John Lydon, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs

John Lydon, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs is an entertaining read, although I would advise anyone tackling it to take what the man formerly known as Johnny Rotten says with a pinch of salt. It's strangely constructed with Lydon's narrative often cut off by sections of first person recollections by members of his family, friends, colleagues and even former bandmates. It charts his childhood in the poorest and most squalid circumstances and the things that drove him into his career with the Sex Pistols and his opinions about music, politics, art, etc.

While Lydon does seem to want to always make himself out to be the icon, the good guy, the victim, what is clear is that he is a highly intelligent and very thoughtful individual who was frustrated by his circumstances. His reaction against society and his adaption of punk was a reaction against the boredom he felt and the anger that despite his intelligence he knew he was heading for a poor education and a dead end job. His only recourse was to tear things apart in order to change them.

It's an interesting account and explains some of the motivation behind The Sex Pistols and all their anti-social cries of anarchy.