John Sellers' "Perfect From Now On"

zuropa_fit · 07-24-2009, 11:56 AM

I'm reading this book my friend loaned me by John Sellers, called "Perfect From Now On, How Indie Rock Saved My Life" It's geared exactly to ppl my age (mid-late 30's) and written in a very snarky but self-effacing, tongue in cheek humor, in other words, my kinda book.

Anyway, his description of obsession with a band was spot on and made me think a lot of this place. Here's a couple examples:

"A partial list of things music has made me do: fly overseas at considerable expense to see a live performance..., nurture a crush on a goth chick way out of my league, write a love letter to a German woman made up entirely of lyrics from my favorite...band, get ticketed for doing 82(MPH) in a 55, drive around a remote area of England looking for a hero's grave..., miss a final exam, dive to the bottom of a numbingly cold Scottish pond to retrieve my favorite T-shirt, stab my thumb into the back of a fellow concert attendee's neck to get closer to the stage,..."

or on musical obsession in particular:

"Or you can go all in... You let it dip into every facet of your life your wardrobe, your hairstyle, the foods you eat, the drugs you take, the naming of your pets and children. Fanship of this type is generally expressed outwardly and unabashedly, and as such it tends to draw the bewilderment and ridicule of those who don't understand. Not that you really care what those morons think... you will almost certainly blog about it. Tattoos are possibly involved..." You get the idea

But why is this thread here and not LS or something?

Chapter 4 is entitled "If I could, you know I would let it go" and is about his first obsession, you guessed it, U2, starting with his first listen to War on his friend's walkman tape player to buying the whole catalogue from the Columbia Music Club and through feeling let down by the hype of R&H. I can't say I agree with his thought on stuff after JT but I'll leave that up to you.

Oh, and sorry if there was a thread about this 2 years ago when the book was published - I have a kid, give me a break!

corianderstem · 07-24-2009, 12:08 PM

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I actually emailed the author after I'd read it, telling him how much I'd enjoyed it, and we had a nice little email exchange about music. It was fun.

Addicted To Bad · 07-24-2009, 01:20 PM

I DO need to read this book. It seems I´ll finally have a full explanation for having always had the feeling that Rock´s saved my life and all kinds of things music has made me do. Things I´ll never regret, ever. I´m being quite honest!

Thanks zuropa_fit!

zuropa_fit · 07-24-2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corianderstem

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I actually emailed the author after I'd read it, telling him how much I'd enjoyed it, and we had a nice little email exchange about music. It was fun.

That's awesome!

btw, what did you think of the footnotes? I can't decide if they're cute and clever or just annoying.

U2Soul · 08-07-2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuropa_fit

btw, what did you think of the footnotes? I can't decide if they're cute and clever or just annoying.

Haha, I'm in the middle of reading the book and I'm facing the same dilemma re: the footnotes. Overall I do enjoy them, but I wish some of them weren't so long. The man can really go off on a tangent!

indra · 07-24-2009, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zuropa_fit

write a love letter to a German woman made up entirely of lyrics from my favorite...band,

Just a few days ago my favourite singer wrote a love letter blog to his wife on their anniversary entirely made from song lyrics. He didn't use just one band though, he used lyrics from his own songs plus a bunch of others. It was a hilarious read...and amazingly sweet.

blueeyedgirl · 07-25-2009, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indra

Just a few days ago my favourite singer wrote a love letter blog to his wife on their anniversary entirely made from song lyrics. He didn't use just one band though, he used lyrics from his own songs plus a bunch of others. It was a hilarious read...and amazingly sweet.

I've never heard of this book but now I'll try to flush it out.

It reminds me of a similar Australian book that came out in the late 90s by Barry Divola "Fanclub: it's a fan's world, rock stars just live in it".

corianderstem · 07-24-2009, 05:04 PM

I don't remember specifically about the footnotes, but I don't remember being annoyed by them, so that's probably good.

I like Chuck Klosterman's silly footnotes, so if Sellers' were remotely like that, I'm sure I dug them.

zuropa_fit · 08-10-2009, 01:17 AM

^ I wound up skimming some of them, or just stopping when I thought it was too long!

bonoishot · 08-13-2009, 02:21 PM

Thanks for the recommendation Zooey. Another book I need to buy now.

Just ordered it.

zuropa_fit · 08-15-2009, 10:09 PM

SWEET Jem. Let me know how you like it.

07-24-2009, 11:56 AM	#1
zuropa_fit ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: On the starting line, back of the pack Posts: 14,025 Local Time: 12:47 PM	John Sellers' "Perfect From Now On" I'm reading this book my friend loaned me by John Sellers, called "Perfect From Now On, How Indie Rock Saved My Life" It's geared exactly to ppl my age (mid-late 30's) and written in a very snarky but self-effacing, tongue in cheek humor, in other words, my kinda book. Anyway, his description of obsession with a band was spot on and made me think a lot of this place. Here's a couple examples: "A partial list of things music has made me do: fly overseas at considerable expense to see a live performance..., nurture a crush on a goth chick way out of my league, write a love letter to a German woman made up entirely of lyrics from my favorite...band, get ticketed for doing 82(MPH) in a 55, drive around a remote area of England looking for a hero's grave..., miss a final exam, dive to the bottom of a numbingly cold Scottish pond to retrieve my favorite T-shirt, stab my thumb into the back of a fellow concert attendee's neck to get closer to the stage,..." or on musical obsession in particular: "Or you can go all in... You let it dip into every facet of your life your wardrobe, your hairstyle, the foods you eat, the drugs you take, the naming of your pets and children. Fanship of this type is generally expressed outwardly and unabashedly, and as such it tends to draw the bewilderment and ridicule of those who don't understand. Not that you really care what those morons think... you will almost certainly blog about it. Tattoos are possibly involved..." You get the idea But why is this thread here and not LS or something? Chapter 4 is entitled "If I could, you know I would let it go" and is about his first obsession, you guessed it, U2, starting with his first listen to War on his friend's walkman tape player to buying the whole catalogue from the Columbia Music Club and through feeling let down by the hype of R&H. I can't say I agree with his thought on stuff after JT but I'll leave that up to you. Oh, and sorry if there was a thread about this 2 years ago when the book was published - I have a kid, give me a break!

07-24-2009, 12:08 PM	#2
corianderstem Perfectly cromulent poster Premium Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Half-assing my way to the top. Posts: 25,783 Local Time: 11:47 AM	I LOVED THIS BOOK! I actually emailed the author after I'd read it, telling him how much I'd enjoyed it, and we had a nice little email exchange about music. It was fun. __________________ Rah-rah ah-ah-ah! Rom-ah ro-mah-mah! GaGa ooh-la-la!

07-24-2009, 05:04 PM	#8
corianderstem Perfectly cromulent poster Premium Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Half-assing my way to the top. Posts: 25,783 Local Time: 11:47 AM	I don't remember specifically about the footnotes, but I don't remember being annoyed by them, so that's probably good. I like Chuck Klosterman's silly footnotes, so if Sellers' were remotely like that, I'm sure I dug them. __________________ Rah-rah ah-ah-ah! Rom-ah ro-mah-mah! GaGa ooh-la-la!

08-13-2009, 02:21 PM	#10
bonoishot Dolphin in disguise Premium Gold Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: "Do I look like a washing machine?" Posts: 17,999 Local Time: 07:47 PM	Thanks for the recommendation Zooey. Another book I need to buy now. Just ordered it. __________________ U2 360 Tour 2009 ~~Dublin 25/07/09, Cardiff 22/08/09, Toronto 16/09/09, 17/09/09 and Boston 20/09/09 and 21/09/09(My birthday)~~ 2010 Toronto 03/07/10, Brussels 22/09/10, 23/09/10

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07-24-2009, 01:20 PM	#3
Addicted To Bad Refugee Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: ... lost on the Horizon staring at the sun! Posts: 1,362 Local Time: 05:47 PM	I DO need to read this book. It seems I´ll finally have a full explanation for having always had the feeling that Rock´s saved my life and all kinds of things music has made me do. Things I´ll never regret, ever. I´m being quite honest! Thanks zuropa_fit!

08-10-2009, 01:17 AM	#9
zuropa_fit ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: On the starting line, back of the pack Posts: 14,025 Local Time: 12:47 PM	^ I wound up skimming some of them, or just stopping when I thought it was too long!

08-15-2009, 10:09 PM	#11
zuropa_fit ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: On the starting line, back of the pack Posts: 14,025 Local Time: 12:47 PM	SWEET Jem. Let me know how you like it.

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