Grove Press, Black Cat – serie

The true story of the fourth-grade teacher in Dayton, Ohio, who created one of the most influential bands of our times.Devoted fans have followed Guided by Voices for decades—and critics around the world have lauded the band's brain trust, Robert Pollard, as a once-in-a-generation artist. Pollard has been compared by the New York Times to Mozart, Rossini, and Paul McCartney (in the same sentence) and everyone from P. J. Harvey, Radiohead, R.E.M., the Strokes, and U2 has sung his praises and cited his music as an influence.But it all started rather prosaically when Pollard, a fourth-grade teacher in his early thirties, began recording songs with drinking buddies in his basement. In this book, James Greer, an acclaimed music writer and former Spin editor—who also played in the band for two years—provides unparalleled insight and complete access to the workings of Pollard's muse.

In the pages of The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Esquire, New York, Maxim, and GQ, Mark Jacobson has carried on in the tradition of such titans as Joe Mitchell, A. J. Liebling, Jimmy Breslin, and Pete Hamill as one of New York City's finest journalistic provocateurs. Now he collects the best of his years in Teenage Hipster in the Modern World.Jacobson has been witness to a decidedly different sort of history. His "beats" range far and wide, delving into the realms of politics, sports, and celebrity in pieces on such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Julius Erving, Chuck Berry, Pam Grier (in her Scream, Blacula, Scream days), Martin Scorsese, and many others. But for Jacobson, New York City has always been Topic Number One. Jacobson tells the story of the city in his classic essays on the beginnings of punk rock back in the times of "pregentrification" to the heart-wrenching days of 9/11.With a foreword from best-selling author Richard Price, Teenage Hipster in the Modern World is a hilarious and poignant snapshot of a city, a generation, and a man who wonders how he went from hanging out at CBGB to being an AARP card-holding father of three.