"All I Ever Wanted", Go-Go's bassist Kathy Valentine's 2020 memoir

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Wow. Just. Wow.

I’m only up to 8th grade, and this woman has experienced trauma that would make Motley Crue’s “The Dirt”, the saddest nonfiction book I have ever read, look like the McGuffey Reader. AFAIK, R.E.M. is not mentioned at all in it, but at this point, I can’t blame them for turning down an opening spot on their tour.

Peter said many years ago that if “Murmur” had sold 5 million copies right out of the gate, at least one of them would be dead now. It also sounds like the same thing would have happened had they accepted that offer. The Go-Go’s definitely had some PR firms working overtime back in the day, that’s for sure.

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Replying to myself: I finished the book, finally, a few days ago. When word eventually escaped about what the Go-Gos’ lives were really like, yeah, I can’t believe ANY of them are still alive, let alone all of them.

In the meantime, the CW (TV channel) aired a 2020 documentary about them, and it came out around the same time as this book. (COVID is not mentioned, and R.E.M. is only mentioned once, in passing about 80s bands.) Jane and Gina correctly pinged my gaydar, something that had never previously happened, and there was LOTS of footage of them being interviewed while whacked out of their minds on SOMETHING.

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