“I really tried to create a band that I would love, if they were real”— Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The Six
Fiction writers have long been sed...
It Ain’t Only Rock ‘n’ Roll: Sarah Tomlinson Talks the Rolling Stones, Anita Pallenberg, and Reads From Her Novel, ‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’
In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Sarah Tomlinson discusses the inspiration for and reads from her debut novel, ‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’.
‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’ synopsis: Anke Berben is ready to tell all. A legendary model and style icon, she reveled in headline-grabbing romances with not one but three members of the hugely influential rock band the Midnight Ramblers. The band members were as famous for their backstage drama as for their music, and Anke is the only one who fully understands the tangled relationships, betrayals, and suspicions that have added to the Ramblers’ enduring appeal and mystique. That is most evident in the mystery around Anke’s role in the death of Mal, the band’s founder and Anke’s husband, in 1969.
When Mari Hawthorn accepts the job to work with Anke on her memoir, she is dead set on getting to the truth of Mal’s death. She has always been deft at navigating the fatal charms of celebrities, having grown up with a narcissistic, alcoholic father. As she ingratiates herself into the world of the band, she grows enchanted, against her better judgment, by these legendary rock stars. She knows she can’t get pulled in too deep, otherwise she’ll compromise her objectivity—and her integrity.
Filled with all of the glamour and attitude of rock and roll, ‘The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’ is a bighearted page-turner that will appeal to fans of ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ and ‘Almost Famous’.
Sarah Tomlinson, a former music journalist, has been a ghostwriter since 2008, penning more than 20 books, including five ’New York Times’ bestsellers. In 2015, she published the father-daughter memoir, ’Good Girl’ (Gallery Books). She wrote ’The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers’, her first novel, in-between assignments for a who’s who of celebrity clients.
Check out Christy’s interview with Svetlana Zill and Alexis Bloom, the directors of the documentary ‘Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqtedDBbl4
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
“Midnight Rambler” – Rolling Stones
“You Got the Silver” – Rolling Stones
“Salt of the Earth” – Rolling Stones
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Sarah Tomlinson’s website: https://sarahtomlinson.com/
Sarah Tomlinson on Instagram and Twitter: @duchessofrock
Sarah Tomlinson on Facebook: @SarahTomlinson
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast
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21:22
When Pop Music Meets the Occult: O.F. Cieri Discusses and Reads From Her Novel ‘Backmask’
In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, O.F. Cieri reads an excerpt from her novel ‘Backmask’ and discusses the inspiration behind the story and the music that shaped it.
Inspired by pop music history and written in the style of ‘60s horror pulp, ‘Backmask’ is the fake history of a conspiracy theory surrounding the Satanic agenda to control children’s minds. Nicholas Hush, 1960s record producer, has a vision for the future of pop music. After a series of prophetic dreams, he wants to combine occult imagery with upcoming trends to create a new, groundbreaking look. His secretary, Valerie Chill, is tasked with finding consultants and funding while he crafts the perfect album. Quickly their project becomes entangled in other, larger machinations, and two teenage pop acts become responsible for international intrigue, brainwashing, and an occult massacre. Taking inspiration from the lives of Joe Meek, Phil Spector, and Timothy Leary, ‘Backmask’ is a speculative look at how hidden messages got into pop music.
O.F. Cieri is a self-taught writer based out of NYC. She has been published in ‘Ligeia Magazine’ and ‘Misery Tourism’. In 2013 she won first place in BMCC's Poetry Competition. In 2016 she won an Honorable Mention in LaborArts Make Work Visible Competition. Her nonfiction has been carried by ‘Hyperallergic’ and the ‘Invisible Oranges’. In February of 2023 she published her second book, ‘Lockdown Laureate’, with Castaigne Publishing. Her third book, ‘Backmask’, was published by Malarkey in June of 2023.
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
The Moontrekkers – “Night of the Vampire”
Bauhaus – “She’s In Parties”
The Cramps “The Goo Goo Mack”
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
O.F. Cieri’s website: https://ofcieri.com/
O.F. Cieri on Facebook: @OFCieri
O.F. Cieri on Instagram: @Ossuary
O.F. Cieri on Twitter: @ossvary
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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40:49
Murder, Music, and Mystery in LA: Philip Cohen Reads from His Novel ‘Conflict in the City’
In this episode, Philip Cohen joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to share a few chapters of his novel ‘Conflict in the City’. Mixing and blending the genres of detective noir and music, ‘Conflict in the City’ takes place in greater Los Angeles, home to both classic and modern fictional LA detectives like Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe and Michael Connolly’s Harry Bosch, and music legends like the Doors, Van Halen, and The Mamas and The Papas.
It’s in this world that we find Johnny “Whoops” Watson and Billy Bates, young guitarists/singers and their band, Conflict, playing clubs in modern LA, where the days of rock’s zenith and ascendance in the 1960s and 1970s has faded, but the hopes and dreams of aspiring musicians haven’t. Conflict is struggling and chaos ensues when someone linked closely to the band is killed. Billy and Johnny become swept up in the mystery, ill-prepared as they are to confront it.
Philip M. Cohen was born in New York City and moved to Los Angeles as a young man. A musician since his pre-teens, he began writing songs and playing with bands in his teens and had a near-encounter with fame with his band The Heaters. He then became a music attorney to pay the bills, but continued to write, perform, and record music. Presently, Phil still consults on legal and business matters but spends most of his time writing and playing music, composing, recording, and performing with his two bands, Dogs and Bones and The Silver Heaters, consisting of former members of The Heaters. ‘Conflict in the City’ is his first published novel and ‘Conflict in the Club’, the second. They are both part of an on-going series dubbed “The Conflict Stories.”
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
The Doors “Light My Fire”
The Mamas and The Papas “California Dreamin’ ”
The Doors “Riders On the Storm”
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Philip Cohen on Facebook: @PhilCohen
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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30:58
Cassettes, Secrets, and Small-Town Mysteries: Matthew Fiander Reads from His Novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’
In this episode, Matthew Fiander joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to discuss and read from his debut novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’. Set in a Boston suburb during the early ‘90s, the story follows Louise “Blue” Cleary as she navigates the emotional aftermath of her sister Christine’s mysterious death. Already struggling to fit in as a girl barred from playing baseball and an umpire facing hostility from local parents, Blue’s grief sends her on a journey to uncover truths about her sister—and herself. With Christine’s cassette tapes as clues, Blue’s search reveals buried secrets about her family and the dark underbelly of their seemingly idyllic town.
Matthew Fiander’s fiction has appeared in ‘Story Magazine’, ‘Mid-American Review’, ‘Zone 3’, ‘Willow Springs’, ‘The Massachusetts Review’, ‘Southern Indiana Review’, ‘South Carolina Review’, ‘Reckon Review’, and elsewhere. He has also written for ‘The New York Times’, PopMatters, and other outlets. His debut novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’, was published by Main Street Rag. Fiander currently lives and works in North Carolina.
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Buffalo Tom “Taillights Fade”
Pearl Jam “Once”
Nirvana “All Apologies”
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Matthew Fiander on Facebook: @MatthewFiander
Matthew Fiander on Twitter: @mattfiander
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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35:51
Bill Hallberg Rock ‘n’ Roll Short Story Contest Spotlight: General Submission Winner Mark Baumgartner Reads His Story “Last Chance for a Slow Dance”
Congratulations to the winner of the first Bill Hallberg Rock ‘n’ Roll Short Story Contest in the general submissions category, Mark Baumgartner! Listen to Mark read his winning story, “Last Chance for a Slow Dance,” in this episode.
Mark D. Baumgartner’s fiction has been published in many literary journals, including ‘The Southern Review’, ‘Confrontation’, ‘Best of Ohio Anthology’, ‘Bellingham Review’, ‘Silk Road’, ‘Yemassee’, ‘Wisconsin Review’, ‘Phoebe’, and ‘Tampa Review’, among others. His story, “The Great Siwash Shoe War,” won the 2014 ‘Fugue’ prize in short fiction. His writing has twice been nominated for inclusion in the Pushcart prize anthology. His story collection, ‘Last Chance for a Slow Dance: Stories’, is forthcoming from JackLeg Press in 2026. He teaches creative writing and American literature at East Tennessee State U.
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
“Fascination Street” by The Cure
“Last Chance For a Slow Dance” by Fugazi
“Remember Tomorrow” by Iron Maiden
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Mark Baumgartner on Facebook: @MarkBaumgartner
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
“I really tried to create a band that I would love, if they were real”— Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The Six
Fiction writers have long been seduced by the anarchy, defiance, and raw power of rock ‘n roll, creating stories about music, the people who make it, and the characters who love it with the same intensity as the most ambitious concept albums. But until Rock is Lit first aired in September 2022, there had never been a podcast devoted to this art form—the rock novel—and the show remains a singularity.
In each episode, host Christy Alexander Hallberg, author of the award-winning rock novel Searching for Jimmy Page (Livingston Press, 2021), interviews authors about craft and the musical inspiration behind their work, then brings in music experts, like legendary groupie Pamela Des Barres, to add real-world context to the bands or musical periods featured in the novels. Hallberg has quickly earned a reputation as a meticulous researcher and creative producer, frequently garnering compliments from guests such as Rex Weiner, author of The (Original) Adventures of Ford Fairlane: “You’re so well versed in what I wrote and, of course, your own rock ‘n roll history is pretty terrific.”
The podcast’s growing roster of rock novels includes: Dana Spiotta’s National Book Award-nominated Eat the Document, works by BIPOC authors like Chris L. Terry’s Black Card, metal-centric novels like John Wray’s Gone to the Wolves, YA LGBTQ debuts like Jessamyn Violet’s Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar, Scifi rock novels like Sarah Pinsker’s Nebula Award-winning A Song For A New Day, rock novels adapted to film like Garth Risk Hallberg’s City on Fire, and celebrity rock novels like the legendary Suzi Quatro’s The Hurricane.
Tune in to Rock is Lit and join the mounting number of Lit Listeners on their quest to find the very best rock novels.
Watch the trailer on YouTube.
Find Christy Alexander Hallberg and Rock is Lit on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
USA