Book Reviews: November 1998
Archived
Sabotage in the American Workplace: Anecdotes of Dissatisfaction, Mischief and Revenge
OK, boys and girls, this month make sure you tell Martin Sprouse “Hi” for me. He’s going to start off with one of my all-time favorite books sitting on my shelf: Sabotage in the American Workplace, Anecdotes of Dissatisfaction, Mischief and Revenge. This one comes to us from Pressure Drop Press, a small press out of San Francisco, California. It was edited by Martin Sprouse. I’ve had my copy for over several years. It was originally published in 1992, and YES, IT IS STILL AVAILABLE. I know we are back tracking, but the bottom line is this book is so cool, once you find out about it, I can’t understand how you wouldn’t want to read it and have it in your collection. It’s a real collection of letters from real people who were pissed off at their employers and what they did about it, how they fought back and how they didn’t let “the man” keep them down. Martin requested these letters any way he could think of, and yes, he did get a response—many responses. After that, Mr. Sprouse put them in one nice, neat volume. The word sabotage is used loosely, as you will find out in the introduction. It is defined as, “anything you do at work that you are not supposed to do.”
Some of the letters are·mild, and you’ll chuckle at them. Some of them are very extreme, and you’ll wish you had the balls to pull off something like that. Down the margins of most of the pages are very fitting, and very funny, quotes from various sources about work. For example: “People get their living by such depressing devices that boredom becomes a sort of natural state for them.” That’s H .L. Mencken. Or what about this one from Thomas Jefferson. “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
The L.A. Musical History Tour
The next book we are going to take a look at is The L.A. Musical History Tour by Art Fein, published by 2.13.61 Publications. As the cover says, it’s “A Guide to the Rock and Roll Landmarks of Los Angeles.” My friend Heidi May turned me on to this one, and now I owe her big time! 2.13.61 Publications is so cool because of the wide scope of their catalog. You can literally find something for anyone on your shopping list, this title being no exception. If you know somebody who is a music lover, they will
love this book, period. It covers stuff from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s! It’s in alphabetical order with black and white pictures and a short synopsis of each location.
Mr. Fein also does something else that I think is totally cool. He’s got photos of the locations. So if the original building is gone, he shows you how it looks today. You can literally take this book to L.A. and go see these locations, buildings and businesses that have played a key role in the music that we love. He covers all types of music—that means punk rock, metal, blues, rockabilly, psychedelic, folk … EVERYTHING! Have you ever wondered where Morrison Hotel, the album cover of the Doors 1969 album of the same name, is? Address and photo, in this book! Or what about where Fear and Black Flag used to play a lot in the early ’80s? Once again, in this book!
Odd things like where is that blues man Percy Mayfield buried? (Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 E. Florence, Inglewood.) Or where Vince Neil had his head-on collision? Maybe you’ll be in L.A., and you’ve always wanted to see the Chateau Marmont because you know the place just reeks of history, along with the fact it’s where John Belushi died—where do you go? (8221 Sunset Blvd.) This book is great on many different levels. It’s almost like a cool history book. You’ll read facts, dates and names in this book and totally be entertained.
The only negative thing I can say about this book is it didn’t have Johnette Napolitano‘s current address and phone number in here, damn! Call 2.13.61 Publications and check this out. Their number to order is 1.800.992.1361. You can call their info hotline at 213.969.8043 just to see what’s new and where Henry will be touring. (Oh, by the way, you missed him in Salt Lake!) –Royce
Read more from the SLUG archives:
The Reverend Horton Heat
Crass Dismissed: September 1998
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