Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things

First edition, 1st printing. Bright, clean & tight copy, unread, in AS NEW condition. "Loudon Wainwright III, the son of esteemed Life magazine columnist Loudon Wainwright, Jr., is the patriarch of one of America's great musical families. He is the former husband of Kate McGarrigle and Suzzy Roche, and father of Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and Lexie Kelly Wainwright. With a career spanning more than four decades, Wainwright has established himself as one of the most enduring singer-songwriters to emerge from the late 1960s. Not only does he perform regularly across the United States and in Europe, but he is a sought-after actor, having appeared in many movies and TV series. [] There is probably no singer-songwriter who has so blatantly inserted himself into his songs. The songs can be laugh-out-loud funny, but they also can cut to the bone. In this memoir, Wainwright details the family history his lyrics have referenced and the fractured relationships among generations: the alcoholism, the infidelities, the competitiveness--as well as the closeness, the successes, and the joy. Wainwright reflects on the experiences that have influenced his work, including boarding school, the music business, swimming, macrobiotics, sex, incarceration, and something he calls Sir Walter Raleigh Syndrome. [] Wainwright writes poignantly about being a son--a status that dominates many of his songs--but also about being a parent, a brother, and a grandfather. His lyrics are featured throughout the book, amplifying his prose and showing the connections between the songs and real life. Wainwright also includes selections from his father's brilliant Life magazine columns--and, in so doing, reestablishes his father as a major essayist of his era. An engaging and insightful meditation on family, inspiration, and art, LINER NOTES will thrill fans, readers, and anyone who appreciates the intersection of music and life." [jacket copy] "This book is as candid, moving, and hilarious as Loudon Wainwright's music."--Judd Apatow. "LINER NOTES is, unsurprisingly, as good as its author's songs, with moments of sharp humor alternating with real-life pain, and vivid reflections on love, death, and the whole damn thing. Loudon Wainwright is a true original: not like anyone else, just as he set out to be."--Salman Rushdie. "I expected a memoir that reflected all I know to be true about Loudon: a raconteur with an acerbic, sometimes mordant wit, unapologetic even when full of regret, funny and acutely, sometimes horrifyingly, honest. I got that and more. He is unafraid and clear-eyed about the events of his life--and utterly engaging."--Rosanne Cash. "Instead of inventing a mythos, Wainwright simply wrote some excellent songs--rich, complicated, sometimes dorky--marked by unexpected wordplay and often surprisingly dark. His new memoir is all of these things, too. It's a funny, rueful thing to consume. Wainwright does not go easy on himself in this book. And yet, as he woos his memories back, there's a great deal of fondness in this book, too. Like the best songs of the Wainwright-McGarrigle-Roche clan, this straightforward book makes your heart wobble on its axis. And it sends you back to the songs."--Dwight Garner, The New York Times. Pristine hardcover w/brilliant corners & crisp edges, a square & tight binding, wrapped in a handsome, intact jacket. Quite presentable.…