4. Idoru, William Gibson (1997)
The author of Neuromancer and the cyberpunk’s favourite novelist follows a Rez, a Japanese singer who has a finacee with an issue. She may (or may not have been) been created by a computer. Gibson is a huge rock fan who even included a mention of Toronto’s Viletones and their song “Screaming Fist” in Neurmancer.
5. Pinball, Jerzy Kolinski (1996)
Not so much a book about rock’n’roll as a commentary on the disposability of pop culture, it’s an interesting look at ideas. It’s still pretty cool how Goddard, the musician-hermit, gets tracked down using nothing more than the musical clues he left behind.
6. The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Salmon Rushdie (1999)
This one requires commitment. Written while Rushie was still running from his fatwa freaks (some of it in a guest cottage on the grounds of Bono’s house), he basically repurposes the Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/eurydice/eurydicemyth.html by setting it in India and turning it into a rock love story. A sort of love story. The prose is dense (Dude: can you please write a paragraph that’s less than a page long?) but it’s worth the effort.
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