Faith No More book Small Victories features in end-of-year book lists

Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More has featured in a number of early best-of lists for 2018.

The Herald – the longest running national newspaper in the world and the most-read national newspaper in Scotland – included Small Victories in its list of the best music books of 2018.

Teddy Jamieson wrote:

Adrian Harte’s account of the alt-rock stroke rap band Faith No More, Small Victories, is clearly a labour of love. His account of the band’s story is exhaustive, informed and studded with first-person testimonies.
The Herald

Music blog Midlife Mixtape also include Small Victories in their best music books round-up, saying:

This definitive bio by Adrian Harte fills in all the gaps about this post punk rock band that is the only musical search result when you search the term “midlife crisis.” My favorite is the blurb on the back from band member Bill Gould: “It provided me with more than a few revelations…and I’m in the band.”
Midlife Mixtape

France’s leading rock and metal magazine Rock Hard ranked Small Victories as one of its top 10 gifts for metal fans. They said:

It avoids a major stumbling block by not deifying a group whose human relationships were as complex as its music. His gaze is that of a rational fan and it will not fail to seduce fans of the San Francisco combo.
Rock Hard France

December 10th, 2018|Faith No More|3 Comments

3 Comments

E mayan December 18, 2018 at 4:52 am

Was hoping to see it on Pitchfork’s best music books of the year, but nope not there:(
Emayan December 17, 2018 at 1:29 am

I was hoping to see it but didn’t on Pitchfork 🙁 And they seem to like FNM

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-music-books-of-2018/
Benrun December 11, 2018 at 2:34 am

Awesome work once again, it was certainly my favorite book of the year. I still haven’t posted a review anywhere since I bought from an independent book store…I guess let me know if you would like me to write an Amazon review anyway.

Looking forward to the podcast…for someone like me who has never even listened to any podcast that wasn’t posted on your website, hopefully you could include some instructions of how to listen! Sorry if this is a stupid request.

I hope the band has a future for several reasons, but a big one for me now that I’ve read the book is that I think it would sell more books and more people would know the band better.

Recent Comments

On Faith No More to return to tour in 2020 plus ticket info (29)
- Benrun { FNM want to do something to help Australia...most people are thinking a tour, but how would that help unless they donated all the proceeds? Who could afford that? My suggestion: release the whiny-guitar-laden, sure to be awful "Seagull Song" for digital download to benefit a chosen fund. Every FNM fan would buy it. We don't care that it is probably a horrible song. Come on, FNM, what are you willing to sacrifice to help those in need?? } – Jan 19, 2:56 PM
- Benrun { Yes, I just read in Doug Esper's book about Chuck how surprised he was at how loud FNM are when they play...and of course how brutally hard Mike Bordin pounds his drums. } – Jan 17, 3:18 AM
- KingCol { Download was probably the greatest festival iv ever attended - Faith no more’s second live performance of their comeback and a lot of the crowd were more intrigued by their instant headliner status considering that they have been away more than a decade. I got the impression that a lot of people were not in the fnm loop and the interest was via other metal/rock bands referring to fnm as a major influence — When fnm walked on stage it got people’s attention be them fans or 1st timers . The crowd went in a way quiet and I remember... } – Jan 17, 12:14 AM
- Benrun { I read the Roddy Kerrang interview...it seems like they have something to inject into the world of music in 2020...so again, I'll reserve judgement. Maybe they will inject some extra snarky covers or something. I love FNM covers...them covering Violetta Parra, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Peaches & Herb, The Manhattans, and even MJ on the reunited tour was pretty awesome. I'd love some new live covers. Especially if they are there to troll festival goers...that's was FNM does. } – Jan 10, 4:23 AM
On Ghost's Tobias Forge praises hard-to-define Faith No More (24)
- Benrun { I'm very hopeful it will be something much more than announcing that they will play European festivals. I knew before this that Hellfest was announcing their line-up, and I figure they would play other shows over there. I personally feel that a countdown to a tour announcement without a promise of something new after 3.5-4 years of silence would be a huge misjudgment of fan enthusiasm. If it's just a tour, just announce it. They are my favorite band and musicians on the planet...I don't want to see them get too egotistical. } – Nov 26, 3:00 AM
- admin { Just 25 hours to go... } – Nov 25, 6:25 PM
- Benrun { Hmmmmm….I think Roddy just waved at us with the arms of a mountain....perhaps a surprise on Black Friday? } – Nov 24, 12:44 AM
- Benrun { No FNM news....4 years....can't....go...on...much....longer....need Live release....B side....even the Seagull Song....anything.... } – Oct 29, 1:03 PM
On Faith No More and the fall of the Berlin Wall (4)
- Gilly Bould { Small article and interview with Billy Gould about that night in the new issue of german music-magazine "Musikexpress"... } – Oct 21, 10:22 AM
On Faith No More's The Real Thing recalled on thirtieth anniversary (12)
- KingCol { Well Adrian , the next time you see them ? Would you by any chance let me know in advance if you meeting up with any of them ? Iv never met any of the band and If it wasn’t too much hassle I’d have some questions i would forward to you that perhaps they wouldn’t mind trying to answer at their own volition of course.. If it was a case of they being sick to the teeth of being burdened with the chore of politely having to answer every question put to them by the normal Norman’s of the... } – Jun 26, 12:51 PM
- KingCol { It seems like there's not as much humour or general wackiness evident these days "For the first few years you put humour first, everything's a big joke and so on. But then you look back and see that the humour is overshadowing other things, and you realise it can't be that way all the time. There's so many things about this band that have never made it to print or photos, people haven't seen there's a lot of dimensions here. It's easy to talk about what a bunch of smart arses we are, how our 'funky grooves' or 'metal' clashes... } – Jun 25, 2:38 PM
- KingCol { Bloody iPhone spellcheck —*sounds like* The laugh SOUNDS like his laugh . I always wondered where the origins of that laugh came from because it always sounded familiar as if from a particular tv show or film character. Maybe it’s roddy but it kills me not knowing ... “The world is yours” is another massive musical sample jigsaw . } – Jun 25, 1:39 PM
- admin { Hi Col No idea but will ask next time I see them. I know that some of them watched Rocky and Bullwinkle. } – Jun 25, 11:55 AM
On Small Victories tour in Los Angeles and San Francisco a great success (8)
- Benrun { FNM 2.0 is back! I missed you everyday you were gone! } – Jun 20, 1:36 AM
- KingCol { Another good topic /// has any got a favorite riff , drum solo or a part of any of the bands songs that stuck with you ? I always liked “return to your own vomit like a dog” I also like the Kronos quartet bit they sampled The whole song “Khad” is one huge wow weeeeee But what has blown me away recently was Fantomas / suspended animation - Sunday ————- the start of that song with the classical vibe to it is superb —— anyone know who wrote that part or was it a sample from else where.? } – Apr 24, 1:57 AM
- Benrun { Hello KingCol…I do the exact same thing! Everyday I just look at the latest post and check the comment number. You asked a very difficult question...I know Bill picked Midnight Cowboy, Bill and Patton together picked I Started a Joke when they heard it in a karaoke bar in Guam...I get a sense that it was because it was so sappy in a powerful way, but that's a guess. I'm sure Bill had his hand in the Serbia song and the Chilean Violeta Parra cover. I'd love to know the stories behind these choices. Jon played Rich Girl, Strawberry Letter... } – Apr 18, 3:26 AM
- KingCol { I dunno if there are more recent comments on other threads here but I normally just check the article at the top of page and the number of comments attributed to it . If it’s at the same number as the last time I checked i move on . Maybe a good idea for this site would be a comment section that’s not assigned to any thread so random thoughts/opinions etc can be posted .... like this one —-> In relation to past fnm cover versions and song samples and snippets, does anyone know or have an opinion on whether... } – Apr 17, 9:16 PM
On Links for a day 207: Not canon, Introduce Yourself, Patton latest and more (2)
- Warren B { FYI - the audio versions of these bootlegs are posted on www.archive.org. Just type Faith No More in the search. There are over 400 uploads covering the entire length of FNM's career. } – Apr 03, 3:49 PM
On Links for a day...(vol: 104) (38)
- durabari { Faith no more. I have never seen that video, Love it though. www.cmastering.com } – Mar 10, 2:06 AM
On Small Victories book events and signings in Los Angeles and San Francisco in February (8)
- Mark Rago { Ironically enough, I made a comment on a thread on YouTube yesterday where I razzed a lady a bit through the lyrics of the song in question ( I believe it was a Fantomas video, but I'm not certain of the song title), replying "Shut Up" to a humorous comment she made challenging anyone to give her crap for being a die-hard Mike Patton fan. I also replied that it's amazing that FNM and Mr. Bungle were ahead of the curve simply because they had a profound influence not only on musical contemporaries like Sepultura , Bjork , and Melvins,... } – Mar 01, 3:28 PM
- Benrun { I remember an interview with Bill and he was asked what songs he does or does not enjoy playing live anymore. I remember he liked playing Epic which surprised me...he definitely no longer enjoys playing Death March. But there are quite a few shows in the 2nd half of the 97 tour where they omitted Epic. They didn't play it at the Chile show with Trey and there were a few 2015 shows they didn't play it either, mostly when they played SI in it's entirety. } – Mar 01, 2:49 AM
- KingCol { The inclusion of “epic” in their set lists actually puzzles me - since for the most part the band normally doesn’t give into public demand and if anything would normally go against the grain - probably the bands most popular and well known song and i actually skip by it when listening them live and the only thing i like about the song is the end of the track when they include a sample from another artist. } – Feb 28, 9:01 PM
- Mark Rago { If I were Jim Martin, and Mike, Billy and Roddy were calling me a Mama's boy and insulting me in the Lions share of interviews, I wouldn't have been a team player either. That being said, it seems to me that Martin was the creative catalyst during the Mosley era and The Real Thing. Patton really started to pilot the bands style and writing during the making of Angel Dust, and I think Martin took umbrage with that, and the teasing and ribbing the other guys piled on him when absent from band interviews (good natured or not) started to... } – Feb 28, 2:03 PM
On Episode 3 of Podcast Croissant - the new Faith No More podcast - now live (6)
- Benrun { Podcast 4 about IY? Favorite song would be Anne's Song, followed by Faster Disco. But I love every song on the album. It is the best FNM album in terms of 5 guys fighting for their part to be heard, yet servicing the songs. It's got the best guitar tone of all the albums. The only possible criticism I can think of for the album is the one that Chuck gave it...that the drums are a little similar song to song...Puffy would stay intense but add more versatility on later albums. This album has so much tongue in cheek but... } – Feb 08, 3:05 AM
- KingCol { I always though that Patton on video croissant sounds like “ZIG” from “ZIG AND ZAG” } – Feb 03, 12:02 PM
- KingCol { I still watch video croissant on my vcr .. I love the live footage of the bottle throwing and i loved the everything’s ruined video at the time too .. The best thing about phoinex 93 is the fact that the audio was released long before the shaky footage was synced together. I listened to that audio for years and had so many questions about that show that the video answered... I think it was hot Canada who actually shared the show with me in exchange for the Slane 92 bootleg .. } – Feb 01, 10:59 PM
- Benrun { The earplugs comment came from me, I sort of chastised him with my facial expression over that one...it was backstage at Detroit 2015 that he told me that. Somehow we got on it because I work as a Speech Language Pathologist and had almost become an Audiologist. Great observation about the nasal shrillness cutting through. I feel like the keyboards remained harsher all the way through the AOTY tour and were more tame in the mix on the reunion shows, I missed the old harsher sound. One of the greatest things about the Phoenix Festival show in 93 is how... } – Jan 30, 4:25 AM
On Listen to episode 2 of Podcast Croissant, the Faith No More podcast (6)
- Benrun { KingCol, I email back and forth with that member regularly and have definitely benefitted from the connection because they have been a very generous trader of bootlegs. I've also loved getting bootlegs off of Dime a Dozen, still do. Pretty sure it is a "he" and "he" is a really cool guy. Not sure he is a big commenter on websites, and while he's definitely a FNM fan, he also loves a lot of other music. If you search for it you can find his trading website. I haven't messaged with him in a while though, I should check in. } – Jan 25, 2:50 AM
- KingCol { The real thing song itself is such a wonderful composition - I was blown away by the live donnington reunion version .. (on a side bragging note , I was also lucky enough to attend the gig in Dublin in the Olympia with a capacity of just 1200) As everyone else mentioned here already, the other obvious stand out tracks are “the morning after” and “under water love” . Ps : there is a loyal faith no more fan base here who continually comment on the various updates... was anyone here a member of the website “dime a dozen” I... } – Jan 24, 9:29 PM
- Emayan { Episode 2 was awesome! So much fun to go back over this classic of an album. Not a weak song on it...including Underwater Love (what an outro) and The Morning After (what an intro). The Real Thing is still one of the greatest rock songs ever. Pure perfection, an all-time favorite. } – Jan 23, 12:12 AM
- Rob { Podcast 2 a success!! Please don’t feel the need to speed up your analysis. I’ll totally be happy with a 3 or 4 hour analysis of TRT. My own notes on the TRT: 1. Underwater Love is underrated and those keyboard flourishes are beautiful. Also, I often link this song thematically to Nick Cave’s “Where the wild roses grow”. 2. Zombie Eaters lyrics to me are more about the thoughts of an autistic or seriously handicapped young adult man. 3. From Out of Nowhere, The Real Thing and Woodpecker are the best tracks on the album. 4. Have you heard... } – Jan 21, 12:23 PM

Switch to mobile version