Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35645 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.10" h x 6.40" w x 9.30" l, 1.44 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

(Black) Postcards from the edge...
"I hope his parents, his ex-wife, his former bandmates, the bands he played on tour with, and his brother don't read it."
Julia Cafritz

Dean Wareham, one-time singer-guitarist with Galaxie 500 and Luna, now half of Dean & Britta, produced this unflinchingly honest autobiographical account. The first half details his early life in New Zealand and later New York before charting the rise and eventual split of Galaxie 500. From the very first paragraph it becomes clear that we shouldn't be holding our breath for the Galaxie 500 reunion. Wareham's increasing frustration and eventual decision to quit the band are recounted in unflinching detail. This section also captures an era in both the American and British indie scene that was fascinating and is far less widely documented than the grunge years which followed.

The second half of the book examines Wareham's time with Luna. Again, he seems remarkably honest regarding his relationship with band members, drug use and sexual encounters, particularly the relationship that eventually destroyed his marriage. Whilst it's clear that Wareham retains a passion for rock `n' roll, this second part also conveys the tedium and frustration of being in a band which was critically acclaimed but never sufficiently fashionable to break big.

There are plenty of rock memoirs to choose from these days and Black Postcards is probably only going to appeal to those with at least a passing interest in Wareham's career. His honesty is to his credit; he is prepared to paint an unsympathetic self portrait frequently, and this gives greater credibility to his equally unforgiving view of so many of the individuals, bands and organisations he has known and worked with. Black Postcards indeed.

A true rock & roll romance.
Dean Wareham, singer songwriter, guitarist, cult icon, tells us all about the highs and indifferences of a life spent in music, near fame, but just off the radar of chart success.

Wareham's personality comes over strongly in this book, where he manages to convey his feelings well, and in a sense reading this book feels like being sat by the fire with an elder statesman of modern indie music. The frontman of Galaxie 500 and latterly Luna, and now Dean and Britta, reveals in some great detail not only the thrills of being in a band for a living, but the tedium that goes with touring and recording, whilst sounding neither pompous or spoilt. Wareham's memoir should serve as an education on the pitfalls of romancing the modern music scene to anyone tempted to form a band, and does serve as a timely historical document of the massive changes in the music industry as it failed to deal with the internet age.

A charming and riveting book at all times, Wareham spares no emotional blushes with his easy style that seems at times almost too candid, and pulls no punches with a dry wit and occasional simmering rage that befalls some suprising figures in the music industry. This book would make a great biopic if it wasn't for the fact that he makes it all seem so very ordinary when his life has in reality been anything but.