Ruth and Martin’s Album Club : Listen to a Classic Album You've Never Heard Before. Now Write About It.

"The concept behind the Ruth and Martin's Album Club blog is simple: Make people listen to a classic rock album they've never heard before. Make them listen to it two more times. Get them to explain why they never bothered with it before. Then ask them to review it. What began as a simple whim quickly grew in popularity, and now Ruth and Martin's Album Club has featured some remarkable guests: Ian Rankin on Madonna's Madonna. Chris Addison on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Brian Koppelman on The Smiths' Meat is Murder. JK Rowling on the Violent Femmes' Violent Femmes. Bonnie Greer on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Martin Carr on Paul McCartney's Ram. Brian Bilston on Neil Young's Harvest. Anita Rani on The Strokes' Is This It. Richard Osman on Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure. And many, many more. Each entry features an introduction to each album by blog creator Martin Fitzgerald. What follows are delightful, humorous and insightful contributions from each guest as they have an album forced upon them and--for better or worse--they discover some of the world's favourite music. Ruth and Martin's Album Club is a compilation of some of the blog's greatest hits as well as some exclusive material that has never appeared anywhere before. Throughout, we get an insight into why some people opt out of some music, and what happens when you force them to opt in"--Amazon.com.;Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley -- What's going on by Marvin Gaye -- Straight outta Compton by N.W.A. -- Madonna by Madonna -- Nevermind by Nirvana -- It takes a nation of millions to hold us back by Public Enemy -- The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground -- Marquee moon by Television -- Almost killed me by The Hold Steady -- Bringing it all back home by Bob Dylan -- Meat is murder by The Smiths -- Pet sounds by The Beach Boys -- Ram by Paul McCartney -- Harvest by Neil Young -- Setting sons by The Jam -- Good kid, M.A.A.D. city by Kendrick Lamar -- Slanted and enchanted by Pavement -- Murmur by R.E.M. -- I can hear the heart beating as one by Yo La Tengo -- Is this it by The Strokes -- For your pleasure by Roxy Music -- Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes -- The village green preservation society by The Kinks. Penny Pepper has led an extraordinary life. She is a writer. Poet. Punk. Pioneer. Activist. And she also happens to be disabled. In her absorbing memoir, which spans the mid-1980s up until the millennium, Penny paints a picture of life, love, sex, music, success, failure and misadventures in the UK punk scene of the late 20th century. Craving freedom from the poor Chiltern Hill council estate where she grew up, Penny dreams of moving to London, of writing, of finding her way in the North London music scene. She doesnt have what others take for granted; she is disabled. And she sets out with just her raw, burgeoning talent to fight the social demons of indifference, discrimination and out-right bigotry all while wearing micro-mini leather bondage skirts, fishnets and hair extensions. There are parties; theres sex; theres music. She exchanges letters with Morrissey. Ken Livingstone helps her find a wheelchair-accessible flat. Her demo tape is reviewed in the NME and played on the radio. Her 90s album Spiral Sky is No. 1 in Greece for a week. And there is opportunity opportunity to join the radical beginnings of the disability rights movement. First in the World Somewhere tells of her endless adventures. Through the years, theres an overload of adventure, despair and joy. Often faced with prejudice, she fails, she suffers, she survives and she even sometimes succeeds. Penny does not deny her disability; rather she keeps it at the forefront of everything she stands for, and she tells her story with blood, heart and an undeniable wit. "Penny Pepper has led an extraordinary life. She is a writer. Poet. Punk. Pioneer. Activist. And she also happens to be disabled. In her absorbing memoir, which spans the mid-1980s up until the millennium, Penny paints a picture of life, love, sex, music, success, failure and misadventures in the UK punk scene of the late 20th century. Craving freedom from the poor Chiltern Hill council estate where she grew up, Pennydreams of moving to London, of writing, of finding her way in the North London music scene. She doesn't have what others take for granted; she is disabled. And she sets out with just her raw, burgeoning talent to fight the social demons of indifference, discrimination and out-right bigotry ... all while wearing micro-mini leather bondage skirts, fishnets and hair extensions. There are parties; there's sex; there's music. She exchanges letters with Morrissey. Ken Livingstone helps her find a wheelchair-accessible flat. Her demo tape is reviewed in the NME and played on the radio. Her 90s album Spiral Sky is No. 1 in Greece for a week. And there is opportunity - opportunity to join the radical beginnings of the disability rights movement. First in the World Somewhere tells of her endless adventures. Through the years, there's an overload of adventure, despair and joy. Often faced with prejudice, she fails, she suffers, she survives and she even sometimes succeeds. Penny does not deny her disability; rather she keeps it at the forefront of everything."-- Provided by publisher The concept behind the Ruth and Martin's Album Club blog is simple- Make people listen to a classic album they've never heard before. Make them listen to it two more times. Get them to explain why they never bothered with it before. Then ask them to review it. What began as a simple whim quickly grew in popularity, and now Ruth and Martin's Album Club has featured some remarkable guests- Ian Rankin on Madonna's Madonna. Chris Addison on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Brian Koppelman on The Smiths' Meat is Murder. JK Rowling on the Violent Femmes' Violent Femmes. Bonnie Greer on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Martin Carr on Paul McCartney's Ram. Brian Bilston on Neil Young's Harvest. Anita Rani on The Strokes' Is This It. Richard Osman on Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure. And many, many more. Each entry features an introduction to each album by blog creator Martin Fitzgerald. What follows are delightful, humorous and insightful contributions from each guest as they have an album forced upon them and - for better or worse - they discover some of the world's favourite music. Ruth and Martin's Album Club is a compilation of some of the blog's greatest hits as well as some exclusive material that has never appeared anywhere before. Throughout, we get an insight into why some people opt out of some music, and what happens when you force them to opt in The concept behind the Ruth and Martins Album Club blog is Make people listen to a classic rock album theyve never heard before. Make them listen to it two more times. Get them to explain why they never bothered with it before. Then ask them to review it. What began as a simple whim quickly grew in popularity, and now Ruth and Martins Album Club has featured some remarkable Ian Rankin on Madonnas Madonna . Chris Addison on Marvin Gayes Whats Going On . Brian Koppelman on The Smiths Meat is Murder . JK Rowling on the Violent Femmes Violent Femmes . Bonnie Greer on The Beach Boys Pet Sounds . Martin Carr on Paul McCartneys Ram . Brian Bilston on Neil Youngs Harvest . Anita Rani on The Strokes Is This It . Richard Osman on Roxy Musics For Your Pleasure . And many, many more. Each entry features an introduction to each album by blog creator Martin Fitzgerald. What follows are delightful, humorous and insightful contributions from each guest as they have an album forced upon them and for better or worse they discover some of the worlds favourite music. Ruth and Martins Album Club is a compilation of some of the blogs greatest hits as well as some exclusive material that has never appeared anywhere before. Throughout, we get an insight into why some people opt out of some music, and what happens when you force them to opt in. Penny Pepper has led an extraordinary life. She is a writer, an activist, a punk pioneer. She also happens to be disabled. In her absorbing memoir, Penny paints a raucous picture of life, love, music and misadventure, from Thatcher's battleground of the mid-1980s through to the early Blair years. Craving freedom from the home counties council estate where she grew up, Penny dreams of moving to London and finding her way in the city's punk scene. Without what others take for granted, she sets out armed only with her raw, burgeoning talent to fight the social demons of indifference and bigotry, all while dressed in leather bondage skirts, fishnets and hair extensions. There are parties; there's sex; there's music. She exchanges letters with Morrissey. Ken Livingstone helps her find a wheelchair-accessible flat. Her demo tape is reviewed in the NME and played on the radio. Her album Spiral Sky is No. 1 in Greece for a week. And there is opportunity – to join the radical beginnings of the disability rights movement. First in the World Somewhere is the chronicle of her passions and her struggles, told with startling honesty and a razor-sharp wit, fearless in the face of prejudice. The concept behind Ruth and Martin's Album Club is simple: make people listen to a classic album they've never heard, then ask them to review it. Compiled here are the blog's greatest hits, as well as some new and exclusive material, each entry boasting a comprehensive introduction by all-round music geek Martin Fitzgerald: Ian Rankin on Madonna's Madonna . J. K. Rowling on the Violent Femmes' Violent Femmes . Chris Addison on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On . Bonnie Greer on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds . Brian Koppelman on The Smiths' Meat Is Murder . Anita Rani on The Strokes' Is This It . Richard Osman on Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure . And many, many more. An absorbing memoir about facing life, love, failure, success, prejudice and misadventure – all from a wheelchair – from writer, punk, pioneer and well-known disability rights activist Penny Pepper. A compilation of the greatest hits (and some new material) from the beloved blog where famous people review classic albums they've listened to for the very first time.