Bang Your Head

出版者:Three Rivers Press

作者:David Konow

页数:496

出版时间:2002

价格:138.00元

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780609807323

具体描述

From Publishers Weekly

In a book that never quite gets rolling, Konow, a writer for Guitar World, sets out to give a timeline of heavy metal while answering "three key questions: what went right, what went wrong, and what the hell happened?" He begins in Birmingham, England, which he argues is the birthplace of heavy metal, with its most popular statesman today, Ozzy Osbourne. As a revolt against the hippie movement and in part to save himself from a life of crime, Osbourne formed Black Sabbath. At the same time, Led Zeppelin formed from the "ashes of the Yardbirds," and after finally gathering enough members (Keith Moon of the Who turned them down, quipping that they'd sink "like a lead zeppelin," which is how Jimmy Page decided on the name), held a jam session. Konow continues in a chronological fashion, briefly sketching band bios, triumphs and downfalls. Without exploiting each band's debauchery or disintegration, Konow covers such other metal acts such as Alice Cooper, Kiss, Van Halen, M"tley Cre, Dokken, Def Leppard, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Guns 'n' Roses and many others. The portraits of Alice Cooper and Axl Rose are the most engaging parts of the book. However, the chapters read more like magazine articles than a coherent book. Hardcore metal fans will likely find the book a bit soft and too pop, and they're unlikely to learn any new stories. In the final pages, Konow attempts an analysis of the fall of heavy metal, but by that point, so many bands have risen and fallen that his curt summation is hardly satisfying. This is an inspired personal effort that won't chart.

Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This book tells the story of heavy-metal music from its beginning in the late '60s through its precipitous decline in the early '90s. Black Sabbath, the first featured band, got its start in 1969 when its members were just out of high school, a scenario that repeats itself with many of the other groups. With Ozzy Osbourne arguably more popular than ever before, thanks to his family's MTV reality show, teens will enjoy reading how he got into music to escape jail or factory work. Most of the stories follow the same pattern-band struggles; band hits it big; band's success is derailed by money, drugs, and personality conflicts. Some of the groups, like Poison, Ratt, and W.A.S.P, will probably seem laughable to today's teens, while Metallica and the members of Motley Crue are still in the limelight. The author has a chatty, anecdotal style and spares no expense as he shares tales of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Often, those who abused drugs died prematurely, cautionary tales that won't go unnoticed. Several pages of notes show that Konow had firsthand access to many of the musicians. Black-and-white photographs, mainly by the prolific Neil Zlozower, open each chapter. There is no discography. This book will be popular with those who enjoy the heavy-metal genre, as well as with those who want to see how to succeed (or not) in the music business.

Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore

Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

用户评价

我必须承认，这本书的语言风格极具辨识度，简直像是在听一位饱经风霜的爵士乐手即兴演奏。它的句子结构时常出乎意料，长短句的交错运用，营造出一种独特的韵律感，让人仿佛置身于一个喧闹的酒馆，听着一个醉汉用他那套逻辑自洽却又充满矛盾的哲学，讲述他眼中的世界真相。作者似乎毫不避讳使用那些在主流文学中可能被视为粗俗或过于直白的词汇，但这恰恰是其力量的来源——它拒绝美化生活的丑陋面，而是用最本真的方式将其呈现。书中的对话更是精彩，充满了潜台词和未尽之意，你需要不断地停下来，回味那些看似简单的几句交流中隐藏的权力斗争和情感暗涌。阅读体验是高度互动的，你不能指望作者为你铺平一切道路，相反，你得自己去填补那些留白的意象，去揣摩那些反复出现的象征符号的真正含义。从文学技法上讲，它糅合了意识流的碎片化和现实主义的犀利，构建了一个既熟悉又陌生的世界观。读完后，我感觉自己的词汇量没有增加多少，但对人性的某些阴暗角落的理解深度却被强行提升了一个量级。这是一种不舒服的成长，但无疑是深刻的。

这本书的叙事骨架，用通俗点说，就是一团缠绕不清的线球，但你一旦找到那个关键的结点，整个结构就会以一种令人惊喜的方式松开。我最欣赏的是它对“边缘人”群体的刻画，那种游离于主流社会之外的个体，他们如何挣扎求生、如何建构自己的道德体系，都被描绘得入木三分。这些人物不是传统意义上的英雄或恶棍，他们是活生生的、充满灰色地带的矛盾体。举个例子，书中那位退役的工程师，他的日常行为逻辑看似荒谬，但放在他所处的特定情境下，却是实现某种微小尊严的唯一途径。作者的高明之处在于，他没有对这些行为进行道德审判，而是用一种近乎人类学观察者的冷峻视角，记录下这一切。书中的情节推进常常依赖于环境的突变而非人物的意志决定，这让故事带有一种宿命论的悲剧色彩，让人在为人物的命运叹息时，也不得不思考我们自身对命运的掌控力到底有多少。这本书更像是对现代社会异化现象的一份沉重注脚，它没有提供答案，只是提出了足够尖锐的问题，让读者在合上书本后，依旧无法停止追问。

这本书的开篇就以一种近乎野蛮的坦诚，将我拽入了一个光怪陆离的叙事迷宫。作者的笔触粗粝而富有生命力，像是在用砂纸打磨一块璞玉，每一个棱角都带着岁月的痕迹和不甘的呐喊。故事情节的推进充满了不可预测性，人物的命运如同脱缰的野马，在理智与疯狂的边缘反复横跳。我特别欣赏作者对于环境氛围的营造，那种压抑却又透着一丝诡谲希望的城市气息，仿佛能透过纸页闻到潮湿的霉味和夜晚霓虹灯下混杂的酒精气味。主人公的内心挣扎被剖析得淋漓尽致，他的每一次抉择都像是在刀尖上跳舞，让我这个局外人看得心惊肉跳，却又忍不住想知道他下一步会如何自毁或重生。叙事节奏的掌控堪称一绝，时而如同慢镜头下的特写，细致入微地描摹人物的微表情和心理活动，时而又如同疾风骤雨般的动作场面，让人喘不过气来。这本书需要的不是被动地阅读，而是需要一种全身心的投入和对抗，读者必须准备好被它挑战，被它的逻辑颠覆，甚至被它粗暴地推搡到舒适区的边界之外。那种阅读后的余韵，不是甜美的回味，而是一种被重塑后的清醒和略带眩晕的震撼。它不是一本用来消遣的书，更像是一次需要付出代价的智力与情感的冒险。

我发现这本书的魅力在于它近乎偏执的细节还原能力。作者仿佛拥有一个超高清的录像机，能够捕捉到那些我们日常生活中习以为常、却从未真正“看见”的微小细节。比如描述一次在拥挤公交车上的眼神交汇，他能细致到描述光线如何穿过车窗的灰尘颗粒，如何折射在对面乘客的眼球上，以及在那零点几秒内，双方内心可能上演的复杂拉锯战。这种对感官细节的极致捕捉，使得小说中的世界具有一种令人不安的真实感，仿佛这本书就是对某个平行宇宙的真实记录。然而，正是这种过于真实的表皮下，潜藏着最深刻的荒诞。人物的行为模式，虽然源于对现实的模仿，但在累积到一定程度后，便自然而然地滑向了超现实的边缘。它挑战了我们对“正常”的定义，让我们怀疑，我们所认为的常态，是否只是集体催眠下的一个暂时的共识。这本书的节奏是内敛而深沉的，它不会用爆炸性的事件来吸引你，而是用无数微小的、持续的压力，慢慢地在你心头压上一块沉重的石头，直到你不得不停下来，认真审视这块石头——也就是作者所呈现的，我们所处的这个世界。

如果用音乐术语来形容，这本书的结构更像是一部反传统的交响乐，充满了不和谐音和突然的变调。它的章节划分看似随意，但仔细推敲，你会发现每一个段落的长度、每一个场景的切换，都经过了精密的计算，以达到最大化的心理冲击效果。书中反复出现的几个核心意象——比如某个特定的街道标志，或者某段固定的旋律——它们在不同的章节中被赋予了不断累积和变化的情感重量，这种手法极具功力，展现了作者对“潜文本”构建的深刻理解。我尤其欣赏作者对“时间”的处理，它不是线性的，而是螺旋上升或骤然折叠的，过去的回响常常猛烈地侵入到当下，使得人物的每一个行动都承载了过往的全部重量。这种复杂的时间感，使得读者必须保持高度的专注力，稍有走神，就可能错过一个关键的转折点。阅读过程像是一场需要全神贯注的解谜游戏，但谜题的答案不是一个简单的结论，而是一种对存在本质的更深层次的体验。它成功地将一种近乎形而上的探讨，包裹在了极其接地气的，甚至是粗粝的日常细节之中。