My guest for this episode is Chris 'Frenchie' French, a music journalist for various print and online publications. We discuss how he got into music journalism, if things like the #metoo movement will make rock stars more cautious about what they tell in their autobiographies, and if in an age of social media and streaming there's still a role for professional music critics.
Shoutouts for this episode go to Ben at Beyond The Zero podcast (@beyondthezeropod) and some of the publications Chris writes for: Astral Noize (@astralnoize) and Zero Tolerance (@zerotolerancemagazine)
Books mentioned in this episode:
America and the Cult of the Cactus Boots: A Diagnostic by Phillip Freedenberg, illustrated by Jeff Walton
Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
Wise Blood by Flannery O’ Connor
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Chamber Music by Will Ashon
The Little Book of Ikigai: The secret Japanese way to live a happy and long life by Ken Mogi
A Seat at the Table: Interviews with Women on the Frontline of Music by Amy Raphael
Sing Backwards and Weep: A Memoir by Mark Lanegan
Will Oldham on Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, edited by Alan Licht
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
A Perfect Union of Contrary Things by Sarah Jensen with Maynard James Keenan
Cash by Johnny Cash
What Does this Button do? An Autobiography by Bruce Dickinson
Run to the Hills: The Authorised Biography of Iron Maiden by Mick Wall
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson and Neil Strauss
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Mötley Crüe and Neil Strauss
Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason
Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis
Spaceships Over Glasgow: Mogwai and Misspent Youth by Stuart Brathwaite
Monsters of River and Rock: My Life as Iron Maiden's Compulsive Angler by Adrian Smith
Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan
Stone Male: Requiem for the Living Picture by Joe Carducci
Music by Tom Caruana: https://tomcaruana-teasea.bandcamp.com/
Chatting Lit logo and artwork by Emma Morris (@emmamorrisdesign)