{"product_id":"9780060527914","title":"Never Mind the Pollacks: A Rock and Roll Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese names defined the mayhem, excess and glory of American rock for half a century, but only Neal Pollack was there for every note of every show, except for the shows he missed. Only Neal Pollack saw Memphis with Elvis, the Village with Dylan, and the depressed Pacific Northwest with Kurt Cobain. Only Neal Pollack had the extra-potent cough syrup that they all so desperately craved.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the twisted mind of America's most-photographed satirist comes a raw protean yawp from the depths of nowhere, a hilarious trip through time that savagely parodies the history of rock-'n'-roll and its grandiloquent journalism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe fictional Neal Pollack, born Norbert Pollackovitz before being renamed, by Elvis, at his Bar Mitzvah, first hears the blues as a child. The notes come from the guitar of Clambone Jefferson, an ancient, mythical character who Pollack spends the rest of his life chasing as the source of music's primal allure. In that pursuit, Pollack becomes a renegade rock journalist whose screeds appear in such high-profile publications as \u003ci\u003eHillbilly Hot Rag! \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBroken Testicle\u003c\/i\u003e. He seduces Patti Smith and Joan Baez. He discovers Kurt Cobain. He goes on pharmacopoeial binges that put the most reckless, bloated rock star to shame.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThrough it all, the real Neal Pollack, the greatest American novelist of his generation, manages to echo the style of overeducated blowhards while tackling the history of blues, rock, punk, post-punk and post-post-punk with equal enthusiasm and disdain.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNever Mind the Pollacks\u003c\/i\u003e is a rock novel that really rocks. Like a classic album, it opens with a kick in the guts, proceeds to a bite in theshins, and ends with an uppercut to the jaw, leaving you bloodied, awed, and grateful. Along the way, it manages to uncover America's sellouts and false idols. So drink some cough syrup and put on Iggy and the Stooges' \u003ci\u003eRaw Power\u003c\/i\u003e. Better yet, burn your copy of \u003ci\u003eRaw Power\u003c\/i\u003e and listen to something new. Because rock, like literature, must destroy itself. Thankfully, Neal Pollack is here to kill them both.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNeal Pollack is the author of the cult classic \u003ci\u003eThe Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e. He writes for numerous underground publications such as \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e. His rock credentials are validated by his residence in Austin, TX.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47011469656304,"sku":"9780060527914","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780060527914_p0.jpg?v=1763619391","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780060527914","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}