My Many Thoughts After Reading The Dirt By Motley Crue

I have never been so glad to finish a book in my life and I do NOT mean this in a good way. After wading through the many tasteless road and life stories of the band Motley Crue, I was left with the feelings of disgust for the endless bad behavior and thankful for the boring but mostly happy life I've had.

My overwhelming question about this book was: What is the point of doing this in the first place? Was it a way to bring bad boy attention to the band (marketing ploy?) or was it a set the record straight to tell their side of the sad childhood and party boy exploits themselves?

If you have read the book then you would know that this is about the sad and successful history of Motley Crue. Lots and lots of stories about the cliche rock star bad boy making the bad decision of indulging in bad decisions of spending too much money, sex with too many women and addiction to a lot of drugs.

I'm not really a Motley Crue fan and this book did not inspire me to listen to more of their music. This is how much I realized I didn't like this book. Usually after I read something, I get inspired in some way. But I was thankful for the reality check.

As I read the book, I was struck by two things: how disrespectful the band members were to women and in general how selfish they were. They did not care about any of the consequences of their actions. After years of working hard  for their success, it was very sad to see them destroy their lives and the lives of other people.

After going to see Alice in Chains in Raleigh recently, I was still walking on the air with thoughts  of the rock and roll fantasy life of music and travel. Reading the The Dirt book brought those thoughts crashing to reality. Living life on the road is hard. Making a living as a musician is very hard.

Keeping a healthy committed relationship alive and well while on tour is extremely hard. You will have to be a very strong woman to be in a relationship with a man in a band. The music and the band will usually come first in the life of a musician.

I have never been a groupie and I could not for the life of me understand why so many girls would consent to the terrible things these guys did to them . Were the lurid backstage/hotel sex stories all true? How could people who did that many drugs remember everything in such detail?

Lessons learned while reading this book:

Get out of your own way.

Being persistent will help you reach your goals.

The rock and roll lifestyle is not glamorous.

Money can buy things but it cannot make you happy.

No matter how far you run/travel, there you are. You can't run from your problems.

Your health is the most precious thing you have. Don't waste it.

Taking drugs impacts everyone and everything around you. You will have to deal with addiction for the rest of your life.

Show business is a business. Know where your money comes from and where it goes.

I would never want to be that girl that a guy in a band would write a demeaning story about in a tell all book.

Respect your gifts and your talents.

Learn from your mistakes. Change. Don't make the same bad decisions over and over. 

   

If you are in a band, want to be in a band or you want to date someone who is a musician, read this book. The Dirt is an extreme example of the dark side of becoming successful musician. Success is hard work and staying successful is even more hard work. There are a lot of sacrifices that will have to be made.

At the end of the book, the guys seemed to be coming to terms with their mistakes and trying to live better lives. I hope the best for them and their families. Motley Crue is so lucky to be alive and have a second chance at life.

Here is an earlier post about Alice in Chains and Motley Crue.

Have you read The Dirt or a book like this about a band?

Thanks for reading?