Mark Kermode's funny, self-deprecating musical journey from his punk can-do beginnings through to his skiffle revival band that played any instrument they were given, is punctuated by the refrain- how hard can it be? Kermode plays down his ability, but his clear joy and enthusiasm, carry him along and in fact, his book is such a joy to read I think he is probably having too much fun! His style reminds me of one of his contemporaries, David Hepworth, which is like sitting in a good pub, drinking a good beer and chatting about music all night. I was also reminded of my own awful attempt as a pop star, auditioning for bands looking for a singer/keyboard player (even though I had next to no ability at playing keyboards, but thought my singing ability would prove to enticing) and not getting any call backs. To all those budding/failed pop stars out there you'll love this book and it makes you want to get a washboard and start a skiffle band.

I'll admit a bias: Mark Kermode is my favourite film critic because he treats horror movies seriously and claims the Exorcist as his favourite film and the best movie ever (it's not; he's wrong on that but he's not far off...). His previous books have shown him to be smart, witty and laugh out loud funny, especially when writing about the films he clearly loves, but what about when he writes about music? It's brilliant. Kermode takes us through his early years as a teen learning about the noises he could make, through uni days in Manchester performing in various groups and finally to his time in the Dodge Brothers and playing with the BBC concert orchestras. Along the way, he proves himself (again) to be the very best of company, sometimes funny, sometimes serious and often critical of himself and the situations he gets himself into (although my impression is that he's far more critical of his own talents than he needs to be). It helps that Kermode is a good, often brilliant, writer and that he can, quite unexpectedly, be insightful into the importance of music and how it can affect us. If there's one thing this book does, it's that it makes you want to go and listen to the groups he's writing about, them and lots of others. It reminds the reader, if they needed reminding, that music is a thing of joy and of wonder, and there's probably no higher praise for Kermode than that. Highly recommended.