Quick Bite: Mick Wall HAAAAAAAAAAAATES Axl Rose.
What It’s About: Axl Rose, the temperamental frontman of Guns & Roses, had a rough childhood, followed by an infamously messy adulthood. This book meticulously documents his rise, fall, and every bad decision along the way. And his waistline.
A Word From The Nerd: Duckies, by now, the self-indulgent, washed-up 80’s rock star is a stereotype we’re all familiar with. I was a big hair metal fan back in the day, so I’ve read a few books by and about the heroes of my misspent youth (including Slash’s), and let me say, this is probably the most ridiculous yet. Mr. Wall has the worst case of “b*&$% eating crackers” I’ve ever seen in a “journalist”. Let’s be honest, Axl’s obvious mental health issues, famous temper tantrums, and complete lack of respect for, well… everyone are enough to tell a truthful story, and still make him look like a heel. But Mr. Wall goes all-in on the snark, editorializing on all of Axl’s bad behavior while also pointing out roughly a dozen times that as he aged, Mr. Rose dared to (gasp!) gain weight. His pearl-clutching references to the least interesting thing about Axl, came off as gleefully reveling in being finally able to bully the guy who’s cooler than him. There might have been some interesting stuff in this book, but the author made it impossible to enjoy without feeling icky.
The Nerd’s Rating: TWO HAPPY NEURONS (and a big slice of wedding cake, I ended up going down the November Rain video rabbit hole. Again .)
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