“A pop culture junkie, with a jones for weird and off-beat stuff, Austen is an archaeologist of the sublime and the silly, the divine and the demented, from the phosphene glow of teen dance shows and American Idol to the hidden and musty corners of rock and roll’s bargain basement.” — Marc Campbell, Dangerous Minds
“By the end of each [chapter], I wanted to check out the interviewee’s music and I felt like I had an unprecedented, candid glimpse into their lives, both as musicians and as people. . . . Even when uncomfortable and thorny subjects are brought up—sexism, racism, wife-beating—the insights unearthed are thought-provoking. Humans making music are often a messy, flawed bunch and there’s some awesome shit tackled in those grey areas.” — Todd Taylor, Razorcake
“Complete with photographs and contextual bios, each interview details the trials and tribulations of pioneering musicians often toiling away in the shadows of rock ’n’ roll history. VERDICT Serving as both a brief history of Roctober and an anthology, this collection of interviews will be welcome by fans of the zine and will appeal to serious rock ’n’ roll readers.” — Joshua Finnell, Library Journal
“Duke University Press has done a great service by publishing Flying Saucers Rock ‘n’ Roll. . . . The obscure and marginal need to have their say and something said about them. . . . Pick up Austen’s collection if you love to explore the strange by-ways of rock music, and to experience some outstanding rock-crit writing. Indeed, consider subscribing to Roctober. You’ll learn even more of the strange world of the almost-almost famous.” — W. Scott Poole, Popmatters
“Nicely—even elegantly—written, well edited, and consisting of material not published elsewhere, this is an entertainingly rare gem of a book. Bravo to Jake Austen and his contributors for taking the high road throughout, and presenting these fragile personalities with the dignity and respect they deserve.” — Michael Cala, New York Journal of Books
“The riveting pieces are by Austen and other Roctober contributors, whose unbridled enthusiasm for their subjects makes the book hard to put down (plus there’s an enthusiastic foreword by longtime fan Steve Albini).” — Cara Jepsen, Illinois Entertainer
“To give you a solid example to express my enjoyment level of this book, I read the nearly 300 pages in three days. Couldn’t put it down . . . . I am hoping this is actually the first part in a series of ‘Best ofs…’, and perhaps next time we can read more about the Black Lone Ranger?” — Robert Barry Francos, FFanzeen
“Jake Austen has the brains of a world-class scholar driven to illuminate previously obscure but vital arcana, the soul of a historian eager to bring the past roaring back to life, and the heart of a furious but funny rock ’n’ roll hell-raiser. As the majordomo of Roctober, fronting a posse of like-minded and equally passionate fellow travelers, he has picked up the mantle of that first-generation rock-critic giant Nick Tosches and at long last given us his answer to Unsung Heroes of Rock ’n’ Roll. Yes, Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll really is a book worthy of being mentioned in that company, and it’s a must for any serious rock reader’s bookshelf.” — Jim DeRogatis, critic, author, educator, and co-host of Sound Opinions—the world’s only rock ’n’ roll talk show
“With an awe-inspiringly integrated and thoroughly unassuming knowledge of all the nooks, crannies, and hidden corners of American popular culture, there’s no more appropriate cheerleader for musical humanity than Jake Austen, a polymath force of nature who’s been amazing me for twenty years. If any of the rest of us had just a hundredth of the energy, enthusiasm, and big-heartedness that Jake seems to show with every project he undertakes, the world would be a much better place—and a lot more fun.” — Chris Ware, cartoonist and author of Jimmy Corrigan—The Smartest Kid on Earth