100 books like Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.

By Viv Albertine,

Here are 100 books that Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. fans have personally recommended if you like Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Just Kids

Tori Scott

From my list on books that are raw, honest, and vulnerable.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've penned 11 novels and numerous essays, and if there's one thread that ties them all together, it's rawness. I gravitate towards reading books and watching films where writers peel back the layers of their lives, exposing past wounds and delving into what they've learned from them. As an entrepreneur with a master's degree in marketing, I’ve found that this kind of vulnerability is not only compelling but essential in any form of storytelling. Whether I’m crafting a narrative for a new startup or reflecting on my own experiences for a novel, it’s this unfiltered honesty that resonates deeply with audiences. 

Tori's book list on books that are raw, honest, and vulnerable

Tori Scott Why did Tori love this book?

Patti Smith writes like a poet who accidentally wandered into a rock concert and decided to stay. Her memoir is both a nostalgic love letter to a gritty, pre-gentrified New York City and a tender tribute to her friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe.

What’s captivating is the way she captures the magic of artistic struggle—when life is simultaneously poverty-stricken and creatively rich. It's a reminder that the road to self-discovery is paved with both heartbreak and small, everyday miracles, all written with Smith’s signature blend of grit and grace.

By Patti Smith,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked Just Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

“Reading rocker Smith’s account of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, it’s hard not to believe in fate. How else to explain the chance encounter that threw them together, allowing both to blossom? Quirky and spellbinding.” -- People

It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation.

Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence…


Book cover of The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band

Elwin Cotman Author Of Weird Black Girls: Stories

From my list on staring into the abyss.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since childhood, I’ve been interested in dark stories, and this led me to writing dark fantasy. To this day, my main inspirations as a writer are Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, both dark fantasists. I think it is only through understanding evil that we can appreciate goodness. As such, I strive to explore the darker parts of my characters’ psyches. I also write a fair deal about racism, which is a socially accepted, even celebrated form of evil. Fiction, because it has so few limits as far as subject matter, is, in my opinion, the best medium to have these conversations. Thank you for reading my list!

Elwin's book list on staring into the abyss

Elwin Cotman Why did Elwin love this book?

I’m reluctant to recommend it because these guys don’t need the money. Four raging narcissists/rapists/drug addicts create a band and proceed to destroy themselves and everything around them. I remember reading it and thinking, “This is the stuff they admit to.”

This book is the very definition of “If they were black, they’d be locked up.” By the point I was reading Vince Neil whine about not being able to tour Japan because he was on probation for drunkenly killing his friend, I realized I was witnessing pure evil. However, evil can be fascinating.

This book is so singularly revolting that it completely spoiled my already low interest in stories about entitled people growing more entitled. It was adapted into a very whitewashed Netflix movie.

By Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil , Nikki Sixx , Neil Strauss

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Dirt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Celebrate thirty years of the world's most notorious rock band with the deluxe collectors' edition of The Dirt-the outrageous, legendary, no-holds-barred autobiography of Motley Crue. Fans have gotten glimpses into the band's crazy world of backstage scandals, celebrity love affairs, rollercoaster drug addictions, and immortal music in Motley Crue books like Tommyland and The Heroin Diaries, but now the full spectrum of sin and success by Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, and Mick Mars is an open book in The Dirt. Even fans already familiar with earlier editions of the bestselling expose will treasure this gorgeous deluxe edition. Joe…


Book cover of Girl in a Band: A Memoir

Bill Torgerson Author Of Love on the Big Screen

From my list on romantic comedy from the 80s.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in the eighties, and that means I grew up watching movies such as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Say Anything. Thirty years after watching those movies, some iconic scenes have stuck with me: the characters of The Breakfast Club sliding across the hallway to Simple Minds’ song “Don’t You Forget About Me,” John Cusack holding the boombox over his head while blaring Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” and the Psychedelic Furs “Pretty in Pink” song playing on the soundtrack of a movie by the same name. The books in this list do a lot with those same ingredients of heartbreak, music, and hope that the characters who so often remind me of myself might find love. 

Bill's book list on romantic comedy from the 80s

Bill Torgerson Why did Bill love this book?

The phrase “girl in a band” in the title got me to pick this book up off a table in the bookstore. I am the kind of guy who will pick up five or so books at a bookstore, take them over to the most comfortable spot I can find, and read the first few pages to see if I want to buy any of them.

The writer Kim Gordon was in an indie post-punk band called Sonic Youth, and I had just barely heard of them. After three years in Sonic Youth, Kim marries one of her fellow band members, and they stay married for 29 years. This book starts when the two of them take the stage together for the last time as they head for divorce and the band's breakup.

“They say when a marriage ends,” Gordon writes on the first pages, “that little things you never…

By Kim Gordon,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Girl in a Band as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new edition, part of the Faber Greatest Hits series -- books that have taken writing about music in new and exciting directions for the twenty-first century.

In Girl in a Band Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth and role model for a generation of women, tells her story. She writes frankly about her route from girl to woman and pioneering icon within the music and art scene of New York City in the 1980s and 90s as well as marriage, motherhood, and independence.

Filled with the sights and sounds of a changing world and a remarkable life, Girl…


Book cover of Hit So Hard: A Memoir

Joyce Raskin Author Of My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star

From my list on female musician rock memoirs.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a female musician who has toured and experienced life on the road in the male-dominated world of rock and roll. I am always looking for female musicians (famous and unknown) who led the way to me being able to do what I do. Female musicians still don’t get equal time with their male counterparts. There are still so few women who have been recognized in the media, so reading about them makes me feel less alone. Their memoirs inspire me to keep playing and bring to music what only a female musician can do.

Joyce's book list on female musician rock memoirs

Joyce Raskin Why did Joyce love this book?

I happened to have spent time with Patti Schemel when my band Scarce toured for a month with Hole in 1995. Patti is the real deal when it comes to being a musician. She’s a badass on the drums, and in real life.

I really enjoyed the intimate moments she shared about Kurt Cobain. They are tender and sweet, and show a very different side of his public persona. She takes us into the back scenes of what was like to be in a band as it took off, backing up the very unpredictable Courtney Love onstage, and what it means to be a rock star.

I also loved that she spent time writing about what it was like to be a lesbian in the male-dominated rock world, where women are seen often as simply something pretty to look at.

Her personality really shines through her writing. She’s fierce, honest,…

By Patty Schemel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hit So Hard as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A stunningly candid portrait of the Seattle grunge scene of the '90s and a memoir of an addict during the last great era of rock 'n' roll excess, by Hole drummer Patty Schemel

Patty Schemel's story begins with a childhood surrounded by the AA meetings her parents hosted in the family living room. Their divorce triggered her first forays into drinking at age twelve and dovetailed with her passion for punk rock and playing the drums. Patty's struggles with her sexuality further drove her notoriously hard playing, and by the late '80s she had focused that anger, confusion, and drive…


Book cover of Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway

Joyce Raskin Author Of My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star

From my list on female musician rock memoirs.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a female musician who has toured and experienced life on the road in the male-dominated world of rock and roll. I am always looking for female musicians (famous and unknown) who led the way to me being able to do what I do. Female musicians still don’t get equal time with their male counterparts. There are still so few women who have been recognized in the media, so reading about them makes me feel less alone. Their memoirs inspire me to keep playing and bring to music what only a female musician can do.

Joyce's book list on female musician rock memoirs

Joyce Raskin Why did Joyce love this book?

“Hello daddy, hello mom, I’m you ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb.” Cherrie Currie was the lead singer of the all-female band called The Runaways from Los Angeles, California. Cherrie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox, and Sandy West were young teenage street punks when Kim Fowley (infamous record producer) brought them all together to form their band.

The Runaways enjoy cult status to this day, and I very much enjoyed the descriptions of the places they played and shows that are legendary to this day. Cherrie shares with us the punk beginnings of this band with these fierce teenage girls who were swimming in waters a bit too deep and adult for them.

Her memoir reveals the ugly truth about how women have been taken advantage of both physically and emotionally by men. Drugs and alcohol take their toll on Cherrie, so she’s even unable to make music anymore with the band. But,…

By Cherie Currie, Tony O'Neill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Neon Angel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this candid autobiography, Cherie Currie—the original lead singer of ‘70s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways—powerfully recounts her years in the band, her friendship with guitarist Joan Jett, and her struggle with drugs. An intense, behind-the-scenes look at rock music in the gritty, post-glam era, Neon Angel is a must-read for anyone whose heart beats to the rhythm of David Bowie, Suzi Quatro, Nick Gilder, and the Sex Pistols, and for every fan of the movie it inspired: The Runaways, starring Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart as Cherie Currie and Joan Jett.


Book cover of Me: Elton John

Ian Gittins Author Of The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star

From my list on rock biographies that go the extra mile.

Why am I passionate about this?

After years as a London-based music journalist for publications such as Melody Maker, Q, and The Guardian, I turned to ghostwriting rock autobiographies and discovered how much more satisfying it is to tell someone’s full, unadulterated life story rather than to feed on carefully cultivated scraps gleaned from half-hour interviews. I never imagined anybody would be as lewdly transparent as my first memoir subject, Nikki Sixx, but many others have run him close—not least Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, in 2020’s appositely named Confess. Its follow-up, Biblical, is imminent. Does it go the extra mile? I don’t think it will disappoint…

Ian's book list on rock biographies that go the extra mile

Ian Gittins Why did Ian love this book?

Autobiographies by genuine A-listers can prove disappointing experiences, as the superstars in question tread delicately lest they puncture their carefully cultivated public images. Not so Sir Elton John, who in Me worked closely with Guardian writer Alexis Petridis to deliver a racy, rambunctious, scurrilous account of his serial misdoings. Everyone had always known that Elton John was doing crazy shit. Nobody had grasped that he was doing quite as much as this.

By Elton John,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life. Me is the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time.

The Sunday Times bestseller with a new chapter bringing the story up to date.

'The rock memoir of the decade' - Daily Mail
'The rock star's gloriously entertaining and candid memoir is a gift to the reader' - Sunday Times
______________

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed…


Book cover of Feel: Robbie Williams

Ian Gittins Author Of The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star

From my list on rock biographies that go the extra mile.

Why am I passionate about this?

After years as a London-based music journalist for publications such as Melody Maker, Q, and The Guardian, I turned to ghostwriting rock autobiographies and discovered how much more satisfying it is to tell someone’s full, unadulterated life story rather than to feed on carefully cultivated scraps gleaned from half-hour interviews. I never imagined anybody would be as lewdly transparent as my first memoir subject, Nikki Sixx, but many others have run him close—not least Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, in 2020’s appositely named Confess. Its follow-up, Biblical, is imminent. Does it go the extra mile? I don’t think it will disappoint…

Ian's book list on rock biographies that go the extra mile

Ian Gittins Why did Ian love this book?

Debauch, cathartic music memoirs are not limited to rock and metal stars. Former boy band member Robbie Williams was at the pinnacle of his British-pop imperial period when he gave unlimited access to the peerless Chris Heath to pen this unforgettable biography. Heath spent a full two years with Williams, capturing an impulsive, wayward yet fragile star whose chronically short attention span did not allow him even to rehearse properly for his world tours. You closed Feel feeling that you knew Williams intimately—the litmus test of a biography—and liking him a whole lot more than you had before.

By Chris Heath,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Feel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The publication of Feel: Robbie Williams by Chris Heath in September 2004 caused shockwaves of controversy and delight. Not only was its publication trumpeted in tabloids, on TV and the radio, but it was also critically lauded by the broadsheets. Finally, a book had been written on the subject of celebrity and the modern world which had intelligence, honesty and humour.

Written by Chris Heath, who spent nearly two years working with Robbie on this book, every word is imbued with Robbie's humour, charisma, talent, memories and complexity. But more than ever before, this book tells the truth about his…


Book cover of Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed

Ian Gittins Author Of The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star

From my list on rock biographies that go the extra mile.

Why am I passionate about this?

After years as a London-based music journalist for publications such as Melody Maker, Q, and The Guardian, I turned to ghostwriting rock autobiographies and discovered how much more satisfying it is to tell someone’s full, unadulterated life story rather than to feed on carefully cultivated scraps gleaned from half-hour interviews. I never imagined anybody would be as lewdly transparent as my first memoir subject, Nikki Sixx, but many others have run him close—not least Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, in 2020’s appositely named Confess. Its follow-up, Biblical, is imminent. Does it go the extra mile? I don’t think it will disappoint…

Ian's book list on rock biographies that go the extra mile

Ian Gittins Why did Ian love this book?

It’s not an easy task to convey the carnal intensity and animal abandon of a performer whose default mode has always been unadulterated excess, but Paul Trynka’s masterful study of Iggy Pop hit the motherlode. Trynka went the extra mile and then some, tracking down hundreds of key witnesses to, and victims of, Pop’s creative chaos, and even attending his high school reunion (which is more than Iggy did). Jaw-dropping anecdotes were legion (taking a mid-gig dump behind the speakers, anyone?) and Trynka captured the driven essence of this brittle soul, perennially fighting the world while never even knowing why.

By Paul Trynka,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Iggy Pop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Fellow rock stars, casual members of the public, lords and media magnates, countless thousands of people will talk of their encounters with this driven, talented, indomitable creature, a man who has plumbed the depths of depravity, yet emerged with an indisputable nobility. Each of them will share an admiration and appreciation of the contradictions and ironies of his incredible life. Even so, they are unlikely to fully comprehend both the heights and the depths of his experience, for the extremes are simply beyond the realms of most people’s understanding.”

—from the Prologue

The first full biography of one of rock…


Book cover of Typical Girls: The Story of "The Slits"

Audrey Golden Author Of I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women at Factory Records

From my list on revealing untold stories in music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been thinking about and researching obscured narratives for a long time, now. As a lawyer, I learned about how systems and structures marginalize and hide important voices because of overt discrimination and implicit biases, and I took that knowledge with me while I earned a PhD in literary studies. I’ve learned — and am still learning! — that if we want to remedy exclusions from cultural histories, we’ve got to learn to think about what voices are missing and why. I hope reading my book and those recommended here will give you a chance to learn with me. Let’s change the ways we think about so-called “definitive” histories of music. 

Audrey's book list on revealing untold stories in music

Audrey Golden Why did Audrey love this book?

As far as I know, this is the first biography of an all-female or female-fronted band. When I saw it come out, I was thrilled but also thought: how in the world has it taken this long for someone to write a book about The Slits?!

Lucky for me (and for all of you), Zoe Howe was the one to do it because this book taught me that it’s more than possible to write about women in music (even when male journalists and music writers omit women altogether, marginalize them in print, or criticize their work). 

By Zoe Howe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Typical Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wild, defiant and startlingly inventive, The Slits were ahead of their time. Although they created some unique hybrids - dub reggae and pop-punk, African rhythms, funk and free jazz - they were dismissed as being unable to play. Their lyrics were witty and perceptive while their influential first album challenged perceptions of punk and of girl bands - but they were still misunderstood. And that infamous debut album cover, with the band appearing topless and mud-daubed, prompted further misreadings of the first ladies of punk. Author Zoe Street Howe speaks to The Slits themselves, to former manager Don Letts, mentor…


Book cover of Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story

Jen B. Larson Author Of Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983

From my list on music and memoirs about rule-breaking women.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2011, when my all-girl garage band began gigging around Chicago, I couldn’t tell you how many times I heard people call us “riot grrrl.” We weren’t riot grrrls; we were far too late for the movement. But for so many people, riot grrrl was the only reference point they had for scary, brash female musicians. The truth is, women were involved in the movement’s origins in every part of the world. I believe we must understand that riot grrrls weren’t the first women of punk. My book Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983 details the stories of lesser-known but highly influential women who helped create punk and its adjacent genres.

Jen's book list on music and memoirs about rule-breaking women

Jen B. Larson Why did Jen love this book?

I’ve read this book twice. Both times, I couldn’t put it down. Alice Bag can tell a story, and my neurodivergent ass loves books parsed into bite-sized sections. Alice’s stories begin with her childhood and end with her becoming a teacher. 

I look up to Alice and relate to her a lot. We both grew up in difficult family situations; we were both ambitious teens who were able to befriend just about anybody; and then we both learned to express our creativity and exercise our demons through punk. Growing up a bit and reigning in our talents, we both became public school teachers. Not to mention, we both love to write our memoirs. It’s cool to see her grow and reflect on her experiences, and a perfect read for anyone wanting new stories about all the characters in the early LA punk sphere.

By Alice Bag,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Violence Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The proximity of the East L.A. barrio to Hollywood is as close as a short drive on the 101 freeway, but the cultural divide is enormous. Born to Mexican-born and American-naturalized parents, Alicia Armendariz migrated a few miles west to participate in the free-range birth of the 1970s punk movement. Alicia adopted the punk name Alice Bag, and became lead singer for The Bags, early punk visionaries who starred in Penelope Spheeris' documentary The Decline of Western Civilization.

Here is a life of many crossed boundaries, from East L.A.'s musica ranchera to Hollywood's punk rock; from a violent male-dominated family…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in punk rock, London, and murder?

Punk Rock 45 books
London 860 books
Murder 1,059 books