Everything I'm Cracked Up to Be: A Rock & Roll Fairy Tale

by Jen Trynin

Book Overview

It was 1994: post-Liz Phair, mid-Courtney Love, just shy of Alanis Morissette. After seven years of slogging it out in the Boston music scene, Jen Trynin took a hard look at herself and gave "making... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151011486
• ISBN13: 9780151011483
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 354 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.7" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

I laughed, I cried, it was better than VH1

I don't have my TV hooked up to anything besides a DVD player, but whenever I have an opportunity to watch cable, one of my favourite vices is VH1's Behind the Music. Each episode follows a formula: humble beginnings ... rapid ascent to stardom.... and then a downfall predicated by drug use, sex within the band, a mental breakdown or all of the above. In the final 15 minutes of the program, the artist is either eulogized, or, if still alive, redeemed through AA, therapy, or religious conversion. As if in a replay of Icarus, rock gods propel themselves into an intense spotlight only to plunge from the heavens with melted wings, providing solace to people like me who never got signed to a major label and live very ordinary lives. "All I'm Cracked Up to Be" appears to follow the VH1 formula initially, but with at least one crucial difference. The book's rock and roll casualty, Jen Trynin, never becomes famous, but we get an excruciatingly intimate glimpse of the mechanics behind her tumble from promise. Trynin, a songwriter turned alt-rock frontwoman in the mid-nineties Boston music scene, is led to believe by industry wags that rock and roll stardom is at hand. Instead her hype-laden career whimpers to a halt despite major label backing. The book humorously and heartbreakingly demonstrates the ill-effects of music commodification on an artist's sense of self. After Trynin grows tired of the "Sunday-to-Wednesday night folk/acoustic-chick-band-wasteland,"she reinvents herself as a rock star, or at least what she thinks one is. She then self-releases a brilliant CD, and a label war of epic proportions ensues. Her music industry courtship is replete with expensive dinners and first class accommodations, as well as dizzying dialog between Trynin and her lawyer over the financial intricacies of dueling record contracts. Soon a seemingly sweetheart deal from Warner leads to a grueling tour schedule dotted by the monotony of ratty motels, interviews with clueless DJs, and awkward label meet and greets, in stark contrast to the amenities and coddling of the sycophantic bidding period. It is also at odds with her fantasy of life on the road with a surrogate band family. Trynin becomes disembodied and suffers an identity crisis epitomized by a fight with her bass player over a bowl of nuts and an Alice in Wonderland reaction to too much nyquil while at a hotel where coincidentally, catatonic Beach Boy Brian Wilson is also staying. The label realizes she is "losing it" when she marks a DJ's face with a sharpie. Meanwhile, her hit song begins its descent down the charts before the end of her first tour. Despite releasing a second album to critical acclaim, if not commercial success, she is forced by her label to endure the indignity of performing as an acoustic opener to a insufferable self-righteous lilith fair singer songwriter who just happens to have a hit at the time. Trynin's star doesn't rise according to the record company's timetable and corpor

Devastingly empathetic view inside the world of music

Jen Trynin's book hits the reader with the same devasting honesty of her music and lyrics. The book follows Trynin's path from being the hottest new rock musician being fought over by major labels, to the runner-up to Alanis Morrisette's unstoppable rise. Trynin's music, lyrics, and persona may have been too honest and original to be fit in a slot in a bin, but her soul-stripped-bare style of writing will find an eager audience with anyone who has ever dreamed of "making it" and wondered what happens to those who do. This is not just the story of an almost rock star--it's the startling debut of a ruthlessly honest writer. Destined to be a movie or rock musical.

Great Read

I have to admit I never heard of Jen Trynin prior to reading her book, but nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed her story. The book really captures the chaos and confusion associated with signing with a music label, the drain of a tour and the pressure to produce a hit. I hope that Jen writes another book (maybe one on her experiences as a mom)- her voice is fresh, funny and she certainly is not afraid to expose herself warts and all - a nice change of pace.

From a fan at the time who wondered what happened

Ok, not sure if I'm the first one to write a review who didn't actually know Jen Trynin - but was a fan at the time all this was going on. I'm from Boston and I'm a musician, and I was naturally curious about the rich music scene in that town and tried to keep somewhat on top of it while I was there, which included the entire 90's decade. I ran across Cockamamie (Jen's first CD) at the time of release, as it was getting a lot of buzz around town. I had even scored Jen's earlier eponymous release, which was a 12 song cassette. I still have it somewhere. I had gotten that from someone who shall remain nameless. who ran a studio in 1995. When I excitedly asked him about it, surprised, he said, "oh, that SUCKS. You can have it." Ended up being the last time I worked with that guy because I decided he didn't have ears I could trust. Jen's music was exquisitely good, and you can currently get Cockamamie for a penny. First off, buy it. Then buy this book. This is one of the best rock memoirs I've ever read, only surpassed by Al Kooper's Backstabbing Bastards. Perhaps part of why I like it because I recognize a Boston rock chick's tone of voice in the narration. But that's a little unfair and pigeonhole-ish, because Jen's being herself, and she's telling a great story, riveting, and required reading for all aspiring pop stars. She's frank, engaging, vulnerable - no BS, and you can't help but root for her as the story unfolds. I always wondered what happened after her major label release came out, then sank into oblivion. While it wasn't as strong as the first record (which itself could have been played to death on the radio) it had an obvious hit on it - "Getaway/February" should have gotten monster airplay - and it didn't add up that this was all we were going to get. I'm glad to be able to read about it now, in fact I regard it as something of a gift from left field, one of the rare times you actually get to find out why a favorite artist evaporated from the scene. If you haven't heard of Jen, I don't know what to tell you, except like the rest of the world, you're missing out. Her website has a couple of downloadable tracks, so check there first. But I highly recommend this book and her two discs (but start with Cockamamie).