Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?
by Steven Tyler
HarperCollins
Right from the get go readers get an ADD dose of Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler's wit and wisdom, and that staccato lyrical style continues straight through the 371 pages of the 61-year-old rocker's scintillating autobiography.
Although the memoir is co-written with Rolling Stone contributor David Dalton, it's hard to tell. Fans looking for the risque can simply thumb through the book for many a colourful exploit, such as the time he tried to seduce rocker Joan Jett by opening his towel, revealing all his glory and saying: 'I hate myself for loving you.'
He also revels in the opportunity to reveal his side of the 40-year Aerosmith saga, from the time he first witnessed future guitarist Joe Perry cooking terrific French fries as a teenager in New Hampshire right on up through their troubled recent album sessions. Fans of the band won't go wanting, for the singer goes on at length about the group's early days, tour triumphs, success, destruction at the hands of drugs and their subsequent rebirth while struggling with sobriety.
At its best, Tyler's musings on fame, his numerous wives and bandmates is personal, private and truly revealing. Albums, tours and even lyrics are elaborately detailed and Tyler's personal thoughts seem to have the censor button firmly on the off switch.
But more revealing are his detailed childhood stories about growing up in Yonkers, New York, and his summers spent alongside a lake in Sunapee, New Hampshire. For as much as it might appear Tyler has been a bigger-than-life rock star forever, it's clear his formative years left a huge impression on his psyche, and in some ways seem to have sealed his fate.
