What do You think about The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band (2002)?
I've never owned a Mötley Crüe record. I've never seen a Mötley Crüe concert. I've never had any use for Mötley Crüe. Ever.So I was quite surprised to learn (in 2000) they were writing a book with New York Times music critic Neil Strauss. I was a big fan of Strauss and his writing. And the unlikely venture piqued my interest. When I discovered the format of the book involved each member of the band individually telling his version of what happened -- and that each of the four versions would then be told 'side by side' -- I was very intrigued. The dysfunctional chaos inside of many rock bands has always fascinated me. And the idea of a book chronicling the insanity from four different perspectives was more than I could resist.So, I bought a copy of this book the day it was published (in the Spring of 2001).Any book that is dedicated "To Our Wives and Children . . . In the hopes that someday they will forgive us for what we have done" promises to be a story of human depravity at its worst. And in that regard "The Dirt" does not disappoint. From the opening sentence, this book is a tsunami of obscenity. It is outrageous. It appeals to purient interests. But if the book has any redeeming quality it is this: humor."The Dirt" is hilarious. (Sometimes unintentionally hilarious. But hilarious nevertheless.)Most of the episodes chronicled in this book are unforgivable. The remainder are merely repugnant. Here are three of the worst human beings to ever roll out of Los Angeles and their guitar player (whom they merciless mock). And they regale the reader with epic tales of pornography, drug abuse, fornication, illegitimate children, marriages, alcoholism, drug addiction, rehab, divorces, crimes against nature, assaults, homicide, arrests, criminal trials, convictions and (yes) imprisonments. Who has time for music when all this ongoing mayhem?Mötley Crüe.It's hard to see how they ever had time for music with all the distractions in their lives. But, they did manage to record some records and do some tours. Those are covered here as well. And three of the band members (not the guitarist) make it clear they could care less about the music and their audience. And I found THAT to be the most repulsive aspect of this band. Made wealthy for playing music, Mötley Crüe could not have cared less about the music and the audience that paid to hear it.But, give them credit. At least the members of Mötley Crüe are honest about it. Mötley Crüe was all about the drugs and the sex. The rock and roll? Not so much.
—George Bradford
If you grew up when I grew up (I was a teen during the 1982 - 1990 years) and were part of my crowd (long hair, leather, troublemaker) then Motley Crue was IT. They are the band every guy wanted to be and every girl wanted to be with. So needless to say they had a big influence on my life and I would say that I'm a fan.This is their biography. Each chapter is written by a different bandmember or manager. Takes us from the beginning to the latest and they don't pull any punches. This is the band that took what Led Zeppelin did a generation before and made it more decadent. The girls, the orgies, the drugs, the deaths it just goes on and on.As a story it's almost unbelievable except that it's true.As a book it's written very well and it both entertaining and informative.If you like them you've probably already read this and if you don't like them you probably won't read it but I do recommend it.
—Scott
I ripped through "The Dirt" while suffering from a nasty bout of the flu. Because of its accessibility, its fast pace and its sporadic-yet-easy-to-track narrative (which simply switches between points of view), I finished it in about a day and a half. tI will admit to never having been a huge fan of Motley Crue, or hair metal in general. I could take or leave Warrant, Poison, Ratt, et cetera. I originally picked this book up because I had heard that its storytelling was both disgusting and delightful. A fast and giddy read, anyone will plow through the over four hundred pages here. Sometimes, you just want to read something that is fucking gross. The best anecdote involves Ozzy Osbourne. Because I don't want to make this review a spoiler, all I will disclose is this: it involves pee. The second best anecdote involves Ozzy and a blow up doll, on which he draws a Hitler mustache. He then treats the doll as his only friend for an entire weekend, sitting with it, whispering and conspiring, at the back of a tour bus. tNot to say that the book doesn't offer some interesting commentary on fame as a syndrome that never lets its prey examine its own human fallibility, hence stunting it for years and rendering it a child in the body of a man. And admittedly, some of the most compelling chapters are written by Mick Mars, the often overlooked Crue guitarist who was diagnosed with a debilitating bone disease in his twenties. Mars is a deep dude, unabashedly dark, and is forthright with his opinion that he believes his bandmates to be total shitheads. tIn short, read this because it's fun, it's funny and it's fast. It won't kill your braincells to put down your heavy volumes for two days to read something frivolous.
—Kayla Rae Whitaker
