They Just Seem a Little Weird

How KISS, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll

By: Doug Brod

Narrated by: Eric Stuart

A veteran music journalist explores how four legendary rock bands—KISS, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz—laid the foundation for two diametrically opposed subgenres: hair metal in the '80s and grunge in the '90s.

It was the age when heavy-footed, humorless dinosaurs roamed the hard-rock landscape. But that all changed when into these dazed and confused mid-'70s strutted four flamboyant bands that reveled in revved-up anthems and flaunted a novel theatricality. In They Just Seem a Little Weird, veteran entertainment journalist Doug Brod offers an eye- and ear-opening look at a crucial moment in music history, when rock became fun again and a gig became a show. This is the story of friends and frenemies who rose, fell, and soared once more, often sharing stages, studios, producers, engineers, managers, agents, roadies, and fans—and who are still collaborating more than forty years on.

In the tradition of David Browne's Fire and Rain and Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us, They Just Seem a Little Weird seamlessly interweaves the narratives of KISS, Cheap Trick, and Aerosmith with that of Starz, a criminally neglected band whose fate may have been sealed by a shocking act of violence. This is also the story of how these distinctly American groups—three of them now enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—laid the foundation for two seemingly opposed rock genres: the hair metal of Poison, Skid Row, and Mötley Crüe and the grunge of Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and the Melvins. Deeply researched, and featuring more than 130 new interviews, this book is nothing less than a secret history of classic rock.

©2020 Doug Brod (P)2020 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

"Once upon a time, in the faraway galaxy known as the '70s, there were four tightly knit gangs of misfits and screwups—three mega-platinum Hall of Fame bands and one near miss. Doug Brod thoroughly and seamlessly chronicles their interlocking stories, and how their ups and downs, friendships and rivalries, lucky breaks and twists of fate rewrote the rules of rock and roll for America's denim-clad masses."—Alan Light, SiriusXM radio host and author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah"

"They Just Seem a Little Weird is a wildly entertaining study of four Me Decade bands, showing how their influence would come to shape successive generations and genres of music. Doug Brod delivers the perfect balance of reportage, reminiscence, and rock-and-roll excess. Deeply researched, evocatively written, and utterly enjoyable—this is a surprisingly essential work of pop culture history."—Bob Mehr, author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements

"Doug Brod gives the '70s hard rock world of Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz the scholarly research, historical narrative and—above all else—the respect it deserves. You'll be constantly entertained and enlightened by his backstage stories and newly unearthed—and eye-opening—connections between all those bands. The book rock and rolls and parties all night, on every page."—David Browne, author, Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, JamesTaylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970

Fun listen

this was a cool listen, lots of perspective and history for all of the bands and their timeline.

it was a little too long in some places, but def worth a credit if you like any/all of these bands

Quick-moving and enjoyable

Enjoyed this book, which was well-written and included a lot of good anecdotes about the bands. Even though it was published in late 2020, it cuts off in around 2010, so you won't learn much about Cheap Trick's acrimonious breakup with Bun E. Carlos, or about their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in 2016. The same is true of Kiss and Aerosmith...not much about what they've been doing since 2010, such as their final tours and the accusations that Paul Stanley has been lip synching onstage. Nevertheless, it's a good guide to the bands' early moments and glory days. The contrast with Starz, the "band who never made it", is entertaining, although having found some Starz videos on YouTube it's no surprise to me that they were not successful. Anyway, a good audiobook that's never dull. Recommended.

Cheap Trick Fan

Sure enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone that is a fan of any of these performers. I feel that Cheap Trick is one of the most under appreciated rock bands. And this book brings much deserved attention to their overall contributions and how they have influenced so many.

Surrender!

fascinating detailed story of how these bands collectively changed rock. At first I was dubious, although I've been a fan of three of these bands(I didn't know Starz) The author made me a believer. What a story! The only criticism is the recording isn't smooth and some sentences get repeated. lol.

The history of 4 great bands!

Loved how the history of Kiss, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and Starz are all intertwined. There are plenty of books on KISS and Aerosmith, but not very many on Cheap Trick and specifically the criminally underrated Starz. Listening to this book was very entertaining.

Surprising Editing Errors In Narration

Nobody is likely to claim this is a great book--but it does help fill in informational gaps for avid fans. I've never heard editing mistakes like this on ANY audible title. It's almost like nobody paid attention after Chapter 20. Repeated phrases and false starts left in the final product. I counted at least six obvious errors, and one clipped word uncorrected. Stuart has a good voice for this content, though.
And the elephant in the room: Starz?!

Enjoyable listen

Had me pulling up songs and artists I hadn't heard of to get glimpses of all the other bands connected to my favorites that are talked about in here, Kiss and Cheap Trick.

This book has the most re-takes mid sentence that I have heard in a title on Audible, for example "When we got there.... got there we went on stage". Editor should have cleaned up these in the editing process.

Great book. Performance has issues.

This is really a fun book. Having grown up with all these bands I thought I knew most of their history. But there is a lot in here to like and that surprised me. In terms of the reading, I’m not sure who this falls on but there were so many errors in the pronunciation of names of bands that the minute you hear one it takes you out of the listen and back TRL he reality that this is just an actor reading a book who probably has little real knowledge of the subject matter. The mangling of Mo Ostin’s name comes to mind. Maybe the read would be a better way to go on this one. Hopefully they can go in and edit the bad bits on the AB.

Cheap Trick rules ALL kids!!

Butch Walker in this book too!! The man is a genius kids!! Never heard Starz. How could they not include The Mighty Van Halen?!

Well researched

I’ve always felt that the music industry is well entangled within itself. But I guess I didn’t have any idea how tightly these folks get to know each other and work with one another. I feel the book was well researched and brought me into the webs of the insiders. Unlike some audio books, this one is very well read and enjoyable to the listener.