My first review. This book changed me.

My first review in 15 years of being an Audible member.

McGowan tells the familiar story of 1960s Southern California rock music. But he takes small background details, overlooked and ordinary, and finds a mystery:

(1) Is it a coincidence that all of the Southern California rock bands, major and minor, had family ties to the Pentagon/CIA?

(2) Is it a coincidence that all of these bands simultaneously moved into Laurel Canyon, before Los Angeles had any "music scene" or record labels?

(3) Is it a coincidence that within Laurel Canyon, in their midst, was a covert U.S. military facility?

McGowan unravels, with sharp humor, these mysteries and more: Serial killers of Laurel Canyon, Satanism & the Occult, mystery connections between unrelated individuals, Charles Manson, Old Hollywood, Houdini, 1980s New Wave and more. McGowan reveals hidden surprise origins of Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa, The Byrds, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Mamas & The Papas, Gram Parsons, Jackson Browne, and countless other bands and musicians.

You will find the book more than entertaining, however. McGowan's method of finding mystery in ordinary background details may change you. Will you find yourself asking similar questions about contemporary public figures and public dramas? The answers are uncomfortable, but I'm not surprised now to find military intelligence families behind the biggest stars in Hollywood, in music, and even the biggest names in politics. Will you begin to become aware of a hidden, privileged world among us?

Also recommended but not available on Audible: McGowan's "Programmed To Kill" takes the same approach to all of your favorite serial killers and finds ... the same damn coincidences. What is really happening in our society? The story is completely different than what you'd expect.

37 people found this helpful

A Fascinating Trip Through the 1960s

I find all of the similarities and coincidences detailed in this book absolutely fascinating, but I just can't buy into any type of conspiracy theory around the fact that almost all of the first superstars of 60s rock and roll had parents who were in the military. Almost everyone born in the 40s and 50s had parents with a military background - because just about every fit male (and a lot of females) were a part of the "war effort" during WW2. A lot of the people who rebelled then were fighting just that sort of upbringing.

Having said that, I truly enjoyed the long, detailed walk through of the wild (for the times) and unbridled lifestyle of the musical heroes of my youth. It was fun to realise how intertwined everyone's life and habits were during those formative years and it was poignant hearing the stories - through the lens of almost 50 years - of those who succumbed to that lifestyle.

I recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn more about the foundation of rock and roll and the "hippie" movement of that era.

18 people found this helpful

What a blast!!!

Would you listen to Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon again? Why?

This is a spooky and dark (though down right fun) collection of unexplained murders, strange coincidence, and bizarre facts. Though the writer suggests that there might be a more nefarious network of conspiracy theories that exist beneath the surface, he does not waste time proposing theories that can't be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. That said, he is not subtle when it comes to pointing out their possible existence. The writer has a Jim Marrs ("Alien Agenda," "Crossfire," "Our Occulted History," and "Population Control") appreciation for a good story, even if that story might be slightly more urban myth than actual fact, though, in due respect to the writer, he does point those differences out.

What other book might you compare Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon to and why?

I have not read or listened to the book (which can also be found on Audible) myself yet, but the writer spends a lot of time quoting from "Hotel California" by Barney Hoyskns. This book reportedly covers the same territory, and is on my list to be listened to soon. I suspect that Hoyskns book might be taking a more balanced approach to the subject at hand.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are so many that I can't decide upon a particular favorite. I guess what I kind of like the most about this book is how the music scene in Los Angeles (and specifically Laurel Canyon) sort of suspiciously and mysteriously developed overnight, and how basically untalented a majority of these legends were to begin with. Most also came from military related backgrounds and were given credit for launching a major counterculture movement that many of them had no real sense of or involvement with. For most of them, they were just party hungry and sex fueled young men, who got themselves mixed up with some pretty nasty sociopaths and psychopaths (Charles Manson and company).

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I absolutely had difficulty stopping this audible presentation, that is because it is too much fun under the darkened California sun. For someone who spent thirty three years in Los Angeles and much of that time in the entertainment business itself, this book is sweet revenge on those who want to believe that social movements in this country come from the people themselves and not the power brokers of the manipulating status quo.

Any additional comments?

This book leaves me wanting more. The "City of Angels" has always had an extremely dark shadow about it, which Mike Davis covered in "City of Quartz," Kenneth Anger in "Hollywood Babylon," and William J. Mann in "Tinseltown." Though rolling around in the dark is fun at times, make sure one takes a break in the sunlight too.

18 people found this helpful

A lot of information , albeit somewhat scattered

I like the premise of this book overall. However, his overall presentation of these historical and sensational facts are a bit unsatisfying.

He is touching and I mean tiptoeing from one murder to the next , or it was suicide and so on...so quickly, my head is spinning. We are getting the most basic facts including a name, the band they played with, the age of death and whether it was ruled a murder or suicide .

It leaves me wanting more info and having to seek google . There was one in particular murder he mentioned, "Jan Doe 59". He stated she was a "Jane Doe " murdered in 1969 by way of 159 stab wounds. That's it. That's all he said. So , now I'm left having to google this person , something that I feel I should not have to do when reading a book like this.
But the part that bothers me is she is not a "Jane Doe" any more. In fact, her name was Jeet Jurvetson And in 2016, they had a positive ID from her sister in Canada , who confirmed it with a DNA sample. She was 19 and the theory is that she possibly fell victim to one of Manson's crew.

A simple google search would have been useful on his part to make sure his info accurate and updated. It makes me question how many more of these " outdated " facts is being retold .

The other thing I noticed and don't really care for , is his sarcastic tone and Facetious way in which he writes these accounts. It's done purposely, and I'm don't know why because it's not funny, in fact, it's rather annoying.

Other then that it's a decent account of the 60s counterculture and nefarious characters who inhabited it.

16 people found this helpful

A gold mine of U.S.1960's lore!

Indispensable compelling hidden history of U.S. 1960's music and hippy origins. A real page turner. You won't be able to put it down.

8 people found this helpful

Don't Waste Your Time

I listened for 15 minutes and considered returning the book

I gave it a second chance

I wish I had returned it instead

I think it was written by a teenager

7 people found this helpful

Shocking

Great listen. I have listened to it twice. Will definitely listen to it again. Going to check out Programmed to kill.

7 people found this helpful

Wow couldn't stop listening

We as a society need to come to grips nothing is pure every aspect of life is tainted with lies and deceit

6 people found this helpful

conspiracy reality- ban CIA

I wonder for Dave McGowan's early death. It reveals the satanic take over and control of America

6 people found this helpful

Interesting interpretation of the times...

But I can't help wondering how many liberties author McGowan took with the truth. The author uses increasingly tired tropes ("stop me if you've heard this before"..."all roads lead back to Laurel Canyon"..."where else but Laurel Canyon"...etc.) and rather smarmy facetiousness to drive home way too many points.

Further, the author makes no effort to hide that he personally is a liberal-progressive yet implies (but never proves) that the LC Hippie scene was planned, initiated, and controlled by U.S. Government Intelligence services. To be sure, he presents A LOT of interesting points worthy of consideration, but never provides the details to tie his conjectures together. Many of the deaths he claims are "suspicious" appear nothing more than stupid people doing stupid things that resulted in their demise. Typical of liberal progressives, author McGowan sees conspiracy everywhere. Even the celebrities who made it out of the LC scene, and lived to the end of the 20th and into the 21st centuries, and then died of drug overdoses, are suspicious deaths. I have to wonder why that ground was even furrowed. Maybe he knows more than he's presenting but I don't see it. Someone got clean from heroin but twenty-five years later - relapses and OD's - and that's suspicious? I guess that's possible.

It is an interesting and rich history - from the earliest days of the entertainment industry (Houdini and Hollywoodland) to the so-called "Summer of Love", to Tate/LaBianca, Altamont, and beyond.

Author McGowan (who I understand died of cancer in 2015) was a good writer, not a great one, in my opinion. He relied too much on tired tropes, innuendo, and sarcasm and lost my interest too many times working his way toward point but not landing on it. The performance is good - a few words and names mispronounced, which is forgivable...we all do it. Solid story, decent writing, good performance. Recommended for those with a keen interest in the times - BUT - the book by no means put a period on the issues McGowan addresses at the beginning of the story...

Having lived through those times myself, I ended up with more questions than answers after listening (and reading the Kindle version) of this book.

5 people found this helpful