A frenetic, gonzo account of Britney Spears’s historic rise and equally tragic fall told by an iconoclastic music journalist.
A Cappella Books is delighted to welcome author Jeff Weiss for a special afternoon talk and book signing in honor of his book, “Waiting for Britney Spears.” He will appear in conversation with podcasters Yoh Phillips and Trey Kerby.
This event is free and open to the public; copies of the book will be available for purchase.
About the Book
America, 2003: A country at war, its shiny veneer beginning to crack. Von Dutch and The Simple Life dominate. And on the cover of every magazine, a twenty-one-year-old pop star named Britney Spears. Tracking her every move for a third-tier gossip rag in Los Angeles was an unknown young writer taking whatever job he could while pursuing his distant literary dreams. He’d instead become an eyewitness to the slow tragedy of a changing nation, represented in spirit by “the coy it-girl at the end of history.”
Years later, after finally establishing himself as a celebrated journalist, Jeff Weiss presents “Waiting for Britney Spears,” a gonzo, nostalgic, and “allegedly true” recounting of his years as a tabloid spy in the lurid underbelly of Los Angeles. Weiss follows America’s sweetheart through Vegas superclubs and Malibu car chases, annulled marriages and soul-crushing legal battles, all the way to Britney’s infamous 2007 VMA performance. As Weiss lives through the chaos leading to Britney’s conservatorship, he observes, with peerless style, cringe-inducing fashion waves, destructive celebrity surveillance, and a country whose decline is embodied by the devastating downturn of its former golden child.
With the narrative flair that established him as a singular chronicler of modern pop culture, Weiss goes for broke in “Waiting for Britney Spears,” a descent into a neon hall of mirrors reflecting our obsession with fame, morality, and the mystery of what really happened to the last great pop star.
About the Author
Jeff Weiss is a music writer and cultural critic whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, The FADER, and many other outlets. A former columnist for LA Weekly, he is the cofounder of The LAnd magazine and the founder of the pioneering hip-hop blog “Passion of the Weiss,” along with its record label, POW Recordings. He lives in Los Angeles.
About the Conversation Partners
Georgia-born music journalist Travis ‘Yoh’ Phillips is the author of the hip-hop anthology, "Best Damn Hip-Hop Writing: The Book of Yoh," co-host of the high-end southern hip-hop podcast, "Sum’n to Say," and the executive producer and co-creator of vérité music documentary series "Rap Portraits."
Trey Kerby is the co-host of "No Dunks," the internet's original basketball podcast. He formerly hosted "The Starters" on NBA TV and has met Guy Fieri multiple times.
You may also like the following events from A Cappella Books:
Also check out other
Arts events in Atlanta,
Literary Art events in Atlanta,
Dance events in Atlanta.
