This was good for the information, but you have to work for it. What the hell was up with the editing? Or the lack of it? It reads like an exact transcription of Cale talking about his life--so much of it is him talking in circles, and there are typos like crazy. The layout of the text made it difficult to read at times, though after reading a recent interview with Cale, I found that was intentional and meant to resemble TV (which makes sense as I can't bear to watch most TV anymore...and anyway, it seems it would have been more apropos had it been published a decade prior). Ah well. I'm a big fan of Cale's solo work as well as his time with the VU, so I'm glad I picked this up. I was amused to find this was co-written by the same guy who wrote Lou Reed's bio--which my dad read while he waited for me to finish music lessons in 9th grade and regaled me with juicy stories when I returned--so I am both curious to read Reed's side but reluctant if the ridiculousness of the text is Bockris' doing. ( )

The sexism is at 18th century levels, and the lack of self-insight could only be achieved by the long-term serial addictions he freely discusses. That aside, it's a really interesting book about Cale's life of creativity and living a creative life in general. ( )