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Porcelain
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Moby
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
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Porcelain
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Summary
From one of the most interesting and iconic musicians of our time, a piercingly tender, funny and harrowing account of the path from suburban poverty and alienation to a life of beauty, squalor and unlikely success out of the NYC club scene of the late '80s and '90s.
There were many reasons Moby was never going to make it as a DJ and musician in the New York club scene. This was the New York of Palladium; of Mars, Limelight, and Twilo; of unchecked, drug-fueled hedonism in pumping clubs where dance music was still largely underground, popular chiefly among working-class African Americans and Latinos. And then there was Moby - not just a poor, skinny white kid from Connecticut but a devout Christian, a vegan, and a teetotaler. He would learn what it was to be spat on, to live on almost nothing. But it was perhaps the last good time for an artist to live on nothing in New York City: the age of AIDS and crack but also of a defiantly festive cultural underworld. Not without drama, he found his way.
But success was not uncomplicated; it led to wretched, if in hindsight sometimes hilarious, excess and proved all too fleeting. And so by the end of the decade, Moby contemplated an end in his career and elsewhere in his life and put that emotion into what he assumed would be his swan song, his good-bye to all that, the album that would in fact be the beginning of an astonishing new phase: the multimillion-selling Play. At once bighearted and remorseless in its excavation of a lost world, Porcelain is both a chronicle of a city and a time and a deeply intimate exploration of finding one's place during the most gloriously anxious period in life, when you're on your own, betting on yourself, but have no idea how the story ends, and so you live with the honest dread that you're one false step from being thrown out on your face.
Moby's voice resonates with honesty, wit and, above all, an unshakable passion for his music that steered him through some very rough seas. Porcelain is about making it, losing it, loving it and hating it. It's about finding your people, your place, thinking you've lost them both and then, somehow, when you think it's over, from a place of well-earned despair, creating a masterpiece. As a portrait of the young artist, Porcelain is a masterpiece in its own right, fit for the short shelf of musicians' memoirs that capture not just a scene but an age and something timeless about the human condition. Push play.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jacob
- 03-02-20
What a great guy
Best listen so far, great story. Nice guy.
Can’t wait until the next story of book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 29-06-16
good listen
Really well read, and good story. Moby paints a picture of not just his life, but the music scene of the late 80s to 90s, and gives insight into how his music came about.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr Richard S Marshall
- 16-08-16
legend
This is a excellent audio of Porcelain, fantastically read by the legend himself Moby. loved to here about the start of his life and his rise to fame and stardom. It was a strange ending though guess there going to be a second book. I do hope so
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jay
- 18-12-17
Ridiculously interesting atypical and outstanding.
This audiobook literally kept me awake... no chance of even pausing it for a moment. Well written, well narrated... and well lived!!!
You don't need to be a moby fan to be able to appreciate the stories that formed the artist..
..would make a great film!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Shaun East
- 03-08-16
Favourite Memoir of 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A celebrity memoir which was actually written by the celebrity are pretty few and far between right now and I think this comes across when listening to audio version, there's a real sincerity in his voice, like a old friend recalling stories from a miss spent youth. Really hope the second memoir doesn't take too long to hit the shelves!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Master J. A. Ware
- 29-11-16
Amazing
Moby takes you on a journey through his childhood to his early years as a struggling dj, ending just before the release of his best selling album 'play'.
Moby is a talented writer, this book is both funny and moving at times. his description of his mother and their relationship was particularly moving and helps tp shed light on his character and interests.
Well worth a read, even if you are ignorant enough to believe moby's talent begins and ends with sampling gospel vocals over simple chords and outdated drum machines.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-09-19
Superb story
I've been a fan of Moby for 20 years, but didn't know too much of his background. This book is a superb story, written and presented with a brilliant dry humour. I'm going to listen again now. .
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- fortxun
- 13-12-16
Moby go go
A fascinating insight into the life and loves of an electronic music pioneer. Frank, funny and honest.
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- Miss L R Moore
- 10-07-21
Great
Great book by Moby, very memorable and well told. Gives a great insight into Mobys life
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- mark
- 20-07-22
Very honest
I really enjoyed this. I've enjoyed moby music but didn't know a lot about him as a person.
being narrated by moby Really brings the story to life.
Extremely honest and funny at times. It's nice here and how some of these bigger tunes come to life
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