Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel

I admit that I missed the "A novel" portion of the title. I thought this was an oral history of a famous 70s band. I was going to go check Spotify to see if I could find the song. How could I have not known about their hits? I guess 70s era pop could easily have slipped through without me realizing it. Then as I went to Google, I discovered that it was really just a work of fiction. D'oh!

The novel provides an oral history of the Los Angeles band that went on to become Daisy Jones and the Six. Daisy Jones was a starlet born into an artistic family. She was addicted to everything and managed to eventually get a recording contract. The Six were a slightly more established band. They had gradually grown to some local acclaim. Eventually the two would record a song together and then go on toe merge their bands. They produced grammy award winning, chart topping songs. However, things fell apart. Substances and relationships took their toll. There were challenges of marriages while being on the road. There was also the inevitable conflict among two "leaders". The whole story was very much in the vein of other rock oral histories and done well enough to make it appear real.

This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: The Oral History

Joy Division had a brief life as a band before the singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide. Despite the brief life, they have achieved a cult status and were very influential to many other bands. The remaining members of the band continued on as New Order and had success of their own.

At the onset, this book reads more as interview notes than a coherent story. It is primarily an assemblage of quotes from various parties involved. Gradually, as the book progresses, the narrative becomes more coherent. This is the story of young musicians that had managed to achieve a small degree of success. They paid their dues and went through the process. Gradually they became more popular and influential. The group struggled with the new-found fame, while trying to stay true to their independent roots.  However, Ian started to experience seizures. He was diagnosed with epilepsy, and given medication (that may have caused other problems.) He was also suffering with his wife's pregnancy and an other women. The band was trying to carry on with him and was on the onset of an American tour when he committed suicide. In retrospect, the signs were there (including previous suicide attempts). However, the band had attempted to power past them.