Veteran music critic Shane Pinnegar goes deep on rock ‘n’ roll movies in his fourth book.
Rocksploitation, the new book by Shane Pinnegar, has a simple remit. It’s an exploration of the crossover of movies and music or, more specifically, movies about music. End even more specifically, rock ‘n’roll movies.
You know the sort. Hell, there’s probably a few on your shelf or in your hard drive. This Is Spinal Tap, The Girl Can’t Help It, A Hard Day’s Night, The Blues Brothers, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Slade in Flame, Almost Famous, and so on. Having set himself a few parameters (fiction films only, rock n’ roll a central plot device; no biopics, no live films, no docos), Veteran music critic Pinnegar dives into 69 of ’em, offering up behind the scenes info and critical appraisal.
Having run the independent music website 100% Rock for a dozen years, he also throws in archival interviews from the likes of Andrew Dice Clay (The Adventures of Ford Fairlane), Andrew Strong (The Commitments), Martha Davis (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) and Martin Kemp (Sugar Town), plus new chats with Rock ‘n’ Roll High School director Allan Arkush and Seiji of Guitar Wolf.
Plus there are new contributions from musos and music fans Dom Mariani (The Stems) Joe Kapiteyn (Infected), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Dave Warner, Mark Arm (The Saints), and more.
Now, in the interests of full disclosure: I know Shane thanks to a bit of career overlap in Perth. In fact, I know him well enough that he asked me to write the Rocksploitation foreword. So here’s me quoting the press release quoting me:
“It’s an epic journey taking in revered classics and cult oddities alike. Want to know Robert Englund’s stunt double on The Adventures of Ford Fairlane once kicked the crap out of Jean Claude Van Damme? Want to know how The Ramones wound up in Rock ‘n’ Roll High School? Want to learn how to cut a deal for fame and fortune down at the Crossroads? Want to know what the hell possessed Bob Dylan to make Hearts on Fire? Shane knows, and if he doesn’t he’ll point you in the right direction.”
Positively Brechtian.
But Rocksploitation is the sort of book I’d snap up in any case, and the sort I’d put in front of the BLUNT readership’s eyes, so I’m fairly certain it all evens out. Check it out for yourself.
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