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Disgraceland: Musicians Getting Away with Murder and Behaving Very Badly Kindle Edition

by Jake Brennan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 435 ratings
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From the creator of the popular rock 'n' roll true crime podcast, Disgraceland comes an off-kilter, hysterical, at times macabre book inspired by true stories from the highly entertaining underbelly of music history.
You may know Jerry Lee Lewis married his thirteen-year-old cousin but did you know he shot his bass player in the chest with a shotgun or that a couple of his wives died under extremely mysterious circumstances? Or that Sam Cooke was shot dead in a seedy motel after barging into the manager's office naked to attack her? Maybe not. Would it change your view of him if you knew that, or would your love for his music triumph?

Real rock stars do truly insane thing and invite truly insane things to happen to them; murder, drug trafficking, rape, cannibalism and the occult. We allow this behavior. We are complicit because a rock star behaving badly is what's expected. It's baked into the cake. Deep down, way down, past all of our self-righteous notions of justice and right and wrong, when it comes down to it, we want our rock stars to be bad. We know the music industry is full of demons, ones that drove Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, Sid Vicious and that consumed the Norwegian Black Metal scene. We want to believe in the myths because they're so damn entertaining.

Disgraceland is a collection of the best of these stories about some of the music world's most beloved stars and their crimes. It will mix all-new, untold stories with expanded stories from the first two seasons of the Disgraceland podcast. Using figures we already recognize, Disgraceland shines a light into the dark corners of their fame revealing the fine line that separates heroes and villains as well as the danger Americans seek out in their news cycles, tabloids, reality shows and soap operas. At the center of this collection of stories is the ever-fascinating music industry--a glittery stage populated by gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, groupies with violence, scandal and pure unadulterated rock 'n' roll entertainment.
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  1. Print length
    206 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Grand Central Publishing
  5. Publication date
    October 1, 2019
  6. File size
    17764 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Through his gritty and powerful stories, Brennan breathes new life into the music and musicians we've known all our lives.-- "Aaron Mahnke, author and creator of Lore"

Jake Brennan is writing from a crossroads- the junction of music and crime. One road leads to the Elysian Fields, the other, to the Underworld. Some of these magicians have been down both.-- "T Bone Burnett, Oscar and Grammy winning musician and producer"

Mix the true crime mythology of rock 'n' roll with a dash of transgressive fiction, then add 10 cc of adrenaline and twice that in anabolic steroids. Employing due caution, enter Jake Brennan's brain as translated in Disgraceland to observe the dark results--Elvis locked in unholy union with the parasitic Colonel Tom Parker, why Jerry Lee Lewis was called the Killer, Altamont. Axl Rose. Chuck Berry. And, of course, the truly twisted Phil Spector. It all works brilliantly because Jake genuinely loves rock 'n' roll just as much as he enjoys indulging his imagination and wickedly stylish sense of humor.-- "Dennis McNally, author of A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead"

"The rock 'n' roll version of the Peabody Award-winning Serial."

-- "Variety"

About the Author

Jake Brennan is a successful Boston-based musician who launched Disgraceland in February and has been backing the incredible hit has become since. Through his bands like Cast Iron Hike, The Confidence Men and Bodega girls he recorded for some of the biggest independent recording labels and collaborated with Fugazi, Foster the People, Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age and many more.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07NCT46CY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing; Illustrated edition (October 1, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 17764 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 206 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 435 ratings

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Jake Brennan

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
435 global ratings
Like a podcast for your eyes!
5 Stars
Like a podcast for your eyes!
One of my favorite podcasts in a book form! How cool is that? Pretty damn cool.Jake Brennan has a way of taking already interesting stories and telling them in a way that makes them truly engrossing. My favorite stories aren't necessarily about my favorite musicians. Some of the wildest stories come from music artists I'm not familiar with, or became familiar with, while reading this book. Totally dope book with really incredible artwork. RockaRolla
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Top reviews from the United States

KavaRichie
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2019
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I cannot put this book down, yet I am trying to read it slow because I don't want it to end and I will be sad when it does. Jake is a story telling wizard! His ability to set the scene and make you feel all the feels through his words is pure magic! He finds just the perfect way to make you feel bad for the guys/gals doing bad things, but also share their stories in ways that you didn't know were possible. Makes it somehow possible to relate to even some of the biggest stars out there and also share that rising to the top is not all its cracked up to be. His writing is also so easy to follow along with and I find myself reading it out loud sometimes because I feel like the way he tells a story is meant to be shared and heard by everyone around. I am so glad he decided to put pen to paper to share with us and i hope this isn't the last we have read of him!! Do yourself a favor and read this wonderful piece of storytelling. Also if you are going to get all pissed off that his facts aren’t spot on, don’t ready this book and then give it a shitty review, he’s a story teller not a fact teller, it’s his interpretation, if you want fact stick to Wickapedia
12 people found this helpful
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rossofinertia
4.0 out of 5 stars Cool book from a great podcast
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2019
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Disgracand is so much fun. I love how Jake tells stories of rockers behaving badly. Great read and highly recommended podcast.
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Matt Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing read
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2019
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From beginning to end, this book is amazing! It doesn’t disappoint. Jake sinks his claws into you and doesn’t let go until the final page. His in-depth research and story telling is unlike anything I’ve read before. I was reading two other books before my copy arrived in the mail....needless to say when I started reading this book I put the other two to the wayside. I’m a big fan of his podcast and noticed that some of his chapters were musicians already discussed on the 1st season of the podcast. I thought these chapters would just be a boring re-hash of what I’ve heard before....far from it. Jake’s writing makes you feel like you are reading it for the first time. Well done.
4 people found this helpful
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Wendy Eskew
3.0 out of 5 stars interesting
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2022
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It was an entertaining book, but I just didn’t think there was anything new in it. But if you’re not familiar with any of the artists it will be great for you.
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Daniel Zimmerman
5.0 out of 5 stars Disgraceland Hits the Mark
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2021
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As a reader/writer of true crime, I tend to gravitate toward books that feature interesting mob figures and the Mafia in general. I stepped outside my comfort zone to read Disgraceland and was pleasantly surprised. Well-written and entertaining, the author hits the mark in all respects. He was informative and kept the prose moving quickly, while remaining informative throughout. I especially enjoyed the Chuck Berry segment. Love the man's music but knew nothing about his troubled life. I find that the best books are those that instill a reader with new knowledge. Disgraceland does just that.
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Robert Walton
5.0 out of 5 stars Truth is stranger than fiction
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2019
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Dennis Quaid may have spent some time with Jerry Lee Lewis when he was getting ready for his role in the film "Great Balls of Fire" in 1989. He probably didn't know that Jerry very likely killed his fifth wife a few years earlier. He didn't know that because the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department covered up the crime and did such a great job that most of us had never heard of it. I never had either until I discovered the Discraceland Podcast.

This book is a great extension of this show, and master storyteller Jake Brennan digs deep into the lives of some of our favorite musicians. You still admire the talent and almost enjoy the music even more after finding out what drives some of these people. I enjoyed the Axl Rose chapter especially, having lived through a near riot show at the Boston Garden in 1993. If you love rock and roll, this book is a must read.
17 people found this helpful
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Mark Lucas
4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating.
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2019
Disgraceland was a captivating read. Many of the musicians that were covered in the book were before my time so reading about the dark deeds and deviousness by them was eye-opening. The author Jake Brennan uses colorful language at times which was beneficial to the narrative. Brennan also goes over his sources meticulously which was very assuring.
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Graham Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Praise for Disgraceland
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2019
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Disgraceland delivers a truly gripping read. It's the car wreck you can not help but watch with the widows rolled down at 100 miles per hour. Jake Brennan's Disgraceland goes deeper than most attempts dare. The author leaves no stone unturned in his graphic story telling of some of the greatest musicians throughout history and their dark lives. Music, crime, and literary fans alike will be drawn to Brennan's attention to detail. Throughout the work you can feel the authors love and extensive knowledge of music while being captivated by the subjects portrayed in each chapter. I found myself countless times throughout the book stopping after a chapter and going into a deeper web search on some of these artists. The characters are larger than life and Disgraceland's depiction will leave you wanting more and asking yourself "ARE YOU F***IN SERIOUS!?!".
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Jenna
5.0 out of 5 stars Obsessed with this book!!
Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2019
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Disgraceland changed my life, it's all I can ever talk about now! So so so happy that turned the podcasts into book form! I listen to the podcasts every day on my way to work, but got the book version for my dad and he loves me reading him a story each night. Thank-you Jake Brennan!! Your stories are what I look forward to every day.
2 people found this helpful
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A. Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Rockarolla
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2019
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I've been a fan of the podcast for a long time, the book captures the tone of it perfectly with some diverse and shocking music tales.
One person found this helpful
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angela danger
5.0 out of 5 stars Cannot put it down!
Reviewed in Australia on February 18, 2020
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Absolutely brilliant!!!!!!!
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Nancy Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and fun read
Reviewed in Canada on October 23, 2019
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Every chapter reads like a enhanced episode of the great podcast of the same name. If you're a fan of the podcast it's hard not hear Jake's voice in your head as you read!
One person found this helpful
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C Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
Excellent book.
If you like the podcast it's Brennan at his best.
If you haven't tried the podcast, give it a go.
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