Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll
    Unavailable
    There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll
    Unavailable
    There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll
    Audiobook12 hours

    There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From a legendary journalist with four decades of unprecedented access and untold stories, an insider's behind-the-scenes look at the major personalities of rock and roll.
     
    Lisa Robinson has interviewed everyone from John Lennon to Bono to Patti Smith, Eminem to Lady Gaga to Jay-Z and Kanye West. She's talked nail polish with a twelve-year-old Michael Jackson, hosted The Clash at Studio 54, and introduced Lou Reed to David Bowie over filet mignon in a Manhattan restaurant. She helped Elvis Costello and The Clash get their record deals.  She had total access to the punk scene at CBGBs, was on a private plane with the Rolling Stones during a lightning storm and with Led Zeppelin when their tour manager pulled out a gun. Unlike any other journalist who covered this world, she was the only woman to break into this exclusive boys' club. The story of rock and roll for the last four decades is Lisa Robinson's story. She has lived and breathed music - the sound, the scene, the personalities - and she shares her stories all together here for the first time.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 22, 2014
    ISBN9780698149434
    Unavailable
    There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll

    Related to There Goes Gravity

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Memoirs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Larger Than Life

      May 29, 2020

      Larger Than Life
      9 min read

    • Article

      Jerry Lee Lewis: A Thrilling One-of-a-kind Showman Who Was Mired In Scandal

      Oct 28, 2022

      In October 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis was booked to play a showcase gig at the Roxy, a newly opened LA club that immediately attracted a clientele heavy on rock stars: among its co-owners were David Geffen, Neil Young’s manager, Elliot Roberts, and the fa

      7 min read

    • Article

      Jerry Lewis –– Comedian, Actor and Director –– Dies at 91

      Aug 20, 2017

      Jerry Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced comedian who burst onto the post-World War II show-business scene with partner Dean Martin to form the hottest comedy team of their era before launching his own highly successful solo career a decade later, died S

      11 min read

    • Article

      Rough And A Rowdy Ways

      Nov 10, 2022

      “I DON’T know how many of you know, but Jerry Lee’s gone,” Bob Dylan announced from the stage of Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on October 28, just hours after one of the foundational stars of rock’n’roll died. Dylan isn’t doing encores on his current

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Architect

      Aug 10, 2023

      The Architect
      7 min read

    • Article

      THE HARD STUFF BOOKB & DVDs

      Nov 11, 2022

      THE HARD STUFF BOOKB & DVDs
      6 min read

    • Article

      THE HARD STUFF BOOKS & DVDs

      Aug 17, 2021

      THE HARD STUFF BOOKS & DVDs
      6 min read

    • Article

      Jukebox

      Oct 13, 2022

      Joseph Ryan-Hicks presses replay on the Tom Robinson Band album, Power in the Darkness In the summer of 1979, a young Tom Robinson took to the stage at a London theatre for the Secret Policeman’s Ball, a benefit gig in support of Amnesty Internationa

      2 min read

    • Article

      ‘He Was Central To Music History’: The Forgotten Legacy Of Leon Russell

      Mar 6, 2023

      Over a decade before he died, Leon Russell began writing a never-completed memoir that highlighted a story of deep humiliation. Upon noticing, at age four, that his genitals looked different from those of his female cousin, the two began to examine e

      7 min read

    • Article

      ‘A Whole Village Destroyed With One Shot’: How PnB Rock’s Murder Shook Hip-hop

      Sep 23, 2022

      Rapper PnB Rock well knew the dangers Los Angeles posed for people in his line of work. During a podcast appearance earlier this month the 30-year-old described a confrontation that had taken place while out with his girlfriend and daughter. “People

      5 min read

    • Article

      Not Fade Away

      Jul 18, 2019

      Not Fade Away
      7 min read

    • Article

      Unforgettable?

      Apr 8, 2021

      Unforgettable?
      6 min read

    • Article

      In The beginning

      Jul 28, 2020

      In The beginning
      1 min read

    • Article

      Not Fade Away

      Sep 19, 2019

      Not Fade Away
      4 min read

    • Article

      Running With Wolf

      Apr 14, 2022

      Running With Wolf
      4 min read

    • Article

      Not Fade Away

      Feb 20, 2020

      Not Fade Away
      6 min read

    • Article

      Early Rock And Rollers

      Mar 23, 2023

      Early Rock And Rollers
      3 min read

    Reviews for There Goes Gravity

    3.5/5

    38 ratings16 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      i received There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll by Lisa Robinson as a selection from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. While I expected this book to be more about Lisa Robinson and her life as a rock journalist, I found, in my opinion, that wasn't particularly the case. Though she does write about how/why/where she met with all these people in the rock scene, there is more about what those individuals/groups had to say/did than I thought there would be. I found this book to be quite interesting, but preferred to read it a chapter or so at a time, instead of cover to cover as you would a "regular" memoir or novel.
    • 3/5
      I enjoy books about rock and roll, including those written by critics. I loved Ellen Willis and Lillian Roxon, especially - female critics are a rare breed. This memoir contains LP writing (John Lennon, Jagger, Bowie, Led Zeppelin, New York Dolls, Ramones, Michael Jackson, U2, Patti Smith, Clash) and 45s (Kanye, Jay Z, Iggy Pop, Television, Gaga, Eminem, Lou Reed). But there's so little about the music itself that it's basically "A Guide To Who I Hung Out With".
    • 3/5
      The subtitle of Lisa Robinson's memoir is "A Life in Rock and Roll," but a better one might be "A Life Judging Rock and Roll." And heaven help those who don't make the cut. There's page after page lambasting those on her naughty list, topped with Mick Jagger, who she describes as if she were his stereotypical NY Jewish grandmother -- clearly he is a constant disappointment to her. The chapters on performers who please Robinson (U2, the New York Dolls, Lady Gaga, old blues musicians) are more pleasant to read, but the entire memoir is written in a flat, rather dull tone. I wanted to like this -- it can't have been easy to tour with Led Zepplin and the Rolling Stones back in the super sexist 70s, but gosh, no one made her do it. And if you can't write about rock and roll with enthusiasm or creativity (a la Lester Bangs, whom she punctures with a sharp barb, easy to do since he's dead), what's the point?I finished it, but I'll never read it again. In contrast, I've been trucking around Julie Burchill's "The Boy Looked at Johnny" for more than 20 years -- now that's a classic.
    • 3/5
      Lisa Robinson offers readers a not-often seen view of some legendary rock stars, ranging from Mick Jagger and John Lennon to Eminem and Lady Gaga. Her interviews with these legends, as well as her observations from behind the scenes, show the hard work and passion that the musicians bring to their craft, as well as some of the personal struggles they have faced (one note: if you are looking for a wild "tell-all" that focuses on the parties and drugs, this is not it). I wouldn't consider it a real memoir, more a series of observations and vignettes. At times, it felt like I was reading from different cocktail napkins that had been placed in random order to create a chapter. Overall, I liked the book, I just would have preferred a better flow in the narration.
    • 5/5
      My actual rating: 4.5 of 5 stars.I was a rock and roll teen in San Francisco in the 70s. I listened to Zeppelin, Beatles, KISS, Bowie, Queen, J. Geils, Blue Oyster Cult, Patti Smith, Foghat, Black Sabbath, and dozens of other bands on vinyl and cassettes. I wore Kiss and Zep belt buckles (though never at the same time), and proclaimed my infatuation with various bands via the reigning social media of that era: T-shirts and posters.I was also obsessed with New York City. I sported a subway token on a gold chain above my rock T's, and I followed as much of the NYC music scene as I could via the few relevant publications available in SF at the time. Rolling Stone was readily available, but it was filled with pretentious, humorless studies of boring bands. There were a few juicy tidbits here and there, but RS was certainly not my pub of choice; it was a dull read.What WAS on my radar -- what I lived for -- was the hilarious, goofy, geeky coverage found in Creem, Hit Parader, the photo-spread-heavy Rock Scene, and even (British, hard-to-find except in Haight Street head shops) New Musical Express. These were undeniably "rock and roll" magazines filled to bursting with attitude and humor. Well, NME was a little dry, but it had loads of Bri'ish bands, 'mate! Unlike RS, every one of these mags was FUN to read! They wrote about my favorite bands -- or introduced me to soon-to-become favorite bands. I fell into the articles and the interviews for hours at a crack. I felt the excitement, the rush, the joy of being at shows (here's the tricky bit) without having been at the shows. It felt like I was actually hanging out with these cool musician dudes (and occasional musician chicks), drinking Boy Howdy beer and listening to funny stories about (let's just say) trying to tune a guitar in the filthy bathroom at CBGB's without touching anything. It sounds impossible to make a disgusting dive bar sound like THE place to be, but that was the effect. This was the scene, and these were the players. But it weren't no thang... just rock and roll, baby.What did all of these magazines have in common? Lisa Robinson. She was a rock journalist back when there were one or two dozen "rock journalists" on the planet. As her press blurb says, she has interviewed everyone from John Lennon to Bono to Patti Smith, Eminem to Lady Gaga to Jay-Z and Kanye West. One factlet in particular helps convey her insider status: At different times during the 70s, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Elton John separately owned (or leased) the same plane for their tours. Robinson was on that plane with each of those bands! ("The plane remains the same.")Consistently, in her coverage of all of these bands, Robinson brought warmth, humor, insight, and foremost, an obsessive love of music. Mostly rock and roll music (Lisa distinguishes it from "rock 'n roll" in this book -- the "and" has significance). But it's obvious she appreciates -- loves -- all kinds of music. This is what comes through in the writing: her absolute love of music, and her ability to capture in words the ephemeral magic that occurs when certain musicians and bands play, or simply hang out. What's Robinson's secret to documenting the ups and downs of so many rock stars in such an engaging style? Woman in a man's world? Street-smart NYC sensibility? In the right place(s) at the right time(s)? Laying off the drugs and booze that her subjects snarfed up like Scooby snacks? Yes to all of these -- plus that main ingredient: her obsessive, infectious love of music. She put in the thousands of hours because she wanted to -- she had to. (And as evidence of that obsession: Robinson admits to a tremendous fear of flying, yet she got on planes over and over again to get the stories that could only be discovered "on the inside." There goes gravity, indeed.)While I'm not a diehard Stones fan, nor a Lou Reed fan, nor a Clash fan, I enjoyed reading about them in this book. As with those articles I fondly remember from adolescence, Robinson convinced me that these bands and their music -- recordings as well as performances -- are worth consideration. Unlike 70s-era Rolling Stone, Robinson doesn't brow-beat readers into worshiping certain bands "because they're good for you." She simply interviews people, relates insightful / harsh / off-putting / funny anecdotes, adds her thoughtful observations about the musicians (as people, if not always as powerful -- or fallen -- rock gods), and moves on. If you like something, dive in and read all about it... and listen to the music, go to the shows, dance your ass off in that sweaty 10th row if you feel like it. And if you don't, so what? There's always next time.By coincidence, recently I read two other books that described the 1970s downtown New York music scene: Patti Smith's Just Kids and David Byrne's How Music Works. Smith's book succeeds as a poetic encapsulation of her life with -- and without -- Robert Mapplethorpe. The downtown music scene is a vital part of her story. Byrne's book is an entertaining dive into the music business, with the 70s art-rock/punk-rock/rock-rock scene as a crucial formative slice of Byrne's career with Talking Heads.Smith and Byrne are musicians (and so much more). They told their respective stories with wit and writerly talent; both books are enjoyable. So how is Lisa Robinson's book different? Well, she has the advantage of being able to recount a lifetime filled with scads of musicians, not just a one-musician career. Sure, she touches upon the usual NYC hot spots of the era -- CBGB's, Max's Kansas City, Mercer Arts Center, Mudd Club, Studio 54. She spent many nights at these venues ("you felt like you were missing something important even if you missed a single night"), closing clubs at 4am, sleeping until noon and waking up to plan the next evening's excursion into clubland. She became friends with some of the musicians (like Patti Smith). And as with Smith and Byrne, for Lisa the New York scene ends up being an important part of her story.But Robinson wrote about much more than just that one "rock scene" -- she went on tour with all those bands, across the US and over to Europe! She saw the shows, and chatted with Mick, Keith, John, Yoko, Elton, Gaga in quiet moments before and after. And somehow, she came up with fresh, revealing things to say about some very unusual people who garnered (or endured) so much media attention. Time and again, she was able to unearth the human-interest story buried beneath legendary excesses, without short-changing the rock and roll. Sure, there's dirt, but so much more.[Disclosure: I received an Early Reviewers copy of this book via LibraryThing.]
    • 4/5
      Lisa Robinson has had an impressive career in music journalism. She started out on the cusp of the rock scene, just as communities were forming. She has witnessed the rise and fall of many great musicians, as well as the evolution of rock genres. She has fascinating stories to share and no doubt could write an entire series of books.I loved the diversity of the content here. We start out with what we now call classic rockers, then move on to punk, pop, hip hop, and back to the now aging rockers. We're given a glimpse into life on the road with rock stars of all sorts.The book is written mostly in short vignettes. While I know it would have been impossible to cover such a breadth of information with a lot of detail, it often felt as if Robinson stopped too abruptly in her storytelling. We were shown flashes, but not a lot of substance. Also, despite this being a memoir of sorts, I didn't feel like I got to know the author. I would have liked to know more about the effects of spending virtually her entire adult life traveling in the music world. Despite the minor shortcomings, this is a fun read I'd recommend to all music fans.
    • 3/5
      Reading this book is like meeting Lisa Robinson at a dinner party. Listening to her wax poetic about her past observing the rock n' roll scene in the 70's is enthralling at first, but with each separate story, you realize you don't want to be at the party all night. Read the book sparingly, a chapter at a time. It will be much more enjoyable that way and you won't feel trapped in the 70's.
    • 3/5
      I grew up with Zeppelin and the Stones, so this book was very relevent for me. I did find the book a little tedious in places. But I did like Lisa's thoughts on how the rock & roll would have been so very different if it had started in the era of social media.
    • 4/5
      Nice collection of stories about the rock n roll life and those who inhabit it. Great to have someone that was up close to a lot of the classic acts/musicians from someone who was there to get an up-close and personal look at things.
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I had a sustained passionate conversation with Lisa Robinson about music past and present. Gave me a new appreciation for some groups, artists, "scenes" that I did not know much about and went in depth about some current artists. The chapter about Michael Jackson and Eminem were particularly moving.
    • 3/5
      I received a free copy of this book from GoodReads.I liked this book; perhaps sometimes for the wrong reasons. Lisa Robinson starts off a little off key, so to speak. She rambles in the first few pages and seems a little confused---but very quickly her writing settles down and the narrative is organized into short vignettes from her numerous interviews and experiences with famous and not-so-famous musicians. The 10 chapters focus on large figures in recent music with lots of asides that refer to personal favorites of Robinson's, namely from the NYC punk music scene of the late 60s and early 70s. The New York Dolls, Stooges, Velvet Underground /Lou Reed, Ramones and Patti Smith all get mentioned over and over throughout the book.The appealing thing about this book is the breath of Lisa Robinson's experiences and contacts in the music world and her intimate writing style. What can be off putting is her need to emphasize how cool she is and how her preferences in music and fashion should be the standard by which others are measured. Witness the shoddy treatment that is given to Madonna, Van Halen and the Doors for perceived slights decades old. At the same time, the snide catty tone that occurs at times is definitely entertaining. Just realize that you're never going to be as cool as Lisa was and is---and she started wearing exclusively black far before anyone else.There's a lot of interesting information in here about Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Michael Jackson, The Clash, U2, Eminem, and Lady Gaga. These are the figures the major chapters revolve around and if you're interested in them, music in general, or the early punk rock scene, especially at the CBGB club in NYFC---this is the book for you. It's highly readable and quite entertaining.
    • 4/5
      I found Robinson's There goes gravity almost always to be interesting even if I'm not a fan of a lot of the bands she devotes chapters to. The Stones and Led Zeppelin would be two examples of that. Jagger and Richards and Robert Plant and Bowie and even Michael Jackson for instance come across as sympathetic--even likable characters. Less so Bono and John Lennon--though I don't think that's intentional on Lisa's part. Most interested in the Clash's part of this tale and Joe Strummer comes out pretty well. Liked the Eminem portrait--think he's a cool guy and so did Seamus Heaney. Anyway--a lot of the musicians talk about themselves and what they have to say often comes across as insightful and self effacing. The self effacing part is where Bono seems to fail for me. It's a good read but there's more than a bit of celebrity chasing and posturing. I appreciate Robinson's love for the old punk of the CBGB days--but if you want to really want to read about american punk rock--Michael Azerrad's Our band could be your life is a better place to start. Still this was worthwhile.
    • 3/5
      Lisa Robinson is definitely a name-dropper as she writes about her experiences hanging out with, and writing about, rock and roll bands and stars. She is opinionated about who she likes and a couple of times mentioned that she got bored when she didn't feel the music scene at the time was challenging enough to be interesting. She also said that she's been called pretentious, and I think that may be true. We learn little about her personal life in this supposed memoir, which might have made her views more understandable had she cared to share.
    • 4/5
      Clearly it's a slog, but a slog she loves. Lisa Robinson is with the band and she has been since the early 70's. She more or less created rock reportage — not journalism per se and definitely not rock criticism but a sort of "in the trenches every night" report from the scene. She had her notebooks and her cassette decks (often more than one) and she never went anywhere without them. This memoir begins with a chronicle of touring to wretched excess with Led Zeppelin and The Stones. Through the misogyny, the sex, drugs and booze she held onto her cassette deck and her professionalism. It was understood that she was there to report on the scene and was not a groupie or a hanger-on. This nightly life seems to become as boring and narrow as any suburban evening ritual...but she was there and she was reporting from the trenches! This life continued, decade after decade, with Bowie and Iggy Stooge (she never calls him Iggy Pop!); Patty Smith and the New York punk scene; a nice bittersweet appreciation of Michael Jackson; reaffirming her bonafides with Berry Gordy (she knows her Thelonius Monk and jazz pantheon) in preparing a celebration for Motown at 25. In the 80's Bono and U2 receive a sympathetic listen and on and on, night after night.It's actually great fun to read (inhale) and melts in your mouth — no substance and little revelation, but more or less a confirmation of what we instinctively knew about “the boys” anyway. Shelly, Keats and Byron did it centuries earlier and you know she would have been there if she could. Lisa Robinson is uber-cool and was friends with everyone. In the long run there’s not much to show for it. I get that she wore in a groove on the banquet at Max’s and every other de rigueur club you can name but if you get rid of the shopping list of everyone who was there and how they were there because of Lisa Robinson (access passes and such), the book would be half as long and twice as much fun. I think I’ll stick with Jonathan Cott.
    • 3/5
      Clearly in order to manage and work through the giant egos in the music business you need to have one yourself. Boy does Lisa love Lisa, her life and the limited scope of what she considers to be cool (chiefly; black clothing, hotels and the time when rock journalism was a small clique). I think she took a page out of the Anthony Bourdain memoir script. At every opportunity, in just about every way, Lisa reminds you that she is at the cool kids’ table. That she is a ground-breaking insider of outsider art. That’s not to say I didn’t like her indulgent trip down memory lane, I did. The bitchiness, the snide remarks, the gossippiness, the digs and insults; it was pretty fun (although in fairness I skimmed the chapter on U2 and skipped most of the one on Lady Gaga, hate the one, not interested in the other).At first I had a hard time with the presentation which is made up of little scenes and vignettes that, other than the specific band she was with, had little continuity. Maybe she was establishing tone, that is, sharing with the reader what a choppy and unsettled job it is working with mercurial rock stars. Maybe she didn’t know exactly how to tie the narrative together smoothly. Maybe she pulled a bunch of tapes and notes out of storage and couldn’t remember much about their context. Who knows, but eventually the narrative evened out somewhat and became more linear. Although there are weird asides that have nothing to do with anything. Like how on page 14 after a odd comment about 84 degrees being much hotter in the 70s than it is today, she went down a rathole about food. Stuff like that gets inserted all over and keeps up the disjointed presentation even when the rest of it has settled down.Lisa herself is a tough person to like. She’s alternatively defensive and arrogant. She is definitely the coolest person in the room no matter who else is in it, at least in her own mind, yet sometimes she can come across as a suck up. When she waxes on about Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Bono she shyly tells you about a fault here or there, but in such a way that it’s clear their faults are part of why they’re great. They have cool faults. And being cool is definitely the best thing to be. Even if you can’t create much yourself, it’s cool to denigrate those who do if it’s something you don’t like or can’t identify with. So go ahead and insult anyone who falls outside your ring of cool. It will make you seem so much more dispassionate and unimpressed and we all know how cool that is.The book is divided into sections, each involving a major group or personality - The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, U2 and Lady Gaga. There’s also a good bit about the 1970s ‘punk’ scene, which I can’t recall if it gets its own chapter or is interspersed throughout. I seem to recall it being sort of omnipresent; Lisa’s musical default position, the place that fashions her stance, her world-view. Lots and lots of names get dropped, only some of which she deigns to explain to us, leaving the reader not in the music industry at the mercy of Google. Alternately Lisa’s assignments/duties are punishing and glamorous. Parties, personal interviews, private planes, sex, booze, drugs, famous arenas and divey holes in the wall. She carefully (and rightfully) disassociates herself from a lot of this and especially the sex. She is a journalist not a groupie and probably one of the few women to separate from that herd. She has to maintain distance and a modicum of detachment. Through the stories presented here, I learned one big thing - frontmen like to talk a lot. I mean a lot. Mostly about nothing or borrowed opinions. Seriously boys, just because you have a platform, doesn’t mean you have something to say. Shut up and sing. The deaths, missing tapes and missed opportunities saddened me as they did Lisa. Underneath that studied persona of ‘business as usual’ I think Lisa does truly love music and what a force it is in humanity. She wants to share, explore, preserve and challenge people about it. Music isn’t background noise for her, something we have in common (which musically isn’t much except for Bowie and The Clash). I have been a music fan my whole life. I still listen to something I love just about every day. Although I can’t play a note (or sing either, much to my chagrin) I have a deep, neural connection to music. Whenever I hear some, I can’t just filter it to the back of my brain. I have a hard time ignoring any music that is on and so when it’s something I don’t like, it worms into my consciousness and ruins my day. For me, making music is much like an alchemical process. I have no idea how people do it. It’s like magic. My brain just isn’t wired that way and so I am in awe of those whose brains are. Even Lady Gaga.
    • 3/5
      Robinson was a rockjournalist/fan/almost a groupie. She’s written a memoir, which covers rock and roll from the Stones to Gaga. The chapters on the early punk rock scene in NYC (CBGB’s, The New York Dolls, Patti Smith) were probably the most interesting. I was also intrigued by her descriptions of Michael Jackson and of Eminem. The book is interesting if you want rock and roll gossip. To me, it kind of dragged on; story after story, lots of name-dropping, but not a coherent whole.