The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll

Sometimes I play a game in my head: name the five best American rock bands of the ‘60s. My list goes: The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Doors, and then I stall on the fifth. Creedence? The Band - although they’re mostly Canadian. Simon and Garfunkel? Jefferson Airplane? The Lovin’ Spoonful? But I plump for The Monkees. –Robert Forster

Robert Forster was a Go-Between, and now has an acclaimed solo career, but in recent times he has also established himself as one of the finest music critics in the business. In The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, Robert Forster takes readers on a roller-coaster ride through popular music - from Bob Dylan, AC/DC and Nana Mouskouri through to Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and … Delta Goodrem. Accompanying Forster’s acclaimed writing for The Monthly are a short story about Normie Rowe and stunning new pieces in which he sets out the 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, ponders on ‘The 10 Bands I Wish I’d Been In’, reflects on the influence of The Velvet Underground, and gives a moving tribute his partner in The Go-Betweens, Grant McLennan.

Funny and illuminating, The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll shows a great critic at work.