2026 Akashic Books
Almost Grown is many things.
At first blush, it’s Jesse Malin’s life story, opening with a narrative tease of him in a hospital bed, partially paralyzed following a stroke. If the reader has any familiarity with his career, they know they’re in store for massive Rockstar collaborations, friendships with underground deities like H.R. of Bad Brains and Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, and ultimately the 90s Glam Punk darlings, D Generation. But htere’s way more to his story.
The book is also a love letter to the desperate New York City of the 70s and 80s, a paved maze of rats, manhole steam, danger, graffiti, and boiling tensions, lit by neon hope and flickering streetlit squalor. The book almost reads like the notes to a lost Scorsese film. You get the bustle, the sleaze, the knifepoints, the filth, the fear, the burgeoning Punk Rock contradiction of enthusiasm and ennui; you just don’t get the stench and the taxi noises.
It’s a history, filled with cool info nuggets and anecdotes. One personal favorite is about CBGB’s name, another is about the origin of the term, “mosh,” and its connection to white NYC Punks misunderstanding H.R.’s accent.
Almost Grown is also very much a boy’s story, a memoir of his coming of age, his fascinations/fears of sex, drugs, and Rock n’ Roll, and the familiar teenage pathways of mischief, rank clubs, and primitive, noisy bands. In some ways, young Jesse and his buddies took the scenic route to maturity, but in others, they showed drive and understanding beyond their years. The stories of Jesse Malin’s early gigs with loud songs and shitty equipment before sparse, feral crowds will resonate with anyone who’s ever made a go at live music.
The fact that he recounts all of the above with such love is the most New York thing ever.
In some ways, Almost Grown echoes other music memoirs – – see Michael Alago, Jon Zazula, and Roddy Bottum – – touching on childhood near-misses, creeps, rejections, terrors, traumas, and yearnings, while side-scrolling through the levels of childhood and adulthood.
You find yourself relating to Malin and cheering for his wins as he walks you through his big chances and major successes.
Most of all: Almost Grown is important. Every music school should assign this to their teenage students. Jesse tells an essential story of the fragility and randomness of life, of the benefits of sidestepping the norms and the rules, of the glamour that can be found in the dingiest ruts. Of the need for persistence, passion, and stubbornness. Of knowing when to rebel and when to roll with it.
Bonus: the photo section is really well-put together. Kudos to Malin and the design team.