Insiders' accounts of the deals behind the fusion of creativity and commerce in film and television.

This book is a collection of essays that examine the work of filmmakers whose concern is not just for the eye, but also for the ear.

“Hollywood Eden brings the lost humanity of the record business vividly back to life ... [Selvin’s] style is blunt, unpretentious and brisk; he knows how to move things along entertainingly ... Songs about surfboards and convertibles had turned quaint, but in this book, their coolness is restored.” — New York Times From surf music to hot-rod records to the sunny pop of the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, the Byrds, and the Mama’s & the Papa’s, Hollywood Eden captures the fresh blossom of a young generation who came together in the epic spring of the 1960s to invent the myth of the California Paradise. Central to the story is a group of sun-kissed teens from the University High School class of 1959 — a class that included Jan & Dean, Nancy Sinatra, and future members of the Beach Boys — who came of age in Los Angeles at the dawn of a new golden era when anything seemed possible. These were the people who invented the idea of modern California for the rest of the world. But their own private struggles belied the paradise portrayed in their music. What began as a light-hearted frolic under sunny skies ended up crashing down to earth just a few short but action-packed years later as, one by one, each met their destinies head-on. A rock ’n’ roll opera loaded with violence, deceit, intrigue, low comedy, and high drama, Hollywood Eden tells the story of a group of young artists and musicians who bumped heads, crashed cars, and ultimately flew too close to the sun.

"This lady is a big breath of hope in a cynical age."--from the Introduction by John Nichols

A raucous cultural history of rock’s relationship with the moving image. When rock ’n’ roll burst into life in the 1950s, the shockwaves echoed around the world, amplified by images of untamed youth projected on cinema screens. But for the performers themselves, corporate showbusiness remained very much in control, contriving a series of cash-in movies to exploit the new musical fad. In this riveting cultural history, John Scanlan explores rock’s relationship with the moving image over seven decades in cinema, television, music videos, advertising, and YouTube. Along the way, he shows how rock was exploited, how it inspired film pioneers, and, not least, the film transformations it caused over more than half a century. From Elvis Presley to David Bowie, and from Scorpio Rising to the films of Scorsese and DIY documentarists like Don Letts, this is a unique retelling of the story of rock—from birth to old age—through its onscreen life.

A collection of the authors works that explore evil disguised as virtue.

They’ve sold more than 20 million albums, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they’re one of Homer Simpson’s favorite bands—but even today, fifty years after they first formed, Cheap Trick remains to many a club band with a cult following. They certainly started out that way, with a carnival-like stage show featuring four perfectly mismatched characters: guitarist Rick Nielsen, in bowtie, sweater, and baseball cap, stood next to blonde dreamboat Robin Zander, while the mysterious, chestnut-haired bassist Tom Peterson held down the bottom end with drummer Bun E. Carlos, never seen without his cigarette or tie. American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond tells the unlikely story of the band’s path to greatness, from their origins in Rockford, Illinois to their massively successful live album At Budokan to the many, many ups and downs that followed. This is a rollicking tale of artistic genius, rock excess, hilarious misbehavior, chance encounters with music’s biggest names, and international stardom that brought new meaning to the phrase “big in Japan.” Drawing on exhaustive research and interviews, American Standard gives an intimate look at a truly original band—whether you consider them rock icons or criminally underrated,