Rotten, the biography of John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols, assumes the reader has a more than average grasp on the bare facts of the punk movement and The Sex Pistols' rise and fall. It does not patronize or condescend, but expects the reader to keep pace. This is both the book's strongest and weakest characteristics.

Although the first pages transport the reader to the last Sex Pistols concert, they soon turn to Lydon's birth. From his humble beginnings in an Irish working class family in London through his post-Sex Pistols migration to New York (completely ironic considering his earlier disdain of the city), Lydon mixes in commentary from family, childhood friends, bandmates and known musical figures to create an insider's view of England's social and musical community during the Seventies. This is not a "Sid Vicious through the eyes of his bandmate" tale, despite Lydon's pointed criticism of the film "Sid and Nancy" (and the true origin of the bassist's stage name), it is at once a criticism and celebration of ethnic, class and art in mid-twentieth century England. As each player tumbles through his or her own experience, so the cultural context and influence is revealed.

However, this eclectically candid tale is not always linear, and the tellers often jump through time to tie particular events together. This propensity can leave the reader confounded, if not missing the significance of the information completely. It is also unfortunate that Lydon does not find anything in his life past 1980 to be worth mentioning. Abrasive or not, Lydon's insights always possess keen sarcasm and unflinching frankness, characteristics he's always used to challenge the world at large. At the very least, his social observations on English and American culture, life in New York City versus London, the MTV generation, Van's Warped tour and neo-pop-punk like Blink 182 and New Found Glory would be intriguing as hell.

Perhaps I should contact him for an interview.....