Customer Reviews
Life on Planet Rock Rocks! 
2008-08-17
I recently met Lonn Friend, and wanting to know more about him, bought a copy of Planet Rock. I didn't read the hard-edged RIP magazine, which he had been the Editor-In-Chief of during the late 80s early 90s, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that his book covers a wide array of rockers that he has known, from Alice Cooper to Slash, and depicts his experiences with rock stars in a very down-to-earth, honest manner.
Though Lonn seemed to be able to transform into a chameleon and become friends to a plethora of musicians, the downside of being a shape-shifter is that sometimes, you lose who you are in the process. Lonn openly admits this happening to him at times. This made his journey more real, more authentic, and I wished that he had delved deeper into this inner part of his odyssey.
But, most people will pick-up the book wanting to read about rock musicians, and Lonn does give a good encapsulation of his relationships with the stars. Each chapter primarily focuses on one musician or band, and there are some laugh-out-loud moments too. My favorite was Axl Rose's rant about Warren Beatty during a show in France that was being offered to thousands of people in the States via pay-per-view TV and FM radio. What came out of his mouth illustrated just how human (and angry) rock stars can be.
Lonn witnessed the dark and the light within many musicians, and that's what makes Planet Rock so appealing. Rock stars are just like the rest of us, dealing with life's ups and downs, and Lonn Friend wonderfully captures the essence of how their lives touched and intertwined with his own incredible life.
This book is awesome, dude! 
2008-06-21
I can't even begin to do this book justice. It is an autobiography of former RIP editor Lonn Friend and chronicles not only his adventures with various rock n' roll performers, but his divorce and career struggles. It also serves as a time capsule of America during the late 1980's and early 1990's. I only bought this book to read the chapter about Guns n' Roses, but it is so beautifully and poignantly written, I was hooked! I am going to make all my co-workers read this book.
A good glimpse onto life on planet rock 2008-05-01
For those who remember journalist Lonn Friend from Rip magazine and MTV's Headbanger's Ball, this book, an inside account of life in the late 80s-early 90s heyday of hard rock, is a welcome resource.
Friend is first and foremost an aficionado of the music, and his enthusiasm for his work is reflected in his memoir. He's the ultimate rock fan who lives out a rock fan's ultimate dream: he not only gets to see the bands he loves, but he gets paid for it, and he gets to go backstage to boot. Some of the stories he relates are poignant--there's one, for instance, where he attempts to interview a famous guitarist who is completely strung out on heroin. Others are delightful, such as the one where he embarks on a roadtrip with his young daughter, takes her to a Pearl Jam concert and manages to get her home in time for preschool.
Criticisms: I would have loved to read more details on the day-to-day workings of Rip and its demise. Friend mentions the latter only in passing. Some of the chapters also have a bit too much name-dropping: Friend will mention he hung out with so-and-so, but never delves deeper into the meetings or provides any insight. These quibbles are minor, though, and this book really is a wonderful look into life on Planet Rock, from one who was one of its most prominent citizens.
The 1980's re-told with the wisdom of hindsight and the freedom to tell all 2008-01-20
What can a book reviewer say about a memoir written by the editor of RIP magazine and endorsed by Cameron Crowe, Scott Ian, Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, Lemmy Kilmister, and one of the founders of MTV? Lonn Friend was in the inner circle of Larry and Althea Flynt when he was offered the editorial helm of Flynt Publishing's fledgling rock magazine. For seven years, RIP magazine chronicled the American heavy metal scene as it transformed from the heyday of hair metal to the era of grunge rock.
Friend's memoir marks a critical contribution to the history of heavy metal. It reads like an impeccably verified collection of bar-room tales from a top notch storyteller. The opening chapter alone is worth the paperback cover price - it represents some of the first new material published about Guns N' Roses in the last decade. Lonn Friend greenlighted Guns N Roses' cover shot in 1988, months before Appetite for Destruction went platinum. He cavorted with the band as well (as members of Metallica and Skid Row) well into the Use Your Illusion era. In Life on Planet Rock, Friend reveals for the first time how well he knew of Slash's heroin addiction during their 1990 interview. (Slash himself has now gone on record about the addiction, so Friend was comfortable revealing the whole story.)
Other chapters focus on the legendary antics of Alice Cooper, The Who, KISS, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Bon Jovi, and Motley Crue. This book is a Who's Who highlight guide to the brief reign RIP magazine -- only with the wisdom of hindsight and the freedom to tell all! Friend turns highly introspective in the closing chapter, examining his own turbulent relationship with the music industry and rock journalism.
Life on Planet Rock 2008-01-20
This book was a great read. Wish there was more! Lonn Friend makes you feel like you are standing right next to him during this period of rock and roll.
The Human Side 2007-12-20
For the generation coming of age in the years from 1987 to 1994,
RIP magazine was every bit as crucial as
Rolling Stone.
Life on Planet Rock describes how Lonn Friend, the editor of
RIP, became the Zelig-like chronicler of the biggest musical moments of that time—from introducing Guns N’ Roses (in nothing but a top hat, underwear, and cowboy boots) to sitting in during the making of Metallica’s
Black Album.
Life on Planet Rock provides revealing portraits of artists as varied as Kurt Cobain, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Axl Rose, James Hetfield, Steven Tyler, and many more. Part oral history, part candid and humorous memoir, it is a wormhole back to a fast-moving time in music that saw tastes flash from new wave to hair metal to grunge, told as only someone who was there through it all could tell it.
Below Average 
2007-11-18
Life on Planet Rock is a book about Lonn Friend wrapped in the packaging of a book about Rock in the 80's and 90's. What I wanted to see in this book was a true backstage look at the bands that changed my life. What I read here is a story of a journalist Star F'er that was chosen by these bands as a friend and story teller because he did not have the balls to write the truth.
Nirvana's Kurt Cobain touched on it when he said playing the game involved going to dinner with Lonn and acting like a friend. When you run a popular magazine like RIP then the bands have to suck up to you so you can help them sell the music.
What we learn in Life on Planet Rock is that Lonn was the perfect rug for the bands to walk on. His self esteem was so lacking that they just needed to give him a hug and tell him he was a "Friend" and he would do what he did best. Lonn is a true writer though, he spins the yarn and tells the tales beutifully. The problem is there is little substance about the bands and music and too much of Lonns over driven ego.
Lonn stated in the book he covered Bon Jovi more than any other band and yet I learned more from a 20 minute interview Jon Bon Jovi did with Howard Stern in 2007 than I learned in the entire book. Infact, I learned more about Slash and GnR in his interview last month with Howard than I did in this book.
If Lonn ever decided to write a real book about those days it would be the greatest book and the biggest seller of any rock book ever. That I am sure will never happen though because Lonn Friend like his faux friends way too much to tell the whole story.
Well done Lonn, you kept your friends and sold me a bland book.
Pilgrim of Rock 2007-09-13
Lonn's Life on Planet Rock: a sincere account of a time when the glamor of the eighties was unraveling, making way for a stripped down fledgling grunge. Frank, unsparing tales of his personal relationships with the artists themselves, and a few porn innovators, allows you to wander comfortably through a chaos riddled era almost as if you were there. A tour of the times, lead by the RIP editor and rock pilgrim, Lonn Friend with honesty, eloquence and an endless knowledge of rock and roll.
Life on Planet Rock is Great 2007-05-22
myspace advertised a book called "Life on Planet Rock" written by RIP magazine bigwig Lonn Friend. If you are a fan of music, with emphesis on 80's metal, go no further. This book is a timelined bible for those of us who lived during the great moments in metal and rock and roll. His stories roll in exact time with the memories we had as normal rock and roll lovers, EXCEPT he gives you the feeling of actually being there and throws in tons of extras we never knew about. This book is a must read simply because Lonn Friend's love of music and gentle expression of said love is an experience that im finding so hard to express in my own words. GO OUT AND BUY (NOT BORROW) THIS BOOK NOW !!!
Rock in A Hard Place 
2007-04-15
I picked up this book expecting full-on rock stories with behind the scenes and great tales of rock excess as in the pages of RIP and Lonn's other ventures. The book has great rock content and stories (i.e. Aerosmith, Metallica, Bon Jovi), but also a large part of the book is about Lonn's "rise and fall" within the music industry, and his settling the score and getting on with his personal life.
