Yakety Yak

"...captures all the raw, throbbing... electrifying power and vitality of an audiovisual medium and blasted it onto the printed page... you can dip in anywhere and not emerge until after many hours of fascinating revelations and amusements, edifications and bewilderments... Barsotti's book fully merits its place in the rock arena, like Lester Bangs "playing" his typewriter onstage with the J. Geils Band.
- Paul Di Filippo, author of RIBOFUNK, THE STEAMPUNK TRILOGY, etc.

"I drank enough whiskey to lift any ship off the ground."
- Jerry Lee Lewis

"I wish they would make pornography for women. I would like to see men and women exploited equally."
- Liz Phair

YAKETY YAK explores 70 years of rock (and pop) music through the intimate, unvarnished thoughts of its creators--about sex, drugs and everything else. Boasting over 1800 of Rock's Greatest Quotes, the book ranges from childhood (as a boy a guitar god wanted to "sell enough jars of Noxzema skin cream to get a ukulele") to fashion (a male superstar rocked a "sort of a Communist Chinese air-hostess look") to historic moments ("I saw a National Guardsman at Kent State throw down his gun and sob") and much more.

"Anyone who lip-syncs should be shot." - Elton John

From an interview archive compiled over forty years, writer and ex-rock critic Mark Barsotti digs deep for rockers most honest and revealing words. Like us, they pimp their work ("It's revolutionary." - Van Morrison) and bash the competition ("Jack White looks like Zorro on donuts." - Noel Gallagher), while dispensing both pearls of wisdom ("If you could change people's minds, no one would ever fall out of love with you." - Karen O) and WFT goofiness ("I wanted to marry Lucifer, even though I had a crush on Jesus." - Tori Amos).

From road life and rivalries, money, fame and the perils of the music biz, to the creativity and true confessions of superstars and underground artists alike, YAKETY YAK is a must-read for music fans, pop culture buffs, and anyone interested in the soundtrack of the modern world.

"I aspire to music that has brains, balls and heart." - Pete Townshend