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@Dooks-Fatberg
Re: Big Star, It's pretty pedestrian to be honest. Well written but part of the problem is that the era of most interest to most people, the three albums, were made in such a short timescale with limited source material to draw upon there's not a lot of coverage of them. It feels like a lot of ho-hum backstory then the making of the records flies past in a few pages. But that's how it was I suppose. Did learn a few nuggets about th erecording and production; who wrote and played what etc which I love as a musician nerd.
After Sister Lovers/Third and Chris's sad decline and fall the last third of the book concentrates on Alex's decent into narcisitic, self-destructive nihilism. It's interesting that the book frames him as some sort of proto-punk sonic explorer/performance artist in this phase whereas it looks very much to me like the account of damaged, unhinged and unhappy man hell-bent of self distruction. More than a few passing references to him behaving like a total c*nt too including burning people with cigarettes etc. Not exactly an uplifting read. But then again I haven't got to the '90s renaisaince/drying out/never-ending greatest hits tour bit yet. He seemed pretty together when I met him the year before he died.