Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Rock on: An Office Power Ballad
by
Dan Kennedy
How do you land a sweet six-figure marketing gig at the hallowed record label known for having signed everyone from Led Zeppelin to Stone Temple Pilots? You start with a resume like Dan Kennedy's:
- Dressed up as a member of Kiss every Halloween
- Memorized Led Zeppelin IV at age ten
- Fronted a lip-sync band in junior high
- Worked as a college DJ while he was a college...more
- Dressed up as a member of Kiss every Halloween
- Memorized Led Zeppelin IV at age ten
- Fronted a lip-sync band in junior high
- Worked as a college DJ while he was a college...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
February 12th 2008
by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
(first published January 1st 2008)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,725)
A part of me is amazed this "book" even got published, but then I remind myself that books about inspecting your own excrement get published, as do little business fables involving rodents and hyperkinetic dairy products. Not only that, but people buy them in large numbers. So who's to fault Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for choosing to roll the dice on this one?
Oh, what the hell, I'll step forward and chastise them. If there was ever a book that really had no need to be published, it's this on...more
Oh, what the hell, I'll step forward and chastise them. If there was ever a book that really had no need to be published, it's this on...more
Apr 29, 2008
Finney Jean Soda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Music nerds, Humorists, Record store clerks, Musicians
A HILARIOUS account of the dying record industry. An absolute must for music nerds, especially those who grew up buying vinyl. Part music love story, part scathing criticism. Kennedy is a very funny writer -- I laughed aloud -- but he's also well-informed about music. His passion shows. Knowledge of pop/rock music history is helpful, but not really necessary. Kennedy's heightened self-awareness, self-loathing, and general misanthropia is enough to keep the musically ignorant amused.
a lovely girl in a white hat sent me a copy of this book with a note that said, this will make you wet your pants. and not only is this book hilarious but it is that perfect evocation of my generation that grew up staring at the walls in our bedrooms. i remember listening to tonight's the night by neil young on vinyl, which i slid out from my brothers collection and carried back to my room, dropped the needle, shut the door, and watched the light in a square from the window travel down the wall...more
2 likes
·
like
· see review
Rock On: An office power ballad by Dan Kennedy is an unapologetic Gen-X book about the author's experiences inside a corporate record label that straddles the line between memoir and novel. It is wry, sarcastic, neurotic and self-referential in all the ways that we (as gen-exers and post gen-exers) have come to love in our media. There are lists and side notes on fake bands and real bands and almost-were artists and have-been artists, not to mention the casual references to real public figures a...more
Irritating. Kennedy got a job at Atlantic Records in 2001 or so, and the place was most definitely not rockin'. He works there 18 months, then gets let go when it gets bought out. Some good stories about office etiquette (great bit about how hard it is to talk to bosses' dogs with the correct marriage of friendliness and formality), but the whole attitude is really problematic: it's like he's too cool to really want to do a good job, so he has to mock the place; but of course that sort of irony...more
Rock On
by Dan Kennedy
Does life in corporate America baffle you? Do you catch yourself theorizing regularly about how executives make 7 digits a YEAR? What is it they DO? Rock On doesn't explain any of this satisfactorily, but it does allow its reader a reprieve from the seriousness of it all.
When I picked up this book I approached it cautiously. I don't normally get excited about pop culture memoirs and I didn't expect this to be any different. I was very interested in reading a memoir by Dan Ke...more
by Dan Kennedy
Does life in corporate America baffle you? Do you catch yourself theorizing regularly about how executives make 7 digits a YEAR? What is it they DO? Rock On doesn't explain any of this satisfactorily, but it does allow its reader a reprieve from the seriousness of it all.
When I picked up this book I approached it cautiously. I don't normally get excited about pop culture memoirs and I didn't expect this to be any different. I was very interested in reading a memoir by Dan Ke...more
Hipster lit types will know from his work at mcsweeneys.net that Kennedy is first and foremost an absurdist. Secondly, a sort of Morrissey-meets-Sedaris type who spins miserablism into keen observation and laughs for the shoe-gazer set. This is bliss for some and a little bit like being drugged then robbed for others. One shouldn't enter into "Rock On" expecting a top-level executive shake down of the music industry. Instead plan to feel a bit like meeting a tortured and semi-neurotic everyman w...more
I expected something different from Dan Kennedy, the guy who introduces the weekly Moth podcast. The book is a compilation of his flitting thoughts while working a desk job at a corporate record label. It's a quick, hyper-witty read, but the author's lack of critical personal insight makes it fall flat. What I really mean is: he used 'gay' in a derogatory way, referred to people as ' midgets' & was trying for racial humor in a chapter. ulgh. It's brain spew from someone who appears to have n...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The main thing that chapped my ass about this book was its conscious aw-shucks-I-was-just-lucky minimization of what it takes to get into a position like the one Kennedy held, briefly, as a record-label flunky (or, for that matter, freelancing as an advertising consultant, or writing for McSweeney's, both of which Kennedy also did). There's knowing The Right People to make something happen for you, and there's scratching and clawing to make it happen for yourself, and then there's having the soc...more
Funny and forgettable.
There are some laugh-out-loud moments in this book, especially those depicting the culture of marketing meetings and the you-wanna-be-a-winner-don't-ya attitudes so rife in corporate America. Mr. Kennedy's at his best when he's writing bits that could describe *any* corporation. Why? Because we already know that the music industry is more interested in money than talent and that it's out of touch. I wonder just how many people Dan Kennedy's age really are naive enough to th...more
There are some laugh-out-loud moments in this book, especially those depicting the culture of marketing meetings and the you-wanna-be-a-winner-don't-ya attitudes so rife in corporate America. Mr. Kennedy's at his best when he's writing bits that could describe *any* corporation. Why? Because we already know that the music industry is more interested in money than talent and that it's out of touch. I wonder just how many people Dan Kennedy's age really are naive enough to th...more
Poor Dan Kennedy! After years of being a devoted rock fan, he finally lands his "dream" job in marketing at Atlantic Records. In the eighteen months he is there, he has to come up with new ways to promote products using the company’s recording artists, watch the company bought out by a group of investors (mass layoffs ensue), and become completely disillusioned with the music industry. (Kennedy also receives a pink slip after the buy out).
In Rock On: An Office Power Ballad, Kennedy offers a smal...more
In Rock On: An Office Power Ballad, Kennedy offers a smal...more
Jul 10, 2009
AJ Conroy
marked it as to-read
From Gapers Block:
About the Book: Rock On is the honest experience of Dan Kennedy while he worked for a major label in the late '90s, just as the music industry was officially and totally starting to fall apart. Kennedy literally falls into a job that many dream of, and goes along for the ride in the weird world known as the music industry. He's honest about the events he witnessed, and doesn't sugarcoat the eccentric world he was dropped in.
Why I like it: When I was little I dreamed of working...more
About the Book: Rock On is the honest experience of Dan Kennedy while he worked for a major label in the late '90s, just as the music industry was officially and totally starting to fall apart. Kennedy literally falls into a job that many dream of, and goes along for the ride in the weird world known as the music industry. He's honest about the events he witnessed, and doesn't sugarcoat the eccentric world he was dropped in.
Why I like it: When I was little I dreamed of working...more
Every literary-minded person who has done time in corporate America thinks "One day, I am going to write a hilarious book about all this and it will have been all worth while." Every one of them. I am one of those people; I even have a spreadsheet somewhere of fake replacement names for former co-workers. But few, if any of us will write that book, and even if we do, most of those books will not be as funny and poignant as Dan Kennedy's tale of selling out to the mid-to-upper reaches of the reco...more
At first it was blowing my mind that this guy was suprised by what a bunch of douchebags 95% of his coworkers were but then it occurred to me that some people that haven't worked in this business for years might still harbor some sort of romantic feeling that it really might still be about the music at major labels. No dice my friend.
What was even more fun was guessing who he was talking about in some of these instances and putting faces to names.
What was even more fun was guessing who he was talking about in some of these instances and putting faces to names.
1 like
·
like
· see review
Some people - through wit and grit - manage to turn the most pedestrian of experiences into epic dramas. Kennedy was mid-level management at a record company (or whatever you call such entities these days) for a year and a half, and he both gets and makes more out of it than your average world-shaking titan. This is both a hilariously brilliant tour through the Culture Industry and one man's descent into the heart of corporate darkness.
1 like
·
like
· see review
I know I always love love love books about music, but I really loved the writing in this one. Along the same lines as a Chuck Klosterman book, this was the true story of a man who worked for Atlantic Records and was a little put off by the day to day. His stories were great and the way he split up the chapters had me flying through the book. If you like music, memoirs, and quick-witted writing, read this book.
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
Given his association with the McSweeney's set (authors like Dave Eggers and Sarah Vowell), it's no surprise that critics found Dan Kennedy's book to exhibit the self-conscious-yet-genuine wit to which that journal aspires. Many reviewers go gaga for this sort of thing; others think it's a tone whose time has passed. But even the latter group enjoyed Kennedy's memoir, whether because of the subject matter or the author's true respect for honest creativity and the people who, for better or worse,
...more
This book has terrible reviews here, and I think a lot of it is reaction to the guy himself. Dan Kennedy comes off as a terrible person. He has so much bad to say about people who don't seem to have done much to deserve. He somehow ended up in a cushy middle management position in the music biz despite not seeming to be particularly talented. And once he got there, he seemed to be too weak of an individual to distinguish himself in any way. There's a lot of scenes here that revolve around him be...more
Not nearly as funny I'd hoped it would be after reading the blurbs on the front/back. It's way too scattered, unfocused and all over the place. There are some funny bits but they are just quick bursts that can't maintain their humor past a few lines here and there. Kennedy writes about what it's like to work for a major label in the music industry during the beginning of the downfall of the industry, but he goes way off topic too many times and his stories are so thinly constructed that there is...more
Dear Dan Kennedy,
Thanks for making me laugh out loud at work. Those are the best times in my little beige cubicle. I have a built in affection for Rock On and actually reading this book has only helped that grow. (My former coworker and I, at our former job, made a power ballad about bookselling in a cheesy bookselling competition that we won.)
The book is a funny paranoid look at office life. It's like the inside of my head, but better sense I can laugh at it. Office life is the same everywhere...more
Thanks for making me laugh out loud at work. Those are the best times in my little beige cubicle. I have a built in affection for Rock On and actually reading this book has only helped that grow. (My former coworker and I, at our former job, made a power ballad about bookselling in a cheesy bookselling competition that we won.)
The book is a funny paranoid look at office life. It's like the inside of my head, but better sense I can laugh at it. Office life is the same everywhere...more
The short description: Dilbert at Atlantic Records. Dan Kennedy takes fear of losing a job and describes it through a series of what are like stand-up bits. Although describing his time in Atlantic Records, with all the music industry insider stories, the people and the situations he described were more universal. I recognized at least a few former bosses and co-workers, and I'm not in the music industry. While over-the-top funny in many places, the story felt very over-the-top reading it all at...more
A frequently funny memoir about working in the marketing department of Atlantic Records by a thirtysomething McSweeney's contributor.
3.5 stars. This was fun. A quick, funny read. Unique, personable voice I could hear very well. I picked this up because of the Moth, at the end of EVERY podcast, "Dan Kennedy is the author of Rock On: An Office Power Ballad" ... so I can't call it just "Rock On", btw...it's got to be the full title...so I finally picked it up. It was fun. I'm not a huge music person, but I do appreciate enough of pop culture to get that part of it...and certainly he taps right into that oh-crap-here-I-am-in-a-co...more
I wasn't really liking this one anyway, but I had to put it away after this gem: "I've only ever met one woman who understand that you [bassists:] aren't playing the guitar solo in the middle eight bars of the song. And the only reason she understood the difference between the lead guitarist and the bass guitarist is because she was a brilliant bassist."
Thanks, Dan Kennedy, I really needed you to explain to me the difference between a guitar and a bass. I will continue to listen to your Moth pod...more
Thanks, Dan Kennedy, I really needed you to explain to me the difference between a guitar and a bass. I will continue to listen to your Moth pod...more
This is a must read for anyone who is a big fan of popular music. Dan Kennedy's apparently true story of his experience working for a major music label is laugh-out-funny-- not to mention quite insightful. Even people who aren't familiar with the music biz will recognize the corporate soul-sucking intra-office politics. As a longtime contributor for the online humor site McSweeneys.net, Kennedy's humor translates well to a novel-length book. This is a quick and exceptionally funny read, which I...more
I kind of hate that all my Goodreads reviews lately are "OMG WHITE GUYS, WHY ARE YOU SUCH ... WHITE GUYS?" but, well, here we are.
Katie warned me that I might not like this book because I have severe embarrassment squick. There were a few times when I was embarrassed for Dan Kennedy, but generally my embarrassment was obscured by my blinding white hatred. Seriously. I hate Dan Kennedy after reading this book. I might not be able to listen to The Moth anymore, because the tag at the end of every...more
Katie warned me that I might not like this book because I have severe embarrassment squick. There were a few times when I was embarrassed for Dan Kennedy, but generally my embarrassment was obscured by my blinding white hatred. Seriously. I hate Dan Kennedy after reading this book. I might not be able to listen to The Moth anymore, because the tag at the end of every...more
Probably 2.5 stars. I liked the first chapter, and the lesson, more or less, that even if your parents encourage your passion, it is still up to you and your own drive. I am sure I'm not the only one to have ever thought I would really excelled in some field or other, if only my parents had nurtured my interest. The chapter drives home that this isn't really a fair burden to put on our parents.
From there, the book becomes a little less insightful and kind of dwells on the insecurities of a recor...more
From there, the book becomes a little less insightful and kind of dwells on the insecurities of a recor...more
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news...
This review originally appeared in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Rock On: An Office Power Ballad
Vince Darcangelo, Special to the Rocky
Published February 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
* Nonfiction. By Dan Kennedy. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $14.95. Grade: B+
Book in a nutshell: Kennedy, a regular contributor to McSweeney's and author of the comedic memoir Loser Goes First, writes a riotously funny chronicle of his year-and-a- half stint in the music business.
Kennedy...more
This review originally appeared in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Rock On: An Office Power Ballad
Vince Darcangelo, Special to the Rocky
Published February 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
* Nonfiction. By Dan Kennedy. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $14.95. Grade: B+
Book in a nutshell: Kennedy, a regular contributor to McSweeney's and author of the comedic memoir Loser Goes First, writes a riotously funny chronicle of his year-and-a- half stint in the music business.
Kennedy...more
Dan Kennedy is a McSweeneys' staple. In extreme-short form, he's often laugh-out-loud funny. As a personality to spend some time with, bookwise, he's more often annoyingly snarky than funny. I read DK's first (and snarky) memoir, let's call it a "snarkoir", I read it a few years ago and I'm happy to report that "Rock On" is indeed funnier. So there's at least that progress.
DK's latest snarkoir, which is about his life in the last financially-viable days of the music industry, a kind of Rock Goet...more
DK's latest snarkoir, which is about his life in the last financially-viable days of the music industry, a kind of Rock Goet...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. When adding books to this author, please use Dan^Kennedy.
Dan Kennedy is an American writer living in New York and host of The Moth storytelling podcast. He is the author of three books: "Loser Goes First" (Random House, 2004), "Rock On" (Algonquin, 2008), and "American Spirit: A Novel" (Amazon/Houghton Mifflin,...more
More about Dan Kennedy...
Dan Kennedy is an American writer living in New York and host of The Moth storytelling podcast. He is the author of three books: "Loser Goes First" (Random House, 2004), "Rock On" (Algonquin, 2008), and "American Spirit: A Novel" (Amazon/Houghton Mifflin,...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“On the TV screen right now, it's 1975, and Jimmy Page is playing like a man who answers to nobody. A man existing in that seductive state of extended adolescence that rock legends bask in, a man connected to something in the universe larger than even the sum total of the legendary Led Zeppelin, playing guitar because that is so clearly what he was put here to do. And it's wrong to expect that kind of divine moment to last forever, and to expect an artist to stay in 1975. Fact is, ten minutes ago I saw the guy onscreen right downstairs, coming off the trading floor of the stock exchange with a banker carrying his guitar cases for him. I sit cross-legged on the floor on a workday staring into my cereal bowl, thinking about how we all change. We all grow up. We all move on, one way or another, whether we want to or not.”
—
12 people liked it
More quotes…
Mar 21, 2008 09:19am
Sep 05, 2008 08:53am