized tidbits of trivia about the dig-ably demised you’ll find death certificate copies, newspaper clippings and hand written lyrics from those now on the other side of the grave. As an added bang for your buck this book is not only an encyclopedia of burned out rock stars but details the shrines and memorials erected in their honor and left in their wake after they’re gone. Oh my Google, and to think Thomas Green had me at the word death but gave me so much more.
Seriously, the thought, the effort and the artistic vision that went into the writing, making and printing this book is mind blowing (especially the little wax paper envelopes of ephemera and memorabilia tucked in between the pages). Physically published pounds of paper like “Rock Shrine” are the reason why Kindle Books and iPads will never be able to give the hungry mind, and the proud possessor, the same satisfaction as the surprise of the tastily turned page. Old school, my minions – gotta luv it!
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For More Information visit:
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http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Rock-Shrines-Thomas-H-Green?isbn=9780061778643&HCHP=TB_Rock+Shrines
