Twilight of the Gods

By Steven Hyden

Twilight of the Gods - Steven Hyden
  • Release Date: 2018-05-08
  • Genre: Music
Score: 4
4
From 48 Ratings

Description

National Bestseller * Named one of Rolling Stone's Best Music Books of 2018 * One of Newsweek's 50 Best Books of 2018 * A Billboard Best of 2018 * A New York Times Book Review "New and Noteworthy" selection

The author of the critically acclaimed Your Favorite Band is Killing Me offers an eye-opening exploration of the state of classic rock, its past and future, the impact it has had, and what its loss would mean to an industry, a culture, and a way of life.

Since the late 1960s, a legendary cadre of artists—including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Black Sabbath, and the Who—has revolutionized popular culture and the sounds of our lives. While their songs still get airtime and some of these bands continue to tour, its idols are leaving the stage permanently. Can classic rock remain relevant as these legends die off, or will this major musical subculture fade away as many have before, Steven Hyden asks.

In this mix of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden stands witness as classic rock reaches the precipice. Traveling to the eclectic places where geriatric rockers are still making music, he talks to the artists and fans who have aged with them, explores the ways that classic rock has changed the culture, investigates the rise and fall of classic rock radio, and turns to live bootlegs, tell-all rock biographies, and even the liner notes of rock’s greatest masterpieces to tell the story of what this music meant, and how it will be remembered, for fans like himself.

Twilight of the Gods is also Hyden’s story. Celebrating his love of this incredible music that has taken him from adolescence to fatherhood, he ponders two essential questions: Is it time to give up on his childhood heroes, or can this music teach him about growing old with his hopes and dreams intact? And what can we all learn from rock gods and their music—are they ephemeral or eternal?

Reviews

  • Nothing special...

    2
    By [Steve]P
    First off, the author is too young to know the experience of going to a concert when most of the bands he wrote about were young and in their prime. No video or bootleg is going to give you that experience. And to make little or no mention of a genre of rock that ruled the mid 70’s-early 80’s-Southern Rock? Aside from the Allmans that started the scene, bands like Skynyrd, the Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot an others were doing more shows and selling as many records as anyone in that period. So many arena filling bands of the 70’s were never even mentioned in this book. Stick with what you know first handed if you’re going to write a book about a subject-don’t rely on interviews 40 years after the fact, or watch a video or listen to a bootleg. Ill take my Bad Company and you can keep your Prince and Paisley Park!