Alison Mosshart is a boss. She’s been the lead vocalist for a handful of rock bands: The Kills (which she cofounded), the Dead Weather (which she’s the frontwoman of), and Discount. She also has a way with a paint brush, and has awesome style. Soon after the release of the Dead Weather’s third album, Dodge and Burn, in September, Alison schooled us on some of the art she loves and wishes the world would, too. —Erika Ramirez
“There are few books I’ve read more than once, and Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. Thompson is one of them. Thompson’s first book was a nonfiction account of his time living with the Hell’s Angels in 1965. At a time when the Hell’s Angels were considered incredibly dangerous, unlawful, and ultimately scary, Thompson took great fascination with them, and found his way in. The book is wild, insightful, and super badass. [He writes] about pissing them off, being scared out of his mind, gaining their trust, befriending them, riding with them, and partying with them–it’s all here. Hunter S. Thompson is inspiring, and full of groove. I grew up reading his books. Underlining my favorite lines, robbing his rhythm, and jogging his lyricism, word play, and dark, twisted, and throbbing way of banging out words. He’s a master at what he does, and once he gets in your blood, he’s in there for good. After reading Thompson, you’ll be standing in your backyard shooting guns and blowing up inanimate objects in no time. Or at least, you’ll go out and buy a typewriter.”
“Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is [one of my favorite] nonfiction “novels.” It was written about the [1959] murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote read about the murders and was so fascinated [that] he traveled to Kansas, alongside Harper Lee, and interviewed the locals and detectives. Capote visited the murderers in jail and became very close to them. This book is an account of the murders and the stories of the killers themselves. This is one of Capote’s best books—don’t first watch the movies based on the book! It took him six years to write it, and it probably took his sanity, too.”
“I found Jean Stein and George Plimpton’s Edie: An American Biography in a thrift store in Florida, while in high school. Edie is a work of art. It’s a written oral history about Edie Sedgwick’s short and illustrious life. Edie was an inspiring and tragic character, who lived life to the very fullest. You’ll want to know her, be her, and save her–all in the same breath. I knew a little bit of Andy Warhol, but after I read Edie, I became insatiably interested in the whole scene. I couldn’t get enough of New York in the ’60s and ’70s. Edie is a great place to start [if you want to know about it]. For years, I carried this book around with me, everywhere. I hung pictures of Edie on my wall, watched any footage of her I could find, drew her face, and practiced her poses. Edie was a transforming find.”
“Fugazi was my favorite band growing up. I’ve never seen a band perform as many times as I’ve seen them play. I followed them around in my car any time I could. [To say I was] obsessed with their records and live shows would be an understatement. Then, Jem Cohen made this film, Instrument, about them. I gobbled it up. I watched it every day for a year. It was the background noise and vision to my teenage years. It replaced my skateboarding VHS tapes I’d always have on. This movie is like a beautiful record you can’t help but want to listen again and again. Cohen has a beautiful vision, a way with film that’s boundlessly unique, and an extremely artful eye. The film and the music still blow me away.” ♦
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she literally seems like the coolest person