A new collection of pieces, covering 20 years of popular music, by one of the UK's pre-eminent rock journalists and the people who sung and played it. From Prince to Pavement, James Brown to Joni Mitchell, ZZ Top to Tom Waits, Beck to Eminem, the former US editor of MOJO burrows deep into the heart of America's greatest music. Probing interviews with Lou Reed, Randy Newman and Johnny Cash; exhaustive profiles of cult heroes Big Star, Little Feat and Todd Rundgren; shrewd essays on disco, cyberpunk, and Americana, Ragged Glories is a hymn to the USA - to its pop, soul, country and blues - from the author of the acclaimed Across the Great Divide (about The Band) and Waiting for the Sun (about Los Angeles). Barney Hoskyns collects some of his best pieces about American music and pop culture from the last 20 years - all rock 'n' roll life is here!