Under a Rock, Chris Stein
Under a Rock, Chris Stein
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Under a Rock
A Memoir

Author: Chris Stein, Debbie Harry

Narrator: Chris Stein, Debbie Harry, Dennis Boutsikaris, Romy Ashby

Unabridged: 10 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/11/2024


Synopsis

“Chris Stein has an amazing memory, an engaging, offbeat storytelling style, and a gift for memorable formulations… a fascinating yet cautionary account regarding the hazards of rock ’n’ roll and celebrity.”—Kirkus

This program includes a foreword written and read by Debbie Harry. The main text is read by Dennis Boutsikaris, known for his roles in Better Call Saul, The Good Wife, and Sugar. It also includes "Heartbreak Kid," a song from the upcoming Blondie album.

"A Downtown Memory" is written and read by Romy Ashby.

Debbie Harry defined iconic band Blondie’s look. Chris Stein—her performing partner, lover, and lifelong friend—was its architect and defined its sound. “Parallel Lines”, their third album, catapulted to #1, sold 20 million copies, and launched singles like “Heart of Glass”, "Hangin' On the Telephone," and “One Way or Another”, providing the beat when Bianca Jagger and Halston danced at Studio 54 and the soundtrack to every 1970’s punk-soundtracked romance.

Chris Stein knows how to tell a story. Under A Rock is his nothing-spared autobiography. It's about the founding of the band, ascending to the heights of pop success, and the hazards of fortune.

Famous names march through these pages—Warhol, Bowie, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more–but you can get famous names anywhere. What you can’t get anywhere else is a plunge into the moments that made a giant 1980's artistic sensation. Stein takes us there in this revelatory, propulsive, distinctive memoir.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

About Chris Stein

CHRIS STEIN is the co-founder, songwriter and guitarist of the iconic band Blondie. Chris’ photographs have been featured in galleries and press around the world, and published in Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk (Rizzoli). Beyond his era-defining music with Blondie, he has collaborated with a host of artists over the years, including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, William Burroughs, Devo, Glenn O’Brien, and Shepard Fairey. He lives in New York City.

About Dennis Boutsikaris

Dennis Boutsikaris, winner of AudioFile Magazine’s 2010 Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense, has recorded more than 100 audiobooks for publishers in the United States and Great Britain.  His critically-acclaimed work has garnered four Golden Earphone awards and two Best Voices of the Year Awards from AudioFile Magazine and five Audies from the Audio Publishers of America.  His performances include reading novels by Richard North Patterson, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, and Joseph Finder. Boutsikaris has appeared in numerous Broadway, television, and film roles. He played Mozart on Broadway in Amadeus, and has appeared on television shows including Shameless, The Good Wife, House M.D., Grey’s Anatomy, ER and Law & Order.  He has won two Obie Awards—one for Outstanding Performance in Nest of the Wood Grouse and one for Outstanding Performance in Sight Unseen. His films include The Bourne Legacy, W., The Education of Charlie Banks, *batteries not included, Dream Team, Boys on the Side, and Crocodile Dundee 2.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Michael on February 03, 2025

Music is a passion, my having spent decades selling it and crowding up endless brain cells with Casey Kasem-like trivia. I am drawn to music bios– eager to get the lowdown on the lives of the artists. All too often, like Charlie Brown trusting Lucy’s football hold, I am left disappointed by the expe......more

Goodreads review by *TUDOR^QUEEN* on May 04, 2024

My favorite era of music is 70's. I've never been what you'd call a Blondie fan, but did buy the single 45 disc of "Heart of Glass". I also read at least one biography about Blondie in recent years and knew that Deborah Harry was in a very long intimate relationship with fellow band member Chris Ste......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on July 14, 2024

A very interesting and informative memoir! A tell it like it was (good and bad) autobiography. We read about the author's upbringing, the beginning of the band "Blondie", climbing to the heights of pop success, and the perils of fame and fortune. A captivating read! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin......more

Goodreads review by Cindy on June 11, 2024

Chris Stein, the founding member and guitarist of Blondie, takes us on a wild ride through his life in his memoir, Under a Rock. Growing up in Brooklyn in the ‘50s with communist parents who held regular meetings at their home, Stein had anything but a typical childhood. He spent his days running ar......more

Goodreads review by Sara on June 21, 2024

It's not really my place to judge someone's life choices so I won't really comment on that but I will say that this read like someone just writing down every single thing that comes to mind from their life. There are so many people who were mentioned that it is impossible to keep track of all of the......more


Quotes

"[An] atmospheric narrative." - Publishers Weekly

"With a stream-of-consciousness writing style and a talent for storytelling, the author recounts with intriguing specificity the trajectory his life has taken...fascinating." - Kirkus starred review

"[E]ngaging...Written in an off-the-cuff style, this memoir offers a descriptive, highly impressionistic account of the author’s role in Blondie and his life in New York City. Will engage general readers." - Library Journal