February 12, 2008

Every Prose Has Its Thorn

“Rock On,” by Dan Kennedy

Growing up on a diet of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, it was easy to believe that dreams really do come true. Then came waitressing, credit card debt, and Lexapro.

Fairy tales, it seems, don’t always pan out.

Dan Kennedy, author of the new memoir Rock On, didn’t aim very high. The career freelance writer who loved music thought he was living the dream when he became a marketing director at Atlantic Records. Finally, he could spread the joy that Led Zeppelin and Iggy Pop had given him.

First assignment: Create an ad commemorating Phil Collins’s 25 years in music.

Gulp.

His story is a crash course, a cautionary tale, and a hilarious riff on what happens when you come face to face with your fantasies — and it turns out they blow. Kennedy, ever the optimist, finds humor in awkward exchanges and uptight boardrooms and sentiment in an increasingly sterilized industry.

It’s the book one dreams of writing.

Available online at amazon.com or your local bookstore.