National Bestseller * Named one of Rolling Stone's Best Music Books of 2018 * One of Newsweek's 50 Best Books of 2018 * A Billboard Best of 2018 * A New York Times Book Review "New and Noteworthy" selection
The author of the critically acclaimed Your Favorite Band is Killing Me offers an eye-opening exploration of the state of classic rock, its past and future, the impact it has had, and what its loss would mean to an industry, a culture, and a way of life.
Since the late 1960s, a legendary cadre of artists—including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Black Sabbath, and the Who—has revolutionized popular culture and the sounds of our lives. While their songs still get airtime and some of these bands continue to tour, its idols are leaving the stage permanently. Can classic rock remain relevant as these legends die off, or will this major musical subculture fade away as many have before, Steven Hyden asks.
In this mix of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden stands witness as classic rock reaches the precipice. Traveling to the eclectic places where geriatric rockers are still making music, he talks to the artists and fans who have aged with them, explores the ways that classic rock has changed the culture, investigates the rise and fall of classic rock radio, and turns to live bootlegs, tell-all rock biographies, and even the liner notes of rock’s greatest masterpieces to tell the story of what this music meant, and how it will be remembered, for fans like himself.
Twilight of the Gods is also Hyden’s story. Celebrating his love of this incredible music that has taken him from adolescence to fatherhood, he ponders two essential questions: Is it time to give up on his childhood heroes, or can this music teach him about growing old with his hopes and dreams intact? And what can we all learn from rock gods and their music—are they ephemeral or eternal?

Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock

Biographies & Memoirs

Hyden, Steven

Arts & Literature

Dey Street Books

Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation

A leading music journalist’s riveting chronicle of how beloved band Pearl Jam shaped the times, and how their legacy and longevity have transcended generations. Ever since Pearl Jam first blasted onto the Seattle grunge scene three decades ago with their debut album, Ten, they have sold 85M+ albums, performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, and have even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack Of A Generation, music critic and journalist Steven Hyden celebrates the life, career, and music of this legendary group, widely considered to be one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. Long Road is structured like a mix tape, using 18 different Pearl Jam classics as starting points for telling a mix of personal and universal stories. Each chapter tells the tale of this great band — how they got to where they are, what drove them to greatness, and why it matters now.\nMuch like the generation it emerged from, Pearl Jam is a mass of contradictions. They were an enormously successful mainstream rock band who felt deeply uncomfortable with the pursuit of capitalistic spoils. They were progressive activists who spoke in favor of abortion rights and against the Ticketmaster monopoly, and yet they epitomized the sound of traditional, male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll. They were looked at as spokesmen for their generation, even though they ultimately projected profound confusion and alienation. They triumphed, and failed, in equal doses — the quintessential Gen-X tale.\nImpressive as their stats, accolades, and longevity may be, Hyden also argues that Pearl Jam’s most definitive accomplishment lies in the impact their music had on Generation X as a whole. Pearl Jam’s music helped an entire generation of listeners connect with the glory of bygone rock mythology, and made it relevant during a period in which tremendous American economic prosperity belied a darkness at the heart of American youth. More than just a chronicle of the band’s career, this book is also a story about Gen- X itself, who like Pearl Jam came from angsty, outspoken roots and then evolved into an establishment institution, without ever fully shaking off their uncertain, outsider past. For so many Gen-Xers growing up at the time, Pearl Jam’s music was a beacon that offered both solace and guidance. They taught an entire generation how to grow up without losing the purest and most essential parts of themselves.\nWritten with his celebrated blend of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden explores Pearl Jam’s path from Ten to now. It's a chance for new fans and old fans alike to geek out over Pearl Jam minutia—the B-sides, the beloved deep cuts, the concert bootlegs—and explore the multitude of reasons why Pearl Jam’s music resonated with so many people. As Hyden explains, “Most songs pass through our lives and are swiftly forgotten. But Pearl Jam is forever.”

Da Capo

A thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen's iconic album,&nbsp;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. Bruce Springsteen's&nbsp;Born in the U.S.A.&nbsp;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. Because this record ended up being much more than just an album--it is a document of what this country was in its moment, a dream of what it might become, and a prescient forecast of what it actually turned into decades later. &nbsp; In&nbsp;There Was Nothing You Could Do,&nbsp;veteran rock critic Steven Hyden explores the essential questions that explain this classic album --&nbsp;what it means, why it was made, and how it changed the world. By mixing up his signature blend of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden digs deep into the songs that made&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;as well as the scores of tunes that didn't, including the tracks that make up the album's sister release, 1982's&nbsp;Nebraska.&nbsp;He investigates how the records before&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;set the table for the album's tremendous success, following Springsteen as he tries to balance his commercial ambitions with his fear of losing artistic control and being co-opted by the machine. Hyden also takes a closer look how Springsteen's work after&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;reacted to that album, discussing how "The Boss" initially ran away from his most popular (and most misunderstood) LP until he learned to once again accept his role as a kind of living national monument. &nbsp; But the book doesn't stop there. Hyden also looks beyond Springsteen's career, placing&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;in a larger context in terms of how it affected rock music as well as America. Though he aspired to be as big as Elvis and as profound as Dylan, he was equally aware of his heroes' shortcomings and eager to avoid their mistakes--all while navigating the tumultuous aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, a time when America was coming apart at the seams.&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;simultaneously chronicles that coming apart and pushes for a more united future, a duality that made him a hero to a younger generation of bands --&nbsp;from Arcade Fire to The Killers to The War On Drugs --&nbsp;who openly emulated the sound of&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;in the hopes of somehow, in their own way, achieving a measure of that album's impact in the 21st&nbsp;century. By the aughts, when Springsteen fan (and future podcast partner) Barack Obama entered the White House, it appeared that the hopeful promise of&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;might be realized. But the election of Donald Trump seemed to confirm an opposite truth that was closer to the darkness of songs like "My Hometown" and "Born In The U.S.A." than Springsteen's revival-like shows. As Springsteen himself reluctantly conceded, the working-class middle American progressives he wrote about in 1984 had turned into the resentful and scored Trump voters of the 2010s. &nbsp; How did we lose Springsteen's heartland? And what can listening to these songs teach us about the American decline that&nbsp;Born In The U.S.A.&nbsp;forecasted? In&nbsp;There Was Nothing You Could Do,&nbsp;Hyden takes readers on a journey to find out. &nbsp;

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

Humor & Entertainment

This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Beginning of the 21st Century

Product Description 
THE MAKING AND MEANING OF RADIOHEAD'S GROUNDBREAKING, CONTROVERSIAL, EPOCHDEFINING ALBUM, KID A.\nIn 1999, as the end of an old century loomed, five musicians entered a recording studio in Paris without a deadline. Their band was widely recognized as the best and most forward-thinking in rock, a rarefied status granting them the time, money, and space to make a masterpiece. But Radiohead didn't want to make another rock record. Instead, they set out to create the future.\nFor more than a year, they battled writer's block, intra-band disagreements, and crippling self-doubt. In the end, however, they produced an album that was not only a complete departure from their prior guitar-based rock sound, it was the sound of a new era-and it embodied widespread changes catalyzed by emerging technologies just beginning to take hold of the culture. What they created was 
Kid A.\nUpon its release in 2000, Radiohead's fourth album divided critics. Some called it an instant classic; others, such as the UK music magazine 
Melody Maker, deemed it "tubby, ostentatious, self-congratulatory... whiny old rubbish." But two decades later, 
Kid A sounds like nothing less than an overture for the chaos and confusion of the twenty-first century.\nAcclaimed rock critic Steven Hyden digs deep into the songs, history, legacy, and mystique of 
Kid A, outlining the album's pervasive influence and impact on culture in time for its twentieth anniversary in 2020. Deploying a mix of criticism, journalism, and personal memoir, Hyden skillfully revisits this enigmatic, alluring LP and investigates the many ways in which 
Kid A shaped and foreshadowed our world. 
 Review 
The Wall Street Journal, Arts & Entertainment Fall 2020 Preview\nJam Base, "Top Music Books of 2020"\n" 
This Isn't Happening not only is an excellent way to revisit 
Kid A but also a springboard for thinking about the shifting fortunes of rock music, the Internet, and the uneasy century we've been living in for the past 20 years."― 
Ezra Koenig of VampireWeekend\n"If there was ever an album that deserves a book-length exegesis, it's 
Kid A, and there's no one better than Steven Hyden to unpack its mythologies and prophecies, and the extraordinary way it appeared to set the stage for the century that followed. 
This Isn't Happening is a smart, riveting, and dynamic history of a watershed moment for both music and the world."― 
Amanda Petrusich, author of Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World'sRarest 78rpm Records\n"Even if you've immersed yourself in 
Kid A thousands of times, Steven Hyden's passionately argued and kaleidoscopic 
This Isn't Happening will make you rethink and reimagine Radiohead's most audacious album and its place in cultural history--and history itself."― 
David Browne, author, Dream Brother: The Livesand Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley andCrosby, Stills, Nash and Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's GreatestSupergroup\n"Radiohead, music, and culture all stood at a crossroads in the year 2000. With insight and grace, Steven Hyden explores the ways in which the 
Kid A album pointed toward a future that no one could fully imagine--and captured a moment that, two decades later, we're still trying to comprehend."― 
Alan Light, author of The Holy or theBroken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of"Hallelujah" and host of "Debatable" on SiriusXM\n"This Isn't Happening is beyond a mere analysis of 
Kid A. It is a vast and contextual examination of the world, both inside and outside of Radiohead, leading up to and flowing away from the creation of 
 Kid A and its impact on both the band and culture as a whole. Connecting the record to film, politics, current events, and the cultural morass that comprised the final moments of the '90s, Steven Hyden gleefully and with meticulous absurdity dissects, deconstructs, and decodes the first great artistic enigma of the new millennium."― 
Alex Ross Perry,writer/director of H

History

In 1999, as the end of an old century loomed, five musicians entered a recording studio in Paris without a deadline. Their band was widely recognized as the best and most forward-thinking in rock, a rarefied status granting them the time, money, and space to make a masterpiece. But Radiohead didn't want to make another rock record. Instead, they set out to create the future. For more than a year, they battled writer's block, inter-band disagreements, and crippling self-doubt. In the end, however, they produced an album that was not only a complete departure from their prior guitar-based rock sound, it was the sound of a new era, and embodied widespread changes catalyzed by emerging technologies just beginning to take hold of the culture. What they created was Kid A. At the time, Radiohead's fourth album divided critics. Some called it an instant classic; others, including the U.K. music magazine Melody Maker, deemed it "tubby, ostentatious, self-congratulatory... whiny old rubbish." But two decades later, Kid A sounds like nothing less than an overture for the chaos and confusion of the 21st century. Acclaimed rock critic Steven Hyden digs deep into the songs, history, legacy, and mystique of Kid A, outlining the album's pervasive influence and impact on culture, in time for its 20th anniversary in 2020. Deploying a mix of criticism, journalism, and personal memoir, Hyden skillfully revisits this enigmatic, alluring LP and investigates the many ways in which Kid A shaped and foreshadowed our world.

Steven Hyden explores nineteen music rivalries and what they say about life in this "highly entertaining" book (Rolling Stone) perfect for every passionate music fan. Beatles vs. Stones. Biggie vs. Tupac. Kanye vs. Taylor. Who do you choose? And what does that say about you? Actually -- what do these endlessly argued-about pop music rivalries say about us? Music opinions bring out passionate debate in people, and Steven Hyden knows that firsthand. Each chapter in Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me focuses on a pop music rivalry, from the classic to the very recent, and draws connections to the larger forces surrounding the pairing. Through Hendrix vs. Clapton, Hyden explores burning out and fading away, while his take on Miley vs. Sinead gives readers a glimpse into the perennial battle between old and young. Funny and accessible, Hyden's writing combines cultural criticism, personal anecdotes, and music history -- and just may prompt you to give your least favorite band another chance.

Your Favorite Band is Killing Me

Arts & Photography

Music

Back Bay Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hyden, Steven. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hyden, Steven

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hyden, Steven. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock

Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock

Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation

Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation

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

This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Beginning of the 21st Century

This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Beginning of the 21st Century

Your Favorite Band is Killing Me