So you want to be a rock star?

Burning Down Rome by Melodie Ramone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


So you want to be a rock star?
You might want to read BURNING DOWN ROME by MELODIE RAMONE first. Drugs, sex, rock and roll may sound like fun, but it can kill you if you’re not incredibly lucky and resourceful. The story of Cry Baby Jake’s rise to fame, and near-immolation of the band members, is not an entirely new one. We’ve all caught glimpses of the legacy that goes with rocketing to the top of the charts. Adoring fans, paparazzi, travel to exotic locales, wild parties, and newsworthy escapades all seem to go with the territory.
What’s not to like, you might ask? A bacchanal carnival, bring it on! As Melodie Ramone’s vivid portrayal shows us, though, it is a lonely, disorienting, and dehumanizing experience. Well that’ the price you pay for letting the artistic temperament go wild. Some of the carnage may well be attributed youthful excess in the face of too much access to the trappings of success, too fast. But, as this great book reveals, there’s more to it than that. There’s something inherent in the structure of the experience that’s a prescription for flaming out. Not just rock and rollers, but stars in other music genres, celebrities in sports, theater and films, often follow a similar trajectory toward crash and burn. For every tragic story of success there are many, many more sad tales of those who gave it their all and didn’t grab hold of the gold ring.
As Ramone points out, performance anxiety, even stage-fright, and a deep-seated insecurity is an occupational hazard. It is made so much worse in a ‘what-have-you-done-for-me-lately’ system of bloodthirsty critics, fickle fans, and callous studio execs. Pair that with the rootlessness, unhealthy lifestyle, and relentless pace of touring and it’s no surprise that rock and roll takes such a heavy toll. When things start to come apart, throw in dose after dose of feel-good drugs—some to make you big and some to make you small, and before you know it, you’re in wonderland. The problem is no one can live for long in that place. Can you even call it living at that point, when you hit the proverbial bottom?
Burning Down Rome takes us into that pit but doesn’t end there. It’s a great story about fighting back—not just rehab, but much more. Waging war against the machine, preserving artistic integrity, finding balance and developing a healthy relationship to what really matters are all themes this book explores. Is it worth it? Will it be enough to save Cry Baby Jake? You’ll have to read the book for yourself to find that out. Having married a rock star wannabe of my own, I have had glimpses of the life Ramone writes about even after my guitar man chose another path. This writer nails it! Not just the outward expressions of the life, but the inward struggle—a tour de force and a recommended read.




View all my reviews