Audiobooks Narrated by Steven Hyden

Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (and Rock ‘n' Roll)

"From an acclaimed music critic and author, an in-depth analysis of the rise and fall of rock n' roll through the lens of one of the best albums of the 21st century-The Strokes' Is This It.   In 2001, The Strokes broke into the indie alt-rock scene with their debut album Is This It, a work that was supposed to "save" rock music from the evils of nü-metal and teen pop.   It did not.   Despite the album's countless accolades and acclaim from critics and fans alike, it failed to break into the mainstream like Nevermind did a decade before, and the band never reached as wide an audience as they'd hoped. But then why is it that no other rock band from the 21st century has captured the mystique of The Strokes? And how did a band defined by their repeated failure gain such a transcendent and enduring allure?   In Is This It: The Never Ending Rise And Fall Of The Strokes (And Rock 'n' Roll), music critic and author Steven Hyden provides keen insight into The Strokes' mystifying longevity by turning a socio-cultural and critical lens on their entire career, as well as the careers of their contemporaries: The Killers (more successful but less cool), Kings Of Leon (the southern Strokes), The White Stripes (their rival-and arguably the better band), The National (the tortoise to The Strokes's hare), and more. Hyden uses The Strokes' classic album Is This It as a vehicle for examining rock's radically changing role in pop culture over the last twenty-five years, and explores how while rock music may rise and fall, it-much like The Strokes-will never die.  "

Steven Hyden (Author), Steven Hyden (Narrator)

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There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland

"A thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen's iconic album, Born in the U.S.A.-a record that both chronicled and foreshadowed the changing tides of modern America On June 4, 1984, Columbia Records issued what would become one of the best-selling and most impactful rock albums of all time. An instant classic, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. would prove itself to be a landmark not only for the man who made it, but rock music in general and even the larger American culture over the next 40 years.   In There Was Nothing You Could Do, veteran rock critic Steven Hyden shows exactly how this record became such a pivotal part of the American tapestry. Alternating between insightful criticism, meticulous journalism, and personal anecdotes, Hyden delves into the songs that made-and didn't make-the final cut, including the tracks that wound up on its sister album, 1982's Nebraska. He also investigates the myriad reasons why Springsteen ran from and then embraced the success of his most popular (and most misunderstood) LP, as he carefully toed the line between balancing his commercial ambitions and being co-opted by the machine. But the book doesn't stop there. Beyond Springsteen's own career, Hyden explores the role the album played in a greater historical context, documenting not just where the country was in the tumultuous aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, but offering a dream of what it might become-and a perceptive forecast of what it turned into decades later. As Springsteen himself reluctantly conceded, many of the working-class middle American progressives Springsteen wrote about in 1984 had turned into resentful and scorned Trump voters by the 2010s. And though it wasn't the future he dreamed of, the cautionary warnings tucked within Springsteen's heartfelt lyrics prove that the chaotic turmoil of our current moment has been a long time coming. How did we lose Springsteen's heartland? And what can listening to this prescient album teach us about the decline of our country? In There Was Nothing You Could Do, Hyden takes readers on a journey to find out.  "

Steven Hyden (Author), Steven Hyden (Narrator)

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