Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, Steven Hyden
Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, Steven Hyden
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Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me
What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life

Author: Steven Hyden

Narrator: Ben Sullivan

Unabridged: 7 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/17/2016

Synopsis

Steven Hyden explores nineteen music rivalries and what they say about life in this "highly entertaining" book (Rolling Stone) perfect for every passionate music fan.

Beatles vs. Stones. Biggie vs. Tupac. Kanye vs. Taylor. Who do you choose? And what does that say about you? Actually -- what do these endlessly argued-about pop music rivalries say about us?

Music opinions bring out passionate debate in people, and Steven Hyden knows that firsthand. Each chapter in Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me focuses on a pop music rivalry, from the classic to the very recent, and draws connections to the larger forces surrounding the pairing.

Through Hendrix vs. Clapton, Hyden explores burning out and fading away, while his take on Miley vs. Sinead gives readers a glimpse into the perennial battle between old and young. Funny and accessible, Hyden's writing combines cultural criticism, personal anecdotes, and music history -- and just may prompt you to give your least favorite band another chance.

About Steven Hyden

Steven Hyden is the author of Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Billboard, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Grantland, The A.V. Club, Slate and Salon. He is currently the cultural critic at UPROXX, and the host of the Celebration Rock podcast. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and two children.  

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carmen on June 07, 2016

"Axl Rose is commonly perceived to be a tough guy. But Axl Rose is not a tough guy. Axl Rose was once beat up by Tommy Hilfiger."......more

Goodreads review by Casey on June 08, 2016

I am a total sucker for the whole music criticism/slightly memoir-y genre, and who hasn't been passionate about an artist enough to immediately dislike something else out of loyalty? Hyden does a nice job of picking rivalries from practically every walk of life, from genre to level of engagement fro......more

Goodreads review by Gabrielle on January 04, 2024

This is the sort of book that is really made to make me cackle maniacally as I read it: nerding out about music, musicians, bands and all that stuff is one of my favorite things to do, and obviously, it’s also one of Steven Hyden’s favorite things to do – but then, he is a music journalist! The idea......more

Goodreads review by Josh on May 19, 2021

Often interesting, frequently funny, largely enjoyable reading covering the same ground as Steven Hyden’s usual essays and podcasts on music. I read much of his stuff and listen to his podcast occasionally, he’s exactly my age and shares a lot of the same perspectives on music as I do. Each chapter i......more

Goodreads review by Nishta on March 27, 2022

List of reasons I didn’t enjoy this book- 1. Subtle misogyny in the writing- Hyden ascribes so much importance to male artists in his personal life and in society at large but when it came to mentioning female artists this is what he had to say- ““If you side with Christina (sorry: Xtina) Aguilera ov......more

Quotes

"Highly entertaining.... Whatever side you take in these endless debates, Hyden's a dude worth arguing with."—Rolling Stone

Hyden is "a consistently insightful and funny writer.... YOUR FAVORITE BAND IS KILLING ME connects the dots of music history in new and intriguing ways. Hyden reminds us why we invest so much in these competitions, how they help shape identity for so many of us, while never losing sight of how silly they can be."—Alan Light, New York Times Book Review

"Fluent, frequently hilarious, ultimately persuasive.... [Hyden's] as entertaining on Eric Clapton vs. Jimi Hendrix (chapter 7) as he is on Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West (chapter 5).... Hyden [is] a critic worth reading."—Chris Klimek, Washington Post

"This book is funny, informative and essential reading if you ever again intend to argue loudly with a friend about music."—Seth Meyers

"Steven Hyden didn't come to settle your rock arguments--just to make them louder. In this brilliant book, he pours a little kerosene on some of music's most heated feuds--some legendary, some forgotten, one involving Limp Bizkit. Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me is not only hilarious but surprisingly moving--Hyden captures the secret emotional details of why these stories matter, and how picking sides can accidentally tell you way too much about who you are."—Rob Sheffield, author of Love is a Mix Tape

"Every serious argument about music is ultimately a non-musical manifesto--it's 10 percent about aesthetics, 40 percent about how the respective arguers view the world, and 50 percent about how those arguers view themselves. Steven Hyden lives inside this ratio and argues with himself, which means it's impossible to win. But that's what makes YOUR FAVORITE BAND IS KILLING ME so fascinating: The title is real. He's funny, but he's not joking."—Chuck Klosterman, author of Fargo Rock City and Killing Yourself to Live

"If Nick Hornby's writing had a love child with Chuck Klosterman's, the result would be Hyden's clever prose.... By combining music journalism and pop psychology with some of his own life lessons, Hyden has created a literary mix tape that will be music to pop-culture junkies and the music-obsessed."—Publishers Weekly

"Even the most knowledgeable music fan will learn from Hyden's musings, and anyone with a sense of humor will find his prose laugh-out-loud funny.... An outstanding piece of pop culture writing for readers who consider music an important part of their lives."—Craig L. Shufelt, Library Journal (starred review)

"Hyden is an effortless writer, and he draws clever connections between artists and cultural phenomena spanning decades.... Illuminating and often hilarious.... Hyden is wise enough to know that declaring a winner is pointless (and so the book never does), but smart enough to discuss everything that might come with 'winning.'"—Jeremy Gordon, Pitchfork

"Rich with unexpected tangents and entertaining insights, the book reveals Hyden's well-established talent for pumping out some of the most thoughtful writing on some of the least-cool artists (at least in critical corners)."—Zach Schonfeld, Newsweek

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