For years; Todd Snider has been one of the most beloved country-folk singers in the United States. He had a Top 40 hit with “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues;rdquo; which gave national audiences the first taste of his insightful songwriting; at once satirical and sincere. Hailed by critics as one of the top albums of 2004; East Nashville Skyline was followed by The Devil You Know and The Excitement Plan. Sniders songs took on George W. Bush and Americas recent involvement in foreign war; along with a host of more intimate topics.As good as Sniders albums have been; his in-concert monologues are even better. His shows are a loose-limbed; informal experience: its often just him and a guitar. He introduces songs with stories that can run as long as twenty minutes; always displaying his charm and wit. As hes allowed his storytelling to evolve along with his music; Snider has become not only a modern day Bob Dylan but a modern day Will Rogers as wellmdash;an everyman whose intelligence; self deprecation; experience; and; above all; humor make him a uniquely American character.
#418708 in eBooks 2013-11-29 2013-11-29File Name: B00GIGM9VI
Review
49 of 53 people found the following review helpful. Riddled with flawsBy S. WoodwardThis biography is riddled with flaws. The author conveys almost no sense of the genius of Michael Jackson; despite the books subtitle; and virtually nothing of his personality. The author interviewed over 400 minor players in Jacksons life and none of the major players. The result is accounts of petty rivalries between studio technicians; gripes from record company executives about cost over-runs in the making of albums and short films; and other stories that say little about Jackson. The author also consistently views Jacksons actions in a negative light; where there is easily another interpretation to be made. For example; the high cost of some of the short films he portrays as the indulgence of a spoiled rock star; rather than the perfectionism of an artist whose results; in the end; justified the cost. The author fails to take a fresh look at Jackson; falling back instead upon the by now tired view of Jackson as a weirdo who is beyond understanding.The writing has a hurried feel; as if the author didnt fully consider what he was writing. Some of the sentences were puzzling; needing further explanation; and some of the facts were wrong.One day a good; or even great; biography of Michael Jackson will be written; but this aint it.37 of 40 people found the following review helpful. Several have been written since he died and are very good. This book is NOTBy Laurie SolomonI have read EVERY book ever written about Michael Jackson. Ninety-nine percent are worthless. Several have been written since he died and are very good. This book is NOT.The title is very misleading and really the only reason I bought it. It implies that Knopper will focus on Michael Jacksons GENIUS. He doesnt. Instead he fills the books with "anecdotes" about Michaels "weirdness" as if we havent gotten enough of that from the tabloid (and mainstream) media for years now. Almost everything in the book was taken straight from other books written about MJ. I felt that the author does not like Michael Jackson. And that he took every opportunity to diminish his talents and again; just focus on stupid; irrelevant and mostly NOT ACCURATE so-called "incidents" involving Michael being strange.Mr. Knopper we all know that MJ was a genius. There is so much to say about that. Why didnt you focus on that and why did you mislead us with that title? I found that very offensive and if there was a way to contact you and give you a piece of my mind trust me I would. Please dont do this again. Fans and even non-fans deserve the TRUTH about Michael Jackson. There was very little of that in your book. Nice try.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Bait and switch for another run-of-the-mill biographyBy Carlton J. SouthworthThis was very disappointing overall. The description makes the book sound as though it provide insight into the recording and writing process of his albums; which is very much what i was looking for. Instead; its primarily concerned with hitting the major biographical notes; the scandals (substantiated or not); and a ton of information that you could gather from the internet. The actual portions of the book that ARE focused on the music are pretty scant in terms of detail when detail would be welcome (for instance--what were song inspirations? What songs were recorded and are sitting in the vaults? How were the songs written?) and heavy on details that arent really necessary (three pages describing all the dance moves in the "Billie Jean" number at the Motown celebration; as though anyone interested couldnt just pull it up on YouTube).Its not a bad read; but its not enlightening; and its not what it markets itself as.