I so wanted to like Chris Stein’s, the guitarist from Blondie, autobiography, Under a Rock. Unfortunately, from my perspective, it needed both editing down and fleshing out.
The author includes a lot of details about his childhood, 30% of the book, that didn’t add much to his story. When he finally gets down to his musical experiences, the details are lacking specifics. Mostly there are one liners about meeting a famous musician or pop culture icon with little more than a single adjective used to describe them. Seldom are the conversations they had together recorded either. The author himself seems to realize the issue about needing more details, when he explains in less than a paragraph that Debbie Harry and he just grew apart and she moved out. He concluded with “Maybe you want more details but there aren’t many.” Despite “many” implying some, no other details are mentioned and he just moves on to his methadone program’s experiences.
There is also some trash talking about our current political climate that might offend some right wing readers. I don’t think it belongs in an autobiography even though he may have a point to some extent.
Overall, Under a Rock was a disappointment that seemed both overlong and bereft of the details I hoped for. 3 stars.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.