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This Brilliant New Rock Memoir is a Must Read for Gen Xers

Author adam12

As stories go, this new rock memoir is one of the best I’ve ever read. The overindulgence is over the top. And it’s from a person I didn’t expect that from.

 

That person is Stuart Braithwaite. He’s best known as the guitarist and founder of Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. The book is titled Spaceships Over Glasgow, and I couldn’t put it down.

 

I’ve been a fan of Mogwai ever since a promo copy of their debut album, Young Team, landed in my mailbox back in the fall of 1997. Back then, I was a DJ and Music Director at Northeastern University’s WRBB.

 

Mogwai sounded like nothing I’d ever heard. As legendary BBC DJ John Peel once described them: “Some of their stuff is very quiet, and then goes suddenly, terrifically loud.” I was obsessed. I still am. They’re my favorite band.

 

 

Upon discovering the Moglads, I went back and collected their early singles. I own all of their albums. I’ve seen the band live 8 times in Boston. And now I’ve finally gotten around to reading their guitarist’s autobiography.

 

A New Rock Memoir Full of Debauchery, Authenticity

In all my years of Mogwai fandom, I’d always pictured Stuart as a wee Scottish fellow, tinkering with his guitars, coaxing the biggest sounds imaginable out of them. He is, surely. But he’s also an absolute madman.

 

The amount of drugs and drink Stuart indulges in–starting as a teen–would have made him a welcome member of Motley Crue. And that’s what makes his memoir so compelling: the excess is unexpected.

 

Maybe that’s on me and my naivety. Mogwai’s independent approach and unique sound put them as far from the world of commercial rock as possible. But their backstage antics and depravity put them on par with rock’s great overindulgers. It’s a fascinating contradiction.

 

This New Rock Memoir is a Gen X Must

New Rock Memoir 'Spaceships Over Glasgow'

 

Stuart does an ace job of weaving his tales of vice into his personal history and the formation and rise of Mogwai. He’s a year older than me, so a lot of what he experienced I found resonant as a fellow Gen Xer.

 

I mean, his first show was The Cure on the Disintegration tour and he saw Nirvana at Reading in ’91. What a way to kick off what’s been a successful, wide-ranging career in music.

 

Pick up a copy of Spaceships Over Glasgow, out now on White Rabbit Books. It’s a new rock memoir for those of us who love good music, a good story, and a good bit of lechery. And cuff a Mogwai record or two while you’re at it. They’re divine.

Adam 12 is the Program Director of Boston's ROCK 92.9, heard weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. He's been flexing his encyclopedic rock knowledge in New England for over 2 decades, both on-air and online, at WBCN, WFNX, Boston.com, and indie617. At ROCK 92.9, he keeps you in the know on the big stories from the Boston music scene and writes about great places to eat, drink (beer), and to spend time outdoors in and around Boston.

Let's Listen to a Clip From Adam 12's First Radio Show, 25 Years Ago

June 18, 1996. My first radio show: 5-8 p.m. on Northeastern University’s 104.9 WRBB. That means I’ve been on the radio for 25 years.

 

Quick story about that first show: I prepped the hell out of it. The 5-8 p.m. block on WRBB at the time was for alternative and indie rock, right in my wheelhouse. I gathered a bunch of my favorite CDs and records from home, planned out my sets by genre, and even brought along a notebook to write it all down for posterity. You know what I didn’t bring? Headphones.

 

No worries, I thought. I’ll wing it. I cued up my first song right around 5, hit my music bed, potted up the mic, and started my very first talk-break. As I was yapping, the co-op student working in the station’s office poked her head into my open studio door and gave me a quizzical look. I wrapped up my break, potted down the mic, and was informed by said co-op that my break didn’t go out over the air.

 

You see, I had potted up the mic, but I had neglected to TURN IT ON. Of course, had I been wearing headphones, I wouldn’t have made such a gaffe. 25 years on, I’ve at least figured that out.

 

Let’s Listen to a Clip From Adam 12’s First Radio Show, 25 Years Ago

You can hear audio from my first-ever radio show below. My first paid radio show? That’s a different story: you can hear that here. In the lead up to that anniversary, I celebrated by spotlighting some of my favorite albums, radio stations, and DJs from my 25 years in broadcasting, so dig into those memories with me, too. Eternal gratitude to erstwhile ROCK 92.9 Program Director Ken West, as well as Beasley Boston’s Mary Menna and Cadillac Jack. Thanks to them, I’m on the radio in Boston, celebrating 25 years and counting. And thanks to you for listening, of course.

  • My First Break

    My first break with the mic ON, that is.

  • 1996

    DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….. is still my all-time favorite album.

  • 1997

    Mogwai has perhaps my all-time favorite band, 25 years on.

  • 1998

    RIP WBZ’s Neal Chayet, a true gentleman in broadcasting.

  • 1999

    I got to be a DJ on the Z. You can never take that away from me.

  • 2000

    I’ve always done everything in my power, no matter where my radio journey has taken me, to shine a light on Boston-area acts.

  • 2001

    RIP Mimi from Low, who we lost late in 2022.

  • 2002

    I got to see Karate’s reunion tour in the summer of 2022. I’d like to go back in time to 20 years before that and tell myself that it’s totally worth the wait.

  • 2003

    As I type this, these two albums turn 20 this year and that’s wild.

  • 2004

    Broadcasting live from the 2004 Red Sox World Series parade? Career highlight.

  • 2005

    Played as much Boston punk on BCN as they’d allow me to. Which was more than I was probably supposed to.

  • 2006

    Toucher & Rich ended up doing all right, as it turns out.

  • 2007

    Even at a quarter-century, I’m still not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Charles. Legend.

  • 2008

    It was harder to force my indie-rock will on the air at BCN toward the end, but I always tried.

  • 2009

    And now Jaybeau and I work down the hall from each other!

  • 2010

    Tai still inspires and mentors, as great broadcasters do.

  • 2011

    LG is “Auntie Laurie” to my kiddos, now and forever.

  • 2012

    Adam 12: rock on the streets, jazz in the sheets.

  • 2013

    Speaking of jazz radio, RIP Eric Jackson, the best to ever do it.

  • 2014

    John Funke is my favorite radio DJ ever, period.

  • 2015

    I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out what we were doing on RadioBDC a decade ago and how far ahead of the curve we were.

  • 2016

    Boston Calling memories. And they continue now at ROCK 92.9!

  • 2017

    Shout-out to stations like WMVY on the Vineyard and WMWV in North Conway, who are able to do on commercial radio things I can only dream about.

  • 2018

    indie617, still going strong 5 years on.

  • 2019

    Now that I’m a Program Director again, I REALLY have a say in what I play!

  • 2020

    That’s all for now. If I’m lucky enough, I’ll get to do this again to celebrate 30 years.

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