Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Book of the YEAR! Max Décharné - "A Rocket In My Pocket: The Hipster's Guide to Rockabilly Music" (Serpent's Tail, 2010)

For people not in the hoax, Max Décharné is a multi-talented person, mostly known as a musician. He began as the drummer of the Brit swampabillys, the Gallon Drunk but he played also a key role in the Dean Martin version of the Cramps, the Earls of Suave. Not much after this he created the Flaming Stars, a rare in taste rock & roll band. An original rock & roll street preacher full on (or of) culture. His impecable taste on movies, books and of course music, ranking him as the best of a kind that sadly fades, the last 20 years (at least for me)! 
When he finally tried his luck on writing a book he just topped! Hipster, with a deep knowledge of language, slang, records and facts of what generally called now "Rock & Roll" culture. 
Max Décharné was the last man interviewed by legendary John Peel. Both were mutual admirers. 
"Rocket in My Pocket", is what the title exactly says. "The Hipsters guide to Rockabilly music". I bought it yesterday and i'm SO hooked on this, that i stopped reading it only for going to work or sleep (late). An a few days ago release (in other words FRESH!) that certainly won't let you disappointed! As every other book by Max did. Forasmuch Billy Miller or Miriam Linna don't write a book, Max will be the one and only in the square that really deserves your time and money! Buy "Rocket in My Pocket" NOW!


Max Décharné's Bibliography:

  • Beat Your Relatives To A Bloody Pulp & Other Stories, Malice Aforethought Press, 1989
  • The Prisoner Of Brenda & Other Stories, Malice Aforethought Press, 1991
  • I Was A Teenage Warehouse & Other Stories, Thirst Editions, 1997
  • Straight From the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang, No Exit Press, 2000
  • Hardboiled Hollywood – The Origins of the Great Crime Films, No Exit Press, 2003
  • King's Road: The Rise And Fall of the Hippest Street in the World, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005
  • A Rocket In My Pocket: The Hipster's Guide to Rockabilly Music, Serpent's Tail, 2010

PS: As an accompaniment to this, the great ACE Records, told Max to compile a CD full of rockabilly blasts well chosen and with just one thing in mind, to get WILD! If you don't already own the lot, if not all of these toons, well here's your chance! Take a look here!





7 comments:

  1. Any chance of having it uploaded? I'd be SOOO grateful! Your blog is great, thank you very much!

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  2. Thanks for the kind words King of Soul, but sorry mate, can't do that. It is against my principals. It's a brand new item and I'm not gonna take the food off the mouth by some people. This blogs only intention is to share passion and turn (some) people's heads to things i believe deserve some better treatment. Do yourself a favor pal and go buy these little two treasures. And if you like some of my uploads, you really need to buy these items too. Cause if someday stop exist "companies" like Norton or Ace for example, we will be A LOT POORER!

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  3. CD available for less than a tenner on amazon.uk, should I say more at the expense of being rude. I should not think so, love the music and buy the bloody records...
    Cyrille straight out of the fridge...

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  4. Super comp this a great starter for 10 .... Norton/ Ace/ Bear Family/Charley releases are always on the button...great stuff I'm off to order the book lunchtime...The power of the internet....As for Gallon Drunk always a crowd pleaser

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  5. Just bought the book last week at the Flaming Stars 100 Club show. Only about a third of the wayy through it, at the moment, but it's probably the best extended piece I've read on the British rockabilly experience. And, all respect to them, but i'm not sure that Billy & Miriam could do any better...

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  6. "And, all respect to them, but i'm not sure that Billy & Miriam could do any better... "

    --Maybe you're right Colin, in a way that Max goes deeper and deeper on this. From the start of the genre as "hillbilly" back in 1900 (!) and blow by blow, checks on every possible little detail (movies, TV, labels, reissues, revival etc)! I mean, that's for sure a work of a scientist, an archeologist in specific words. But Billy & Miriam, had their unique and hilarious way to tell a story without leaving out the details, that made me still after all these years referring to 'em as thee best! But it doesn't matter anyway, we 're totally lucky that we have people around like Max or Billy & Miriam! Von Grumpy and anonymous, thanks for stopping by again here, guys! Cheers lads!

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