How’s your summer going? Is it good? Have you signed up for the Summer Challenge yet? I’ve already read 857 books. Oh wait, no maybe it’s 857 pages. Or maybe 857 words. I can’t remember. Either way, I’m well on my way to winning the Grand Prize*. Since our theme is music, one of the books that’s gonna bring home the win for me is Matt Pinfield’s biography. 
When I was little my mom wouldn’t let us watch MTV, but when I got to college, what Mom didn’t know didn’t hurt her. There was this little, somewhat dorky, bald guy who knew absolutely everything about everything when it came to music and I just thought he was the coolest. I was (and am) completely envious of his total musical recall.
His name is Matt Pinfield. 
Turns out that Matt wasn’t quite as dorky as I thought. He could party with the best of them (including a stint in rehad) – which honestly kind of shocked me. Until I thought about it. Matt came up in radio in the 80’s and especially 90’s, where the music industry’s idea of fun was to throw money around. (I, on the other hand, started working in the music world in 2002, just as the money dried up and they began firing everybody – so we have somewhat differing world views.) 
I think the most impressive thing about Matt is that he gained all of his knowledge before the internet. Which means he couldn’t just click online and find new music. He had to go a record store – a place where they actually sold physical copies of music, first on vinyl, then cassette and CD. That’s some dedication. And the bands he was working with respected him for it. 
I really enjoyed this book. Matt tells some great stories about finding bands and working with bands and advising bands. I don’t really wish I WAS Matt Pinfield, but I think it’d be fun to hang out with him for a day. This book is the closest thing to that.
Music Trivia Question: What label did Matt A&R with after his stint at MTV? (Hint: It’s in the book.)
Rock on, Summer Challenge friends,
:) Amanda
*Unfortunately, I was informed that because I work for the library, I can’t actually win the Grand Prize. Sigh. I’m still gonna have a lot of fun trying, though. I’m up to 1271 words read. Catch me if you can…