Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? audiobook

I'm not really sure what most of the reviewers/readers of this book expected. They are complaining about the adolescent, egotistical, drug abusing, sex indulgent lifestyle of a rock star. This was what I already knew about Steven Tyler and that description pretty much fits any other hard rocking successful star from his era or any other era. He is hormonally driven. He is an addict. He is convinced of his own rock star immortality. I think that a large part of his success comes from being all of those things. I don't believe you can get up in front of thousands of people and not be convinced you are one of the best at what you do. Maybe people reading this biography were looking for humbleness or... haha... maturity from a 63 year old rock warrior. He walked the walk. He was lucky to survive it. He is more aware than anyone of his own faults. Despite his...imperfections... he does realize that he has value and can still contribute more music. He is honest, revealing aspects of his life that many people would have felt much more comfortable leaving in the deep woods where they could never be found again. His deviant lifestyle left many readers aghast. Unfortunately I believe that a lot of people are picking up this autobiography because they enjoyed Steven's quirky behavior on American Idol. They are finding more thorns and thistles than expected and finding it all... a bit... unsavory. I enjoyed this book. I laughed out loud. I cringed. At times I felt sorry for him because life was treating him too harshly. At other times I felt he needed to suffer more. The book is written in his voice. I could almost believe that I was sitting down with Steven Tyler over drinks and a cornucopia of pharmaceuticals. The whole time I'm encouraging him to tell me more, and more, and more. His mind skitters around much as you would expect it to. He is a unique individual and makes people feel uncomfortable. We need him to be this way. I don't want his life. I'm not sure I would survive even a week of walking around in Steven Tyler's shoes. (I don't want his feet either. *shudder*) He works hard and plays hard. He enjoys the rewards and suffers the consequences. Overall a great ride through a life that few have the opportunity to experience.

As a huge Aerosmith fan, part of me worried this book would be self-indulgent, clearing Steven's own name while sullying everyone else's. Another part of me thought it would be all about his rock & roll decadence, drug problems, women. Walk The Way (the band's autobiography), but focused solely on Steven. I'll admit that part of me wanted that, to hear his side of the story and all the juicy gossip.I didn't get it.At first, I was disappointed. The narrative was scattered - a section on Steven's childhood veered off into discussing his own children. There was no timeline.After a few pages, I was in. I got it. The stream-of-consciousness was originally distracting, but a polished narrative would have been moreso. This book is Steven talking to the reader. You can hear him, not the ghost writer, not an editor. He addresses his music, his career, the drugs, the women, but it's so much more. This gives me a feel for who he is more than any other autobiography I've read about anyone else. It's stream of consciousness, it's how he sees the world, it's what he thinks when he writes a song."STEVEN TYLER, an aging but well-preserved rock star moodily stares into space... He's talking into a digital tape recorder, which he barely knows how to operate." [jokingly (?) writing his movie script]I think this is probably the most real autobiography I've read. Steven talked into a tape recorder; the ghost writer, David Dalton, transcribed it, maybe edited and organized it slightly. But I think Steven took it back, went through and made sure certain words were spelled phonetically so you could hear his voice, hear him burst into lyrics and rhymes, hear his signature scat, drag words out so you feel the weight of them. Much of the book is like this; it's very poetic, with rhymes and alliteration.If Stephen Davis had come in and smoothed everything out, polished the tales and lined them up in chronological order, it would have been another Walk This Way. But what we have is Steven Tyler. To sum it all up, I would have to say this book is Steven Tyler, as opposed to being about Steven Tyler. If you want the stories from his life, read Walk This Way. If you want to get inside his head, read this.A fun aside - while the cover looks typical, make sure you take off the dust jacket and check out what's underneath - shots of Steven in action like some sort of flipbook. It's pretty much the best thing ever.QuotablesOn his life: "Sometimes it feels like... all I'm doing is rearranging the deck chairs on the fucking Titanic."On women: "She could bend over backward - my kinda girl - and she had a flat head where I could rest my beer."On Joe's amp volume: "He'd play so loud, even Helen Keller could sing along."On fame/the media: "...they're looking at me, and what they see is this Steven Tyler entity. I began to think of myself in the third person...""So go on, make it up! By now Steven Tyler is pretty much a fictional character anyway... I read about him and I don't know who it is."On lyrics: "People ask me all these questions about 'Dream On.' 'What does it mean?' What do you mean, 'What does it mean?' It means Dream On. You figure it out. You're the one listening to it... make up your own meaning."

Yes, I gave it five stars. I loved this book. Most people look at me as though I am crazy for having even bought it, much less read it, and no one thinks he has the brains to write a book and don't believe that he did so. But he has a very powerful voice, and I don't mean a singing one.As someone who has created a public persona, Steven Tyler is a bit over the top. But he is also Steven Tallarico; a boy who grew up summers in Sunapee, N.H. There is no doubt that the tie-in of living in the same area adds to the charm of the book. He admits he is who he is. But he is much more than who you think he is. Much.I have seen him over the years, always acting a little goofy in restaurants, but I don't think he knows how to turn himself off when he is in public. I would agree that he seemed "out there," and many times probably was. I can picture him climbing out of a Delorean one hot summer day in front of the ice cream stand dressed in leather and feather. That isn't just an everyday occurrence and you do think WEIRDO!I enjoyed it, and I hope that I bump into him at some point so I can tell him so!

WOW! I've read quite a few memoirs, and I think this is one of the best. Is it spazzy and hard to follow at times? You bet. But you know, it's the noise in his head. I believe he writes how he probably talks. I've seen other reviews complaining that it's about sex, drugs and rock & roll. Well - DUH! It's Steven Tyler. That's his life. He's an addict. He owns it. He gets help. Will it ever stick? Who knows, but he's not denying what he is. He tells of the love/hate he and Joe Perry have. He's honest in this book I think. He's a womanizer, he owns that too. Music is his life. I think he's such a talented man and I think the addiction he has is very sad. Love the music he has created in his life. I believe he really did love the women he had children with. I believe he *wanted* a family. But I also believe that the drugs and his lifestyle made that difficult for him to ever achieve. He seems to have a very deep love for his kids. I believe he loves Joe Perry and *needs* him and this is what brings on the love/hate. Enjoyed reading about his childhood, his parents, how his music started. How he wanted to be like Mick. I think he kept trying to get himself "home" as he even ended up back where he grew up. I also think that although Aerosmith is huge, he always felt he was a step away from losing it all (and that probably is partially due to the drugs). Yet here he is, in his 60's and still going. He knows he's luck to be aliveAlthough this book was sad with the addition and all, I think he's a funny guy and think the way he wrote it is all *STEVEN*. He has a huge potty mouth, but it works for this book.If you're a child of the 80's, if you're a rock fan, if you're an Aerosmith fan, I'd recommend this book!

Quite The Ride Through A Wild & Crazy Life!

Forget anyone Steven Tyler might have had sex with, been in love with,  or married. His true love, without question, has been and will always be "Joe Fucking Perry".  They have been through everything together and this bond, more than any other, seems to be what has been the most meaningful connection Steven Tyler will ever have. The book itself is what you would expect from Steven Tyler-- outdated ideas of gender, uneducated and unscientific ideas about energy and medicine, justifications for cheating on his significant others, and yet, wildly entertaining! Couldn't put it down. I was constantly compelled to listen to each song as he discussed it. It is written in a very conversational style. You will feel like you are sitting down in a living room with Tyler, listening to his captivating stories (detecting bullshit now and then) and then, bam, suddenly it's 15 hours later, it feels like one hour has passed, and you feel incredibly satisfied.  I really liked Tyler's discussions about drugs. He didn't do that thing where drugs are either wonderful or evil. I felt like I really got a very detailed and in depth idea about what role drugs played in his life. People are forever speculating how the use of drugs influenced (or did not influence) various songs. Tyler's writing style is very informal and really resulted in me feeling like I lived through a lot of his experiences with him. Jonie's Butterfly had always been my favorite song from Rock In A Hard place. I like it a lot less now after Tyler's description of its drug induced emergence, but at the same time, I kind of like Aeorsmith as a whole better than I did before reading this book.  One song that wasn't even very much on my radar was Seasons of Wither. I loved how much Steven Tyler loved writing this song. He was so proud of it and that boyish pride still shown through in his 70s. To me that was probably the most magical aspect of the book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys rock biographies. 

I haven't finished this book yet. The book sounds like Steven Tyler. ADHD and wild and crazy, just like Steven Tyler is. I was more interested in his childhood and his recovery. He is a phenomenal artist and like many is plagued with addiction. It is worse for those who are put on pedestals and have access to all the drugs that they could possibly want. He also talks about how insane it was to be on the road. The artists, musicians make a lot of money and are pushed to make more for those who represent them. The lifestyle might sound appealing until you read about the insanity and workaholism of it all. His personal relationships suffered with other addicts. There was a lot about his sexcapades and using. I am more interested in his recovery. I hope that he makes it, not just in the book but in real life. I was not impressed when he joined American Idol, but I really love the way he treats the idol contestants. He is wild and crazy but he has a very good and soft heart. I highly recommend the book. Wade through the sexcapades and get to the recovery part, it is well worth it.

Reading this book is alot like listening to a drunken ramble (if they lasted 60 years.) Not because of genuine intoxication of the author (although I can't be 100%) but because of Steven's eccentric, non-linear, thought process. While this biography will take you from whoa to go in the right order, be ready to jump forward, back, sideways and outways as the author's sidetracks threaten to take over the whole book.So if you can put up with that, the story of Aerosmith's LSD is a fascinating tale of drugs debauchery and domestic squabbles (band and family.) Don't expect depth and detail - Tyler is more of an expressive writer, so get ready for wierd, bitchy and thoughtful reactions to the events of his life.I wouldn't grab this one if you are looking for a more factual or analytical look at Aerosmith, but if you want to see into the head of this iconic lead singer than this book is what you want.

Wow!! Unsure if I can do justice to this book in my review. I was so eager to buy this that I made a special trip to town the day it came out just to buy it, then when I did start reading it, well it threw me for a loop and I kind of started dragging on reading it. This is because, for me, Steven (don't call him Steve!!) is such an unusual and out of the ordinary author, wow, the way he writes is just so different than anything I've ever read, well it was a tough read for me the first half of the book. Then it just fell into place for me and I couldn't get enough. This is not your usual "rock n roll, drug fueled memoir", this is the life of Steven Tyler and let me tell you, he leaves no stone unturned. I found it to be brutally honest and unpredictably sweet in it's honesty. He is a true star and one that I highly admire, even more so since his stint on American Idol. I always thought he was one HOT man, but now after reading this I realize there are many, many levels to this man, more than I ever imagined. Needless to say, I am surprised and amazed!! I do believe this is one of those books (just like some movies that you need to watch more than once to get it) that probably should be read more than once to catch all that is in it. A highly enjoyable read and one I highly recommend, especially if you are a fan and Hey, even if you aren't, you just may be after reading this!

I really enjoyed this stream-of-consciousness style read from the frenetic Aerosmith frontman, and if you expected anything different then you haven't done your homework.I have a new respect for him as an artist who really seems to have a method to his musical madness and his desire to make it big from a young age never wavered and was never questioned. Unsatisfied with standing still, his thirst to stretch and vary Aerosmith's sound is admirable and their staying power is nothing short of extraordinary considering their steady diet of self-destruction.I was surprised at how some periods of the band's career that I thought were essential were glossed over and others were magnified. I came to know them in the 80s when Permanent Vacation and Pump were big, but very little mention was made of RUN-DMC's cover of "Walk This Way" which I thought brought them back into the spotlight.I was surprised to learn that Aerosmith was the best selling American rock act in history. (I guess I expected that title to go to Van Halen or Metallica or something.) I also learned that if you know where to look, drugs are as easily accessible to some people as you or I would buy milk. I found myself using Grooveshark to listen to some of the 70s tracks I had never heard and hearing songs I knew in a whole new way.Overall, once the train gets a rollin', it's worth the trip.

One of my all-time favorite reads. I know I said it many times but it was such an honest depiction of what his life was like--he held back nothing! It was sporatic at times and you finish feeling like you didn't get the WHOLE story... but definitely that you got the most interesting parts. I love Tyler to begin with so I might be a bit biased on that account, but his writing style was fun and you feel while reading that he could just as easily be hanging out with you telling you the same story verbally. It was entertaining to say the very least. I highly recommend this book, not only to people who love rock n' roll memoirs but to anyone who is looking for something fun to read (and doesn't mind reading about drug use, of course.) Do we find out if Steven is sober now? Nope. The conclusion basically consisted of a reflection of his life and how much he loves his kids and grandson. But could I really expect anything less? He formed his whole life around doing exactly what is NOT expected of him. Love Steven Tyler even more after reading this.

If you're looking for an education in sex, drugs, and rock'n roll, then this book will not disappoint. Steven (please don't call him Steve) goes into all aspects of his over 40 years of "living the dream" and some of his recounts are very graphic.This book isn't as much an autobiography as it is a response to all of the people who have written or shared info about him in the past. It's more of a "well yeah, but you were doing drugs too," kind of thing.This book reads like a school boy's recount of the "good old days." The years of drug addiction, sex addiction and codependency (he says he's been treated for all of those) are recalled almost with a romantic fondness. And, unless I missed it, nowhere in the book is there a an expression of remorse over the lives that were affected or promises that were broken. I do give Steven kudos for telling his side of the story. You get the sense of who this man is and this is what I see; enigmatic, funny, rebellious, egocentric, family-loving, contradicting, brilliant and more. I wish him all the best.

Content is good but the writing style is no walk in the park. Felt like he shouted the whole damn book right into my ear. And perhaps the ghost writer didn't do a good job leaving tons of unnecessary details to the extent that you find yourself flipping pages to skip boring parts eventually.