1
of
1
Real Life Rock
The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 100 ratings, 23 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Real Life Rock. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers interested in arts and culture, music criticism enthusiasts, and those who appreciate sharp, erudite commentary on pop culture's deeper currents.
Latest News
Marnie shares her tips for Spring!
Marnie is our garden expert and Lizzy kills every plant she brings home. We're getting...
My Favourite Thing About Bookish Puzzles
There's something special about seeing your favourite fictional worlds brought to life through beautiful artwork....
The Cultural Renaissance of Reading
There's something rather wonderful happening in the world of books at the moment. Reading is...
Bookshop Day (Gluten Free) Baking
For Bookshop Day the Book Hero team, family, and friends got baking up a storm....
A Little Bit Spooky: Board Games for Halloween
Halloween is the perfect excuse for a spooky board game night! From adorable ghost cats...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
From the author of The History of Rock ’n’ Roll in Ten Songs comes his “Basement Tapes”: the complete Real Life Rock Top 10 columns
For nearly thirty years, Greil Marcus has written a remarkable column called "Real Life Rock Top Ten." It has been a laboratory where he has fearlessly explored and wittily dissected an enormous variety of cultural artifacts, from songs to books to movies to advertisements. Taken together, his musings, reflections, and sallies amount to a subtle and implicit theory of how cultural objects fall through time and circumstance and often deliver unintended consequences, both in the present and in the future.
Real Life Rock reveals the critic in full: direct, erudite, funny, fierce, vivid, uninhibited, and possessing an unerring instinct for art and fraud. The result is an indispensable volume packed with startling arguments and casual brilliance.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780300223606
Publisher: Yale University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 06 January 2017
Country: United States
Imprint: Yale University Press
Illustration: 2 b-w illus.
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Height: 225.0mm
Weight: 816g
Pages: 600
About the Author
Greil Marcus's books include Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ’n’ Roll Music, Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, and The History of Rock ’n’ Roll in Ten Songs. He teaches at Berkeley and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.
Also by Greil Marcus
View all-
Mystery Train
Mystery Train by Greil Marcus is universally acclaimed as the benchmark work of modern rock criticism. Marcus's study uses a handful of artists—a brace of bluesmen, The Band, Sly Stone, Randy Newman, and Elvis Presley—to illuminate and interpret the American Dream. In rigorous prose, the book touches on the myth, landscape, and oral tradition of the continent. This comprehensive, revised...Paperback$5000Elsewhere:$5500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Folk Music
Acclaimed cultural critic Greil Marcus tells the story of Bob Dylan through the lens of seven penetrating songs. "The most interesting writer on Dylan over the years has been the cultural critic Greil Marcus. . . . No one alive knows the music that fueled Dylan’s imagination better. . . . Folk Music . . . [is an] ingenious book...Paperback$2899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Nails It
From a celebrated critic, a heartfelt and adventurous reflection on the art of writing about art. "Essential for fans of Marcus and fruitful reading for anyone reflecting on the mysteries of art."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Writers write. They can't help it. They can't not." In this spirited book, the revered cultural critic Greil Marcus explains his compulsion as a yearning...Hardback$3099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Nails It
From a celebrated critic, a heartfelt and adventurous reflection on the art of writing about art. Essential for fans of Marcus and fruitful reading for anyone reflecting on the mysteries of art. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Writers write. They can't help it. They can't not." In this spirited book, the revered cultural critic Greil Marcus explains his compulsion as...Paperback$2399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs
One of our finest critics gives us an altogether original history of rock ’n’ roll. Unlike all previous versions of rock ’n’ roll history, this book omits almost every iconic performer and ignores the storied events and turning points that everyone knows. Instead, in a daring stroke, Greil Marcus selects ten songs recorded between 1956 and 2008, then proceeds to...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Under the Red White and Blue
An "astute, challenging, and far-reaching” look (Kirkus Reviews, starred) at how F. Scott Fitzgerald’s vision of the American Dream has been understood, portrayed, distorted, misused, and kept alive. “I found great pleasure in . . . Under the Red White and Blue . . . about the idea of the American dream, its allure, the exploitation of it.” —Percival Everett,...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Manchurian Candidate
"It may be the most sophisticated political thriller ever made in Hollywood," film critic Pauline Kael wrote of John Frankenheimer's terrifying 1962 political thriller about an American serviceman brainwashed in Korea and made into an assassin. Sophisticated to be sure, it's also a headlong fall through the looking-glass of American politics and the most deeply prophetic film of the second...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Folk Music
Acclaimed cultural critic Greil Marcus tells the story of Bob Dylan through the lens of seven penetrating songs. “Marcus delivers yet another essential work of music journalism.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Further elevates Marcus to what he has always been: a supreme artist-critic.” —Hilton Als Across seven decades, Bob Dylan has been the first singer of American song. As a...HardbackSold Out -
More Real Life Rock
A funny, fierce, and uninhibited musical chronicle of the convulsive past six years from one of our finest cultural critics “A smart set of suggestions for further reading, viewing, and listening by a most trustworthy guide.”—Kirkus Reviews “This new collection of Marcus’ long-running column continues his role as a great chronicler of the highways and byways of American culture. This...HardbackSold Out
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5999Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseI’ll Believe in Anything
From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...Hardback$5499Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseHome Again
Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Odyssey
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Iliad
When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseBirdlands
A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...Hardback$4199Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$4499Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseSplit Enz
'My favourite band. Ever! And certainly the best dressed.' Sam Neill Split Enz were never designed to fit. Emerging from art school mischief in early-1970s New Zealand, they turned pop into surreal theatre: costume, character and melody colliding in a rock band that refused to behave like one. At the centre of that vision was Noel Crombie—percussionist, performer and the...Hardback$5199Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Artist's Way
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...Paperback$3700Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
This Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$7299Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Life in Lyrics
Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...Hardback$5000Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableOutPre-order -
Starside
Enter the enchanting and deadly world of Starside, where swords have magic and power isn’t inherited – it’s claimed, from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster.Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals – the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3899Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Arts & Culture lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry of Aotearoa
Check out some of the amazing local talent we are spoilt with right here in Aotearoa.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry for Beginners - Where to Start
10 Books I'd recommend to someone new to reading poetry - a mix of old and new, all magical introductions to the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Lizzy's Favourite Books of Poetry
If I could only have 10 poetry collections to survive on for the rest of my life, these are them. Or maybe...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Books to read for Women in Translation month!
August is Women in Translation month, but at any time of year it's worth checking out these incredible novels written by women...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Inside the World of Film
Step behind the scenes of the world of filmmaking! Discover iconic directors and movie history of some of the world's memorable films.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Books to Celebrate NZ Music Month
New Zealand Music Month happens every May, it's a reminder that we have so many talented musicians, singer, songwriters here in Aotearoa....View the list
