Update 6

Currently re-reading Jon Savage's ENGLAND'S DREAMING (1991), about the rise & fall of the Sex Pistols & British Punk Rock. 1st read it a coupla yrs back & was suprised by how good summa the writing was -- frighteningly good.
Savage was on the scene while it was happening back in '76-'77 (he includes diary Ntries from Back In The Day), & he is a brilliant observer. The mass of sheer DETAIL is amazing. This book covers many of the same happenings as Tony Parsons & Julie Burchill's thin, angry, disappointing THE BOY LOOKED AT JOHNNY, but covers them infinitely better & is much more balanced.
Especially good: Savage's recounting of the Pistols' final per4mance in San Francisco, & the long section about the decline & death of Sid Vicious. Summa this stuff is just scary. U can feel how powerful the Pistols were in concert, when they were good. & what a black hole they could create when things went bad. I wasn't even a fan, Xcept 4 "God Save the Queen," but still....
This time around I'm noticing a few minor problems w/ the book -- there R some typos, & when Savage quotes some1 yr not always sure who's speaking.
But. The clear, Dtailed storyline, the sheer mass of in4mation, the power & effectiveness of the writing, & the occasional snapshots of Punk stars & scenemakers (Poly Styrene, Siouxsie Sioux, Adam Ant, Jordan, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, Wire, The Damned, The Slits, many more) make this the best history of Punk that I know of. Hard 2 C how NE1 could do better....
Also looking at Jim DeRogatis's KALEIDOSCOPE EYES, about psychedelic/"head" music from the '60s in2 the '90s. As in most "strange music" books, the usual suspects R all here: Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Genesis, King Crimson, ELP, etc. But so far it Cms thin. Moody Blues, Caravan, Camel & others R ignored, & Yes is listed only as a must 2 avoid. Best thing I've found so far is a brief & amusing section about the history of Can, w/ great quotes from the band-members. There's some good stuff here, but....
LOCAL TALENT DEPT.: Recently heard a local (Bremerton, Wash.-area) bar-band called Soulstice. They mainly do Fleetwood Mac covers. I'm told they have some originals as well but seldom per4m them. Their version of Mac's "Seven Wonders" sounded pretty good (mayB cos I haven't heard the original that often), & I was suprised 2 hear "Silver Springs," 1 of my fave Mac songs ever. They also sounded pretty good on "Gold Dust Woman" & "The Chain," but then I always liked it when the Mac got loud. I wouldn't have minded if these folks had hit a little harder. They have a webpage at MySpace under the name "The House of Soulstice"....