White Line Fever: The Autobiography (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
Cuando uno lee o escucha la palabra Rock & Roll es imposible que no venga a la memoria los abusos y excesos de muchos de los principales exponentes de este género musical, cuatro de los que no solo recuerdo por sus historias ya que también disfruto de su música son Ozzy Osbourne, GG Allin, Iggy Pop, Keith Richards y de quien voy a extenderme con mucho placer Lemmy Kilmister vocalista, bajista y mente maestra detrás de esa máquina sonora llamada Motorhead. Lemmy es uno de los mejores ejemplos de lo que es ser un sobreviviente del Rock & Roll como pocos, su vida es la de un hombre lleno de anécdotas de todo tipo que camina y da conciertos hasta el día de hoy ya con 71 años de edad, aunque recientemente ha tenido que suspender algunas presentaciones por problemas de salud. Una niñez rebelde, ser roadie de Jimmy Hendrix, sobrevivir a la movida de los Hippies a quienes detestaba a muerte, dejar un par de hijos regados por el mundo, beber sin parar y experimentar con muchas drogas ha sido la vida de Ian Fraser Kilmister (Burslem, 1945) o quienes lo adoramos como a un Dios lo llamamos simplemente “Lemmy”, una montaña rusa extrema es lo que nos cuenta y este libro es su historia.Lemmy decidió dejar por escrito su autobiografía en el año 2002 acompañado por la periodista musical Janiss Garza quien fue redactora en jefe de aquella maravillosa revista de nombre RIP, publicación que nos acompañó a muchos cuando buscábamos desesperadamente noticias actuales de la música extrema y el rock en general en esa era pre internet, una biografía que era necesaria escribirse para conocer no solo gran parte de su vida sino toda la situación que se vivía en Inglaterra y que dio al mundo bandas clásicas como Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, The Sex Pistols, The Clash y por supuesto Motorhead entre otras. “Lemmy – La autobiografía” es un libro editado en español por Es Pop Ediciones quienes una vez mas presentan una hermosa obra como libro / objeto y que como era de esperarse el contenido es crudo, en el que su autor no le importa en lo mas mínimo si incomodará al lector o a los políticamente correctos, de hecho quiere contar su historia con toda la intención de molestarlo y de mostrar que ya mucha de esa pasión por romper barreras e intentar hacer pensar al publico pareciera no estar en muchas o en casi ninguna de las bandas dentro del Rock hoy en día.Lemmy desde que nace ya tiene algo muy particular que contar ya que pocos días luego de su llegada al mundo perdió todo el cabello y hasta las uñas, hijo de una madre abandonada por su esposo y como era de esperarse muchos factores de su entorno hicieron que gran parte de su niñez y mas allá de la adolescencia la dedicara a la rebeldía y a dar buenos dolores de cabeza a maestros, familiares y vecinos aunque siempre ha dicho que un buen pescozón ayuda en los colegios, ya eso no se permite y por eso todos hacen lo que le da la gana, su madre, su abuela y un padrastro fueron sus guías o al menos intentaron serlo. La música llega a su vida de golpe gracias a Buddy Holly, Little Richard y por supuesto a Elvis Presley, aunque no teme decir que dedicarse a la música solo lo hizo por la sencilla razón de que guindarse una guitarra al hombro le aseguraba acostarse con muchas chicas. Esta autobiografía se encuentra repleta de todo tipo de anécdotas que algunas pueden ser verdaderamente difíciles de creer sobre todo en lo que respecta a su interés por experimentar con drogas de todo tipo excepto con la heroína que probó un par de veces pero se dio cuenta a tiempo que es la que mas gente se ha llevado a la tumba, muchos de ellos amigos cercanos y hasta a su primer amor, aunque asegura que si la heroína no fuese una droga que necesita casi de un ritual antes de inyectársela a lo mejor también se hubiese enganchado a ella. La anécdota mas difícil de creer es el día que experimentó con Dexedrina, Mandrax, LSD, Mescalina, Mandrax, Speed, luego se va a un concierto en el que todos los músicos fumaban marihuana y el humo era imposible no respirarlo, siguió Cocaína, ocho Anfetaminas (Bombardero Negro) y finalmente Acido todo esto antes de montarse en una tarima a tocar, Lemmy jura que esta experiencia es totalmente cierta, otra historia imperdible es cuando intentó purificarse toda la sangre después de tantos años de abusos y excesos, luego de una gran cantidad de exámenes el médico determinó que es imposible hacerlo ya que su sangre se encuentra tan envenenada que sería imposible llevar a cabo la limpieza en sus venas. Lemmy se atreve sin miedo alguno a decir que le teme a Ozzy Osbourne porque según sus palabras “está loco!” como también dice que el difunto Randy Rhoads no era el impresionante guitarrista que todos dicen que era, ya que simple y claro “era un buen guitarrista y nada mas”, basta que mueras para que todos digan que eres una maravilla y el mejor “¿qué dirán de mí cuando yo muera?”. Motorhead es el nombre cómo se conoce normalmente a la droga Speed y sería el nombre de la banda que lo llevó a estar en la punta de la fama y el éxito aunque ahora Lemmy habla con alegría pero también con algo de tristeza de que fueron grandes en un pasado, no muchas bandas se han sostenido como ellos, con mas de veinte discos grabados, diez en vivo, unos cuantos recopilatorios y EP’s, considerables cambios de formación, de disqueras, managers, abogados y cientos de giras alrededor del planeta. Lemmy no entiende el mundo de hoy donde hay que pensar mil veces antes de decir algo porque hay feministas frígidas, homosexuales sensibles, tener una esvástica es un pecado mortal o coleccionar memorabilia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial es casi que criminal, vegetarianos, veganos y todo tipo de personas que se encuentran con la piel demasiado sensible ante cualquier chiste o comentario que les parezca fuera de lugar, las bandas de rock ya no parecen ser polémicas, todas se comportan con miedo al que dirán, los jóvenes de hoy son los hijos de los padres contra los que él luchó en su juventud, pareciera que no se logró absolutamente nada al verlos ahora de adultos, este mundo es menos tolerante, menos espiritual y educado de lo que alguna vez fue.La banda Motorhead sigue en pie y lo seguirá estando mientras Lemmy Kilmister continúe con su bajo al hombro a pesar de los 71 años de edad que tiene actualmente y de todos los abusos que tuvo y sigue teniendo. Recientemente ha tenido que cancelar algunos conciertos como dije anteriormente asegurando que “ya no puede”, espero que no sea así y siga regalándonos sus Rock & Roll y sus polémicos comentarios tan necesarios en el mundo. Lemmy es uno de los fundadores del Rock & Roll ruidoso, de tener mujeres alrededor en las giras y fuera de ellas, de pasarla bien como sea y donde sea. No muchos pueden decir con mucho orgullo que son sinceros y fieles a lo que hacen, dicen o crean, Lemmy Kilmister lo puede decir tranquilamente y nadie se lo puede refutar. Lemmy es DIOS!
"The industry's building all the time, but they're killing the music. They're trying to, anyway, but I won't let them as long as I'm alive. Fuck 'em, you know. They are disgraceful, stupid, arrogant, forgettable bastards - that's right, forgettable, because people are gonna remember me, but the suits will be forgotten. Fuck 'rm. Who are they? Somebody who worked for Sony? Ha! You'll have to do better than that!"If there is one word that can sum up my impression of Lemmy Kilmister, it's attitude. The man is a living force of nature, a relic from a time when men weren't scared to be men or speak their mind. While I appreciate and love the progress we've made as a society in the meantime, it is also refreshing to know that Lemmy is still out there, showing all of us pussies what a badass is all about.Before I get into what I think of the book, I think it is important to note that the prose of this beast of an autobiography is crap. Sentence structure is absurd, the exclamation point may be the most used form of punctuation, and there are paragraphs that take up a couple of pages. However, you are not reading this for style and structure, so shove it right up your ass. What you hold in your hands are the memories of Lemmy, and if there is anything I have learned from reading this book, it is fuck all that noise.It took me a long time to finish this book. It's not that it wasn't interesting, or that it wasn't entertaining, it was that it is a hard read because it is a stream of memories from start to finish, with very little context connecting one thought to the next. It makes for a somewhat disjointed journey, but at the same time, that's what memory is, isn't it? Another thing about Lemmy that I can see putting people off is his usage of language that, while perfectly acceptable in his time, has become abhorrent in ours. It is important to note that he is neither sexist nor homophobic, however. I can only tell you that after having the read entirety of the text, of how he later recounts his gay flatmate was beaten, brutalized, and ultimately murdered. When reading that section, you can feel the sorrow Lemmy felt over what happened. He doesn't hate gays, he doesn't think of them as any different as anyone else. Likewise, he clearly has a lot of respect for women, especially women musicians.One thing he does do, however, is put people in the category of either 'birds' or 'geezers,' and that's where you see the misogyny and general disregard. In that, I have some social and moral differences with Lemmy, but then again, there are thirty years difference between our birth dates. Not to make excuses for the generations past, but is by their actions (better than the generations before them) that we have become better, just as one day people will be apologizing for us and our 'old ways.' The first half of this book is the clear winner, recounting the early days of Lemmy picking up a guitar to get chicks, through his days of playing blues and Beatles covers, leading up to early bands The Rockin' Vicars, Hawkwind, and eventually forming Motorhead. From the beginning you really see exactly what Lemmy brought to the world of metal and hard rock, both in terms of attitude and skill. He really is the man that will never sell out, and from the very beginning, that's how he's approached music.Once with Motorhead, the book becomes a succession of albums, tours, and band members, each with their own associated stories and recollections. Their fights with producers, labels, and an especially clueless Norwegian promoter, are interesting but not especially exciting. After a while, reading through some of the tours feels like a bit of a slough, and that's why I had to underrate the book a bit. It's not the Lemmy isn't awesome, it's just the last two-thirds of the book especially drag. When the tours are broken up with bits of insight or one of his stories is when it shines through, and as much as the touring aspect is revealing, it isn't especially all that interesting.I loved the book, and I definitely recommend it, but you have to have a hearty constitution to get all the way trough it. I would expect no less from a man that simply can not be killed. I leave with this quote from Airheads:Chaz: Alright, alright, alright. Who'd win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?Harold Ramis Fake Producer: Lemmy.Rex: EEEEENT!HRFP: God!Rex: Wrong, dickhead, trick question. Lemmy is God.
What do You think about White Line Fever: The Autobiography (2004)?
A fun, quick read for anyone interested in the music of Hawkwind or Motorhead, White Line Fever is Lemmy Kilmister being as honest and goofy as one would think.Lemmy hates the longbox packaging of CDs from the early 90s. He brings it up three times over the course of his 2002 autobiography White Line Fever (Citadel, 0806525908), and while he’s not as scatterbrained and God-sized as David Lee Roth (Crazy From the Heat) or as into faux-debauchery as Motley Crue (The Dirt), it’s these repeated complaints that remind the reader why Lemmy made it in the first place: he’s just a nerd.Oldies but GoodiesThe fact that drugs will never kill him helps, but the nerd thing just seals it. His ramblings about the Liverpool scene in the 50s and 60s are a carbon copy of any record store dude’s experience of living through Seattle in the early 90s, the Sunset Strip in the late 80s, or Washington DC in the early 80s.However, unlike the parade of delusion the numerous former grunge or metal or hardcore scenesters march in, Lemmy isn’t stuck in that era. He shows an obvious affinity for his roots, but he stays the same throughout his entire life. While a static personality might not be the best attribute in a person, Lemmy comes off as charming, a true rock and roll soul in a world full of irony and posing.A Great Read, but Only for the InitiatedPicking this up as a fan of Hawkwind or Motorhead – or rock biographies in general – is a fantastic idea. The tone is laid back, the text is huge, and the details are there. That said, there may not have much appeal to those who don’t follow Lemmy and his projects (as opposed to a book like Motley Crue’s autobiography The Dirt, which is dumb and ridiculous enough to warrant a read by anyone).Sure, there are lots of pills, lots of girls, and lots of pranks, but nothing is so over the top that a person will read it and immediately recommend it to her buddy who enjoyably listens to Top 40 radio and has no interest in music. This is certainly geek-food.For the initiated, this story is stripped down and forward moving, occasionally senseless and always honest. The tone is pub-talk, as if Lemmy’s buying the reader shots and letting loose a gem of a story.Lemmy leads a life filled with women, songs, and stories, and he treats them all the same. If there is one thing we learn about Lemmy from his book, it’s that he like it fast and loose. And, of course, that he hates the longbox.
—Ryan Werner
Lemmy presents an hilarious tale of drugs and parties, while always staying focused on the most important subject: the music. All the different bands he's been a part of, met, collaborated with, and been inspired with is what takes up the bulk of the book. Drugs, parties and women is also there all the time, but only ever as an aside, as something that comes along with the rock n' roll lifestyle. There is never any question that what drives Lemmy to go on is the music itself, not the money and fame that Motörhead never saw much of anyway. Of course, he does admit to starting with music to get girls, but it's apparent that once he had begun, his passion for playing was what kept him going. The years in which he's been active have been very eventful, he talks a lot about the early days of rock n' roll bands like The Beatles and Jimmy Hendrix and the drugs that were flowing so freely in the sixties. He also proves to be a very reasonable and fair guy with a "live and let live" attitude, free from prejudice and very keen on honesty and treating people right. All in all, he comes of as a good guy with a very free and open attitude towards people's right to live the way they want. This great impression of the man himself and the hilariousness of the anecdotes, makes this an incredibly enjoyable read.
—Leo Horovitz
I think Lemmy is best tolerated in short doses, like at some filthy taproom where you could easily walk out after he's bored you shitless with these tales of how much crank, ass & liquor he's scored in his lifetime. Haven't we all? If I were that fascinated by numbers, I'd have taken up accounting. Halfway through you may find yourself praying for the end. Of the book, your life, whatever. But no; the text continues. In all fairness to His Royal Majesty, the tone of the ghosting kills the book. You don't hate Lemmy, rather you wish that he would have vetted his writer/editor more carefully. I've been indulging in some "rock star/celebrity" bios lately, and both Anthony Kiedis (ghosted) and Errol Flynn (possibly ghosted) have proved difficult to best. Of course, your mileage may vary. Interested in reading White Line Fever? I'll gladly leave this baby on the doorstop for you...
—Brian
