When J came back to the states for a week in September, she brought me a book called The Libertines:Bound Together, a book written by former NME editor Anthony Thornton and photographer Roger Sargent. This collaboration results in the band's incredibly well written biography teeming with many gorgeous photographs that help bring to life the rise and fall of Pete and Carl's Arcadian dream. I sat and read this nearly 300-page book cover to cover in one night. Using the internet as a medium to introduce new music or invite fans to impromptu intimate performances on Libertines.org, Pete apparently often carried around his laptop posting his thoughts and sometimes his whereabouts on the website's forum (which has as of this post over 32,000 registered members). Is this not a fascinating invitation into an artist's world? Ok, so perhaps it's just the virtual world, but for someone who has lurked on many a message board administered by no one near the band I find this kind of intimacy fascinating.
This is all well and good, but what I couldn't get out of my mind was the revelation that Pete's motivation for doing interview after interview was to make money for drugs. A writer he very well may be, but an addict certainly.
I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good band biography. -K
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