The Accidental Evolution of Rock'N'Roll ― A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music

History, jokebook, buying guide, book of lists, and treatise all rolled into one, The Accidental Evolution of Rock'n'Roll is most of all a joyride through the wildest music ever made. Whether discussing Def Leppard or Nirvana, Vanilla Ice or Public Enemy, Donna Summer or Bob Dylan, Chuck Eddy is an unparalleled master at deciphering unknown tongues and disentangling musical accidents. In this lavishly and hilariously illustrated book, he reveals the roots of rap, disco, power ballads, bubblegum, suburban country, and noise-rock; why selling out is good and honesty is never what it seems; the similarities between disco and garage rock and between reggae and heavy metal; whether songs can ever really "mean" anything; what math rock has in common with amputation rock and orgasm rock; and much, much more. By eventually encompassing the whole wacky world of popular music, this book is destined to change it forever.

Chuck Eddy has been called the "heir apparent to the great '70s rock writers Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus, and Robert Christgau." Author of Stairway to Hell, he has also written thousands of popular music reviews, interviews, columns, and essays for dozens of books and magazines. He lives in Philadelphia.