Deep Cuts

https://rb.gy/1mvqok

"'You're so smart!' she said accusingly, 'I never understood it! Why would someone so smart be fixated on pop music?'"

That's what Percy's mother tells her.

My mother went to see my shrink to complain all I wanted to do was buy records and go to concerts, couldn't I get on the right track? In one of our fatal arguments, an old girlfriend told me that when she moved in with me she didn't think she was moving in with my RECORDS!

Now the record business has changed a bit since the seventies. From the music itself to the penumbra...the branding, the money. Then again, that's today's America, entrepreneurship, and if you run over a few people in the process, so be it.

But the boomers who got into the business...they'd all seen the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, most tried their hand at playing, and after failing the only way their lives could have meaning was to work with musicians, to get closer to the music.

Music used to be run by nerds. And back when the world was cohesive, many were hipsters. And Holly Brickley nails hipsters:

"She made quick work of two fundamental truths about hipsters: that they had all been miserable kids, the boys too sensitive and the girls too willful for the social systems of the late twentieth century; and that nobody wanted to admit they were one of them."

BINGO!

I can see these guys in my mind's eye instantly. With their long hair like it's still the seventies and their leather motorcycle jackets like they've ever been on a bike... They'll criticize your taste...if you like something popular, you're doomed.

And they haven't gotten the message that we no longer live in that world, that the joke is on them, that no one cares about their taste, we're all deep in our own niches foraging for satisfaction.

Me?

I'm an alienated f*ck.

And so is Percy.

This is the first rock novel I remember being from a woman's perspective. I'm sure there are more, don't bother e-mailing me about them, because rock novels are historically lame. Or a reboot of truth, like "Daisy Jones & the Six." But something brand new, that encompasses the reality and truth of being a music fan?

I'm not sure any book exists that nails it as well as "Deep Cuts."

Percy has no friends. But she can quote lyrics at you ad infinitum. And when she finds her tribe...

She doesn't forfeit her personality, but doubles-down on it. Which is gratifying in a world where everybody is shaving off their rough edges to be a member of the group. Artists are never members of the group.

Which brings me to another quote from "Deep Cuts":

"Writers are not natural collaborators."

BINGO AGAIN!

If you like to collaborate, go into the movie business.

Then again, collaboration now rules the top line music business to its detriment. Hell, a decade before he died John Lennon delineated which songs were his and which were Paul's, and rarely did the twain meet.

I'm not saying you should be immune to blowback and criticism. But you know when it's helpful and real and when it is not. Sure, bounce ideas off me, but don't expect me to take heed.

Because being a writer is about vision, about doing it your way. And if that's not your outlook, you're a hack. Plain and simple.

Write for a publication and editors will cut and twist your words to evidence that they're superior. And sure, there are people who don't know how to spell, never mind write, but they are not legends.

I've shied away from collaboration since elementary school. It's only with decades of distance that I learned that they were teaching us how to get along, to work at Procter & Gamble... I couldn't get hired at P&G or another corporation, because I don't specialize in getting along, but speaking my truth, and people don't like that.

But really they do. That's what they look to artists for.

So...

Percy is from Indiana, she's going to Berkeley and develops a crush on Joe, but he's got a longtime girlfriend Zoe.

I remember I was at Wong's West and got into this conversation with a woman... You know when it's real, when they want to hear everything you have to say, when they can't tear themselves away.

And my friend who introduced us went wild. SHE'S GOING TO GET MARRIED TO DOMINIC, BACK OFF!

Well, they broke up in a matter of weeks, but I had no way to contact her.

Anyway... Joe is a musician, and definitely not a student. And unlike most he's got talent. But not quite enough. And this is where Percy comes in.

So... Should you read this book?

Chances are you don't read any books, and I wouldn't make this the first.

And yes, there's a thread of romance throughout, I don't mean a romance novel, I mean a relationship, the push and pull. And I know this doesn't float the boat of so many men.

But if you lived for the music... Man, you'll get this book.

Every chapter is a song. And although the book is set mostly at the turn of the century, from the perspective of a millennial...Percy is also into older stuff, like "Surf's Up"...she tells how her mother turned her on to that.

And, of course, Joni and "A Case of You," which is analyzed...

Percy is into analyzing the music.

"I used the music to write about real life, pulling from half a century of songs instead of fawning over every latest indie release."

But there are indie releases, like Neutral Milk Hotel. It was eye-opening to see how Percy is as into the music from her era as I was from mine.

And you can check out the playlist here:

https://shorturl.at/BE5wZ

Have I intrigued you yet?

"Deep Cuts" is not a classic. But there's a good chance Percy is you, or me. And Joe makes headway, but it's not of the Spotify Top 50 variety.

It's hard to write about music.

But Holly Brickley captures the essence of being a fan.

You'd think people in the industry would be talking about "Deep Cuts." But either they're selling out to the Fortune 500 or complaining that their indie careers are not delivering enough bread.

At the bottom, at the base, is the music. And I bet if you're reading this at one point, if not still, it meant as much to you as it does to Percy.

Not that "Deep Cuts" is a 10 throughout.

But how many albums reach that threshold today?

"Deep Cuts" is better and more honest than most of the records out there. I don't want to overhype it, it's not that good, but there's an essence you'll resonate with.

Truly.


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