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  • Sing Backwards and Weep

  • A Memoir
  • Written by: Mark Lanegan
  • Narrated by: Mark Lanegan
  • Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (119 ratings)

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Sing Backwards and Weep

Written by: Mark Lanegan
Narrated by: Mark Lanegan
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Publisher's Summary

This gritty bestselling memoir by the singer Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, and Soulsavers documents his years as a singer and drug addict in Seattle in the '80s and '90s.

When Mark Lanegan first arrived in Seattle in the mid-1980s, he was just "an arrogant, self-loathing redneck waster seeking transformation through rock 'n' roll." Little did he know that within less than a decade he would rise to fame as the frontman of the Screaming Trees and then fall from grace as a low-level crack dealer and a homeless heroin addict, all the while watching some of his closest friends rocket to the forefront of popular music.

In Sing Backwards and Weep, Lanegan takes listeners back to the sinister, needle-ridden streets of Seattle, to an alternative music scene that was simultaneously bursting with creativity and dripping with drugs. He tracks the tumultuous rise and fall of the Screaming Trees, from a brawling, acid-rock bar band to world-famous festival favorites that scored a hit number five single on Billboard's alternative charts and landed a notorious performance on Late Night with David Letterman, where Lanegan appeared sporting a fresh black eye from a brawl the night before. This book also dives into Lanegan's personal struggles with addiction, culminating in homelessness, petty crime, and the tragic deaths of his closest friends. From the back of the van to the front of the bar, from the hotel room to the emergency room, onstage, backstage, and everywhere in between, Sing Backwards and Weep reveals the abrasive underlining beneath one of the most romanticized decades in rock history—from a survivor who lived to tell the tale.

Gritty, gripping, and unflinchingly raw, Sing Backwards and Weep is a book about more than just an extraordinary singer who watched his dreams catch fire and incinerate the ground beneath his feet. It's about a man who learned how to drag himself from the wreckage, dust off the ashes, and keep living and creating.

"Mark Lanegan—primitive, brutal, and apocalyptic. What's not to love?"—Nick Cave, author of The Sick Bag Song and The Death of Bunny Munro

©2020 Mark Lanegan (P)2020 Hachette Audio
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What the critics say

"The artist's journey to find one's true voice can travel some very dark roads; addiction, violence, poverty, and soul-crushing alienation have taken the last breath of many I have called friend. Mark Lanegan dragged his scuffed boots down all of those bleak byways for years, managed to survive, and in the process created an astonishing body of work. Sing Backwards and Weep exquisitely details that harrowing trip into the heart of his particular darkness. Brutally honest, yet written without a molecule of self-pity, Lanegan paints an introspective picture of genius birthing itself on the razor's edge between beauty and annihilation. Like a Monet stabbed with a rusty switchblade, Sing Backwards and Weep is breathtaking to behold but hurts to see. I could not put this book down."—D. Randall Blythe, author of Dark Days and lead vocalist of Lamb of God

"If you ever wondered how Mark Lanegan's music came to blossom, here's a taste of the dark dirt that fertilized it. But saying that, or something like it, feels irresponsible, almost like saying 'If you want to make great, soul-shattering art, traumatize yourself to the limit and beyond' ... Sing Backwards and Weep is gnarly, naked, and true."—Michael C. Hall of Dexter and Six Feet Under

"Harrowing, edgy, tense, and hypnotic. A very truthful, sobering account of what it's like in the throes of addiction, with shades of Bukowski, Burroughs, and Hunter S. Thompson."—Gerard Johnson, director and writer of Tony, Hyena, and Muscle

What listeners say about Sing Backwards and Weep

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The struggle was real

Lanegan tells his story of life as a rock star junkie leading eventually to sobriety. He narrates the book himself. He is a great writer and the book moves at a fast pace. His struggles with addiction lead him to very dark places and along the way many celebrities from the Seattle scene come and go. A great read.

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Hauntingly Beautiful

This was released shortly before Lanagan's death, and I'm so glad he wrote it before he passed. This book is for you if you are a fan of the 90s Seattle music scene. There are so many untold stories about the characters who participated in that musical revolution - namely, Layne Stayley, whose life has remained largely a mystery to many fans.

Mark is an incredible storyteller. He invites you into his world, holding nothing back. It's a raw and uninhibited story of a talented man who missed out on so many opportunities and dreams as a consequence of addiction...and it is heartbreaking. His voice lends a hauntingly dark and beautiful tone to the story. I am relieved that Audible didn't opt for a narrator on this one. Mark was the only choice IMO. If you love biographies and music, or if addiction has impacted your life in any way, definitely read this.

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    4 out of 5 stars

loved it so much I listened to it twice in 2 weeks

I've been a long time Lanegan and QOTSA fan
so this was a great pleasure to hear about when it was announced.
I only wished that it had shed more light on when he joined Queens with Josh in the early 2000s
I've always been reallly curious as to what happened during those first 5 years of the band but I guess Mark didn't feel it was necessary or he's saving it for another memoir hopefully.

Awesome book and really shows that Mark is a true survivor.

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Fantastic!

A genuine, honest, look into this man’s life and struggles. Just so happens he has an amazing voice, to hear the story through. Rip mark

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Tragic and Sad

Very sad and coming from the author who is now deceased, makes this even more tragic.

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Gritty, real, horrifying and brutally honest

Loved the behind the scenes look at Seattle’s dark underbelly. Insights on Cobain’s and Staley’s demises were intriguing

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I got educated

I wasn't familiar with the Screaming Trees or Mark Lanegan and was looking for a good read about Layne Staley. I stumbled upon this and, when I saw it was narrated by Mark himself, who knew Layne very well, I went for it. So glad I did. What lives those addicts endured. it's surprising any made it out alive. Highly recommend this one.

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Moving book about survival and music

After hearing this gritty, honest account, it seems a blessing that we had Lanegan for as long as we did. It is clear that he was a seminal figure for many of the musicians of that place and time, and yet he remains a hidden jewel to many music aficionados. His reading voice here, despite the harrowing content, is a soporific. I have listened many times. Lanegan, your music will live forever.

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dark and amazing ... a must listen!

if you like truth this is for you! I love how raw this book is.

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Incredibly Raw and Touching

If you're a fan of Mark Lanegan's music, you will thoroughly appreciate his unique journey shared in this book. It's an incredible bonus to hear it in his voice. An absolute icon.

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