Rock On, Dan Kennedy
Rock On, Dan Kennedy
2 Rating(s)
List: $15.00 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.50

Rock On
An Office Power Ballad

Author: Dan Kennedy

Narrator: Dan Kennedy

Unabridged: 5 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/12/2008

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

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 drop-out

In his outrageous memoir, McSweeney's contributor Kennedy chronicles his misadventures at a major record label. Whether he's directing a gangsta rapper's commercial or battling his punk roots to create an ad campaign celebrating the love songs of Phil Collins, Kennedy's in way over his head. And from the looks of those sitting around the boardroom, he's not alone. Egomaniacs, wackos, incompetents, and executive assistants who know more than their seven-figure bosses round out this power-ballad to office life and rock and roll.

About The Author

Dan Kennedy is a contributor to McSweeney’s and Bookforum and performs regularly at Stories at The Moth as well as other gigs around town. He lives in New York and is Director of Creative Development for Atlantic Records.


Reviews

Goodreads review by David on March 20, 2008

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 Algonqu......more

Goodreads review by Jesse on March 31, 2008

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 marria......more

Goodreads review by Tommy_again on March 24, 2008

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......more

Goodreads review by Mary on October 10, 2011

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 f......more

Goodreads review by Mixter on April 29, 2008

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......more