Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Body Count (33 1/3) is available for pre-order


 On Ice-T's 1991 classic O.G. Original Gangster, he introduced his all-Black hardcore band Body Count with lead guitarist Ernie C, bringing them on the first-ever Lollapalooza tour that summer. The next year, Body Count's self-titled debut album, rounded out by rhythm guitarist D-Roc the Executioner, bassist Mooseman, and drummer Beatmaster V, made them the most incendiary band in the world, confronting white supremacy and police brutality with pulverizing songs that shattered musical boundaries. Body Count's rage and shock humor sparked nationwide protests and boycotts, including death threats, censure from the federal government, a spot on the FBI National Threat list, and a denunciation by the President of the United States. The album was removed from stores and remains banned to this day, but decades later Body Count are performing to their biggest audiences and greatest acclaim, pulling off one of the most remarkable comebacks in punk or metal history.

Drawn from years of research and dozens of new interviews, this is the story of a band of high school friends who revolutionized modern music, brought explosive live performances, and raised questions America's lawmakers didn't want to answer, overcoming some of the country's most powerful forces to reshape the world's cultural conversation.

Available from Bloomsbury.


Friday, February 10, 2023

For Ilja Wachs


I wish everyone could have a teacher like Ilja Wachs. He had a wealth of kindness and wisdom, and opened up more worlds to me than I'll ever be able to count. I've never met anyone else with that contagious enthusiasm for literature, one that elevated everybody's moods and brought out the best in all of us. 

He was like a great musician who knew the notes and scales so well that he could wing it. No syllabus or clear structure, but captivated the room with his brilliance. Every day was magic. I'm sure it's no coincidence that most of my favorite books are ones he taught me.

When I pitched my first book, I connected song lyrics to ideas that Tolstoy explored in War and Peace. When I started to really struggle, I tried modeling it after Moby-Dick. I never would have felt brave enough to try any of that without Ilja's classes years ago. 

Thank you, Ilja, for helping me find myself and for making so many of us the readers we are today. "In token of my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to Ilja Wachs."

Friday, December 10, 2021

Sunday, August 22, 2021

Metallica: The 24.95 Book

 


"The metal band everybody knows—but nobody has ever figured out. Ben Apatoff has taken the ultimate deep dive into the dark legend of Metallica, one of rock's weirdest and most fascinating mysteries. In this brilliant book, he tells the definitive story of how a band of nobodies took on the world—and why the world will never be the same."

—Rob Sheffield, author of Dreaming the Beatles

METALLICA: THE $24.95 BOOK looks at Metallica's cultural significance, with chapters devoted to each member, each album, touring, fashion, books, film, influences, fandom, history, and more, exploring the band's ideologies along the way. With more than 125 million records sold worldwide, Metallica is the biggest metal band of all time. Four decades into their unparalleled career, Metallica is a massive cultural force who drastically changed the sound of popular music by creating their own rules. Yet for all their popularity, Metallica can seem impenetrable, raising more questions and inspiring more discourse as their mythos grows.

Metallica, by dedicated fan and music journalist Ben Apatoff, including previously unpublished photos and a foreword by What Are You Doing Here? author Laina Dawes, provides an in-depth look at the band and their music that both die-hard fans and newcomers can enjoy.

Available now.

Monday, March 29, 2021

For Whom Michelle Tolls

 For Whom Michelle Tolls

  1. Metallica, "Fuel"
  2. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Higher Ground"
  3. Nine Inch Nails, "Terrible Lie"
  4. Queens of the Stone Age, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" 
  5. Motörhead, "Ace of Spades" 
  6. Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg, "Let's Do It" 
  7. Monster Magnet, "Powertrip" 
  8. Def Leppard, "Animal" 
  9. Anthrax, "Got the Time" 
  10. L7, "Shitlist" 
  11. Mötley Crüe, "Kickstart My Heart" 
  12. Judas Priest, "Living After Midnight" 
  13. ZZ Top, "Pincushion" 
  14. AC/DC "Thunderstruck" 
  15. Gwar, "Sick of You" 
  16. Rage Against the Machine, "Testify" 
  17. Rob Zombie, "Living Dead Girl" 
  18. Iron Maiden, "The Number of the Beast" 
  19. Living Colour, "What's Your Favorite Colour" 
  20. Van Halen, "Jump"
  21. Macy Gray, "Nothing Else Matters"
For MLC.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Michellica


  1. Metallica, "Enter Sandman"
  2. Nine Inch Nails, "Head Like a Hole"
  3. Anthrax and Public Enemy, "Bring the Noise"
  4. Faith No More, "Falling to Pieces"
  5. Rob Zombie, "Dragula"
  6. Sepultura, "Ratamahatta"
  7. Motörhead and Girlschool, "Please Don't Touch"
  8. Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"
  9. Pearl Jam, "Animal"
  10. L7, "Pretend We're Dead"
  11. Queens of the Stone Age, "No One Knows"
  12. Danzig, "Mother"
  13. Pantera, "Cat Scratch Fever"
  14. Deftones, "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)"
  15. Alice Cooper, "Poison"
  16. King's X, "It's Love"
  17. Rage Against the Machine, "Killing in the Name"
  18. Shakira, "Nothing Else Matters/Despedida"
For MLC.

Monday, March 18, 2019

Planet of the Wolves

Planet of the Wolves


  1. Mastodon, "The Wolf is Loose"
  2. Guitar Wolf, "Planet of the Wolves"
  3. Ozzy Osbourne, "Bark at the Moon"
  4. X, "Hungry Wolf"
  5. The Cramps, "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"
  6. High on Fire, "Speedwolf"
  7. Motörhead featuring Michael Palin, "The Wolf"
  8. Misery Index, "Fed to the Wolves"
  9. Metallica, "Of Wolf and Man"
  10. Converge, "Lonewolves"
  11. The Dillinger Escape Plan, "Sunshine the Werewolf"
  12. Hole, "Hungry Like the Wolf"
  13. Ramones, "Howling At The Moon (Sha-La-La)"
  14. Local H, "Wolf Like Me"
  15. Amon Amarth, "Father of the Wolf"
  16. Rancid, "The Wolf"
  17. The Hu Band, "Wolf Totem"
  18. Megadeth, "She-Wolf"
  19.  Queens of the Stone Age, "Someone's in the Wolf"
  20. Danzig, "Killer Wolf"
For KIP.