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The History of Bones: A Memoir

The History of Bones: A Memoir

  • Downloads：4844
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-19 09:51:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John Lurie
  • ISBN：0399592970
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Summary

The quintessential depiction of 1980s New York and the downtown scene from the artist， actor， musician， and composer John Lurie

In the tornado that was downtown New York in the 1980s， John Lurie stood at the vortex。 After founding the band The Lounge Lizards with his brother， Evan， in 1979， Lurie quickly became a centrifugal figure in the world of outsider artists， cutting-edge filmmakers， and cultural rebels。 Now Lurie vibrantly brings to life the whole wash of 1980s New York as he developed his artistic soul over the course of the decade and came into orbit with all the prominent artists of that time and place， including Andy Warhol， Debbie Harry， Boris Policeband， and， especially， Jean-Michel Basquiat， the enigmatic prodigy who spent a year sleeping on the floor of Lurie's East Third Street apartment。

It may feel like Disney World now， but in The History of Bones， the East Village， through Lurie's clear-eyed reminiscence， comes to teeming， gritty life。 The book is full of grime and frank humor--Lurie holds nothing back in this journey to one of the most significant moments in our cultural history， one whose reverberations are still strongly felt today。

History may repeat itself， but the way downtown New York happened in the 1980s will never happen again。 Luckily， through this beautiful memoir， we all have a front-row seat。

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Reviews

Zoe ，

"I don’t want to visit cheap"。 Amen。 He doesn’t sell himself （or his story） out on what YOU think is important。 I am also so very glad that he didn't cowtow to writing about what people want to hear and it’s glorious。 There are a bunch of random reviews out there that will entice you by saying things like: a great book about the grit of NY in the late 70s。 Sure， I guess。 But really and this is what I got out of it。。。 it's all about the value and desire of a musician to make a difference in the w "I don’t want to visit cheap"。 Amen。 He doesn’t sell himself （or his story） out on what YOU think is important。 I am also so very glad that he didn't cowtow to writing about what people want to hear and it’s glorious。 There are a bunch of random reviews out there that will entice you by saying things like: a great book about the grit of NY in the late 70s。 Sure， I guess。 But really and this is what I got out of it。。。 it's all about the value and desire of a musician to make a difference in the world and what he has to do to get there。 It's gritty as things get with no apologies， but it's really self reflection and not hot goss about Studio 54 and the East Village which is what some of the preliminary reviews were and I couldn't have wished for anything more different。 There are some incredibly gut wrenching funny stories and some incredibly gut wrenching stories that almost broke my heart。 But each story。。。 so good。 The first five chapters are so important to the rest of the story do not skip them。 Truly。 It’s a side I certainly did not know。 I mean I read the book so I could know more but this was very important reading to understand who Mr。 Lurie is and why he pursues everything in the way that he writes about。 To me， this was wildly brave。It’s a semi-linear story told in fits and starts which while reading it’s like listening to John Lurie tell you the story directly… and yes there is an audio book that will be just be that exact piece of art。 If you have watched "Painting with John" （and I suggest that you do）， there is a familiarity in the narrative。 If you have seen "Fishing with John" then you definitely are in familiar narrative territory。 About halfway through is where the book fine tunes （no pun I promise） so there are some of the more juicer tales。 The pace is the same but things get busier and more prolific for John Lurie。 Lots of drug use without apology so it can be triggering and honestly hard to read。 But he puts it out there and it’s brave。 Lots of memoirs talk of drug use and this is so matter of fact that you have to wonder。。。 how can this be， but knowing that there are no other punches pulled， welp， it can and it was。 He doesn't glorify it at all。 It's pretty heavy to read。 There is an interlude （one of many） that was so touching and seriously kind an observation about Andy Warhol when I read it my idea of both of them are actually changed。 86 % in the book （at least according to my reader counter thingie） we get this quote- "making a record is a very artificial thing to do。 You are trying to encapsulate ， in sound， this thing that is a little moment of soul。" I sucked in a huge gasp of air when I read that。 It was like "boom" this is what this book is about。。。。 little moments of soul ， further peppered with moments of struggle， love and other creative gestures。 That is what this book really is about in my opinion， John Lurie。。。 the musician。 Every bit of the book always comes back to the music for Lurie。 It was a great read。 There are some great pictures shared too of his life which if you read all the way through the book， then go and look at them and then they will make more sense。 So read the book， then look at the pictures。 I am glad that I waited to look at what photos he did share。 I honestly will be ordering the audio book because I really want to hear John Lurie tell me these stories again。 Truthfully I am looking forward to it！ The book is a great read， but be prepared for something a little different than what you might expect！ 。。。more

Chris Molnar ，

Captures Lurie's gently prankish hipster sensibility， a man who has really lived the kind of bohemian life that， say， Steely Dan sings about， sex and drugs and jazz and iconic movies， someone who has obstinately held on to a creative spark and has the accomplishments and fuckups to show for it。 The massing of boldface names makes it worthwhile for anybody remotely interested in NYC or alternative culture in the late twentieth century， but if you haven't you should watch Stranger Than Paradise an Captures Lurie's gently prankish hipster sensibility， a man who has really lived the kind of bohemian life that， say， Steely Dan sings about， sex and drugs and jazz and iconic movies， someone who has obstinately held on to a creative spark and has the accomplishments and fuckups to show for it。 The massing of boldface names makes it worthwhile for anybody remotely interested in NYC or alternative culture in the late twentieth century， but if you haven't you should watch Stranger Than Paradise and listen to Voice of Chunk （and maybe an episode of Fishing with John） to get an idea of exactly the kind of American archetype Lurie embodies and helped define。There's a little of the David Crosby doc or Morrissey memoir here， of somebody who has burned a lot of high-profile bridges， and you have to read between the lines to understand all of what happened。 But that's not to say he isn't completely honest about the way he sees things。 When you get an earnest accounting of why he thought Marc Ribot insisting on union rates for the Lounge Lizards was an insult， you get both a transparent picture of how he believed he was doing his best， and how his bandmates may have gotten a different impression with its own truth to it。 This kind of naked candor is what gives his art， music， acting and writing an unaffected， happy intensity of feeling。 But sometimes it gets you in trouble when unmoderated in life。The apex of his career - his work with Jim Jarmusch - gets a muted recollection due to Jarmusch's remoteness and Lurie's unresolved feelings of getting ripped off。 Same with Fishing with John - a truly iconic TV show whose insane anti-premise is a forerunner to so much modern comedy - since what he remembers most is the money fuckups。 The gripes are genuinely interesting and a better reflection of life than just running from peak to peak。 I could have even used more - he holds back from talking about the infamous New Yorker profile of a few years back at all， other than a few pointed zingers。Like with Flea （who makes a few cameos here） and his completely pre-RHCP memoir of a few years back （and Just Kids， and Richard Hell's， or that David Lynch one - perhaps you can tell I love this shit）， the first， pre-fame half of the book is what really gives him a chance to show off his style。 Watching him dip allusively across years and drug experiences and hitchhiking excursions and shitty suburbs of Boston to illustrate the origins of a creative life has the same feel as one of his stunning， hilarious paintings or albums， the profound wide-eyed silliness of a good acid trip。Once he becomes the coolest dude in New York， there's the requisite parade of hookups and drug binges and tour dates。 Thankfully no rehab， which is as close as real life comes to a cliche。 The kaleidoscopic parade of interesting artists of various degrees of fame is hypnotic。 Did you know that the singer from Blonde Redhead came to America to follow John Lurie after she was a production assistant filming the Lounge Lizards in Japan？ And that they lived together for years in an unusual domestic partnership， he introduced her to the rest of Blonde Redhead， and they had a falling out over raisins in a chicken sandwich？ I did not。 He says exactly how he feels about everybody which is brave and crazy。 He apologizes to Debbie Harry for writing that she gave him his first line of heroin。 The drug preferences of a wide swath of minor jazz figures are detailed。 Do we need to know his detailed moral assessments of a panoply of European tour managers？ Perhaps not per se， but as with any memoir it's really more of deep dive into Lurie's perspective， and a way to explore the excitement， paranoia and disappointment of touring。There is quite a bit of Basquiat content， for any Basquiat-heads， some of it newish。 He's defensive about it， which makes sense - it's got to be disconcerting to have been a mentor and good friend to somebody like that。 Lurie's own fame， such as it is， seems disconcerting enough for him。 But he's very good at it， in a wry way。 Maybe that is his medium， his masterpiece - being John Lurie， being “cool”， living a real and hard-lived life in the arts without any attention paid to boundaries。 Perfect for a memoir to tie together。 。。。more

Dan ，

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an advanced copy of this memoir。Artist， musician， composer， actor， model， bon vivant， and amateur fisherman John Lurie has written a memoir encompassing not only his life less ordinary， but of scene and a lifestyle that could only have been New York in the eighties。 Starting at his birth in Massachusetts and ending close the end of the century in New York， The History of Bones follows Mr。 Lurie from his humble beginnings My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an advanced copy of this memoir。Artist， musician， composer， actor， model， bon vivant， and amateur fisherman John Lurie has written a memoir encompassing not only his life less ordinary， but of scene and a lifestyle that could only have been New York in the eighties。 Starting at his birth in Massachusetts and ending close the end of the century in New York， The History of Bones follows Mr。 Lurie from his humble beginnings， his less humbles 20's， into his dangerous 30's as fame and infamy started to come for him。 Fame is both a blessing， opportunities， publicity， musical success， and a curse， no money， his band the Lounge Lizards growing to hate him and dissolving， and more opportunities to be taken advantage of。 There are women， lots of women， maybe even a true love ， but drugs， the outside world and his own actions and psyche usually end it。 Sex and drugs， lots of drugs were a big part of his narrative， but the music is the center of the memoir。 Mr Lurie's description of his sound， his tone the way the music feels in his body， how it he gets it and performs it are some of the most beautifully written passages in the book。 He might not think that much about himself， but of his sound he can't talk enough about it， and know that it has always been there for him。 Music is the one love that he has never done wrong。 The band might underperform， but he has always tried to make it the best he could。 Famous people pass through， some with a kind word， some with an ehh。 Others get the full treatment， and there are a lot of those。 Some people are mentioned， but not identified， the names strike a cord probably from Interview or Details magazine back in the day， so maybe a few words on who these people are might have helped。 That is only a minor quibble in an otherwise enthralling read。 A perfect book for a music fan， a fan of New York in a certain era， art fans or just someone in the mood for a good memoir。 I would like to know more about Mr。 Lurie's adventures。 。。。more

Alexander ，

great book

Jennifer ，

I received this as a e-galley from NetGalley。John Lurie is one of those New York downtown figures （of the 1980s onward） who was always mentioned in other books about the time period but I had never managed to read or listen to any of his work。 Even though the memoir jumps in feet first and assumes you know most of the players - I found it very readable and surprisingly funny。Of course now I see John Lurie everywhere in other things now- and I'm excited to check out his new HBO Max series' Painti I received this as a e-galley from NetGalley。John Lurie is one of those New York downtown figures （of the 1980s onward） who was always mentioned in other books about the time period but I had never managed to read or listen to any of his work。 Even though the memoir jumps in feet first and assumes you know most of the players - I found it very readable and surprisingly funny。Of course now I see John Lurie everywhere in other things now- and I'm excited to check out his new HBO Max series' Painting With John。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The History of Bones: A Memoir

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The History of Bones: A Memoir&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The History of Bones: A Memoir&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0