Nadine O'Regan, Nelson George & more explore Music & Literature

Day 2 of Metropolis and the captivating Conversations continue.
The first Sunday panel found our own Roisin Dwyer talking to Brooklyn author and commentator Nelson George, broadcaster and journalist Nadine O'Regan, author and actor Rob Doyle and DJ and writer Dave Haslam about the intersection of music and literature.
Things got underway with a look at when it doesn't quite work; namely, Morrissey's first foray into fiction.
O'Regan had attempted to read his List Of The Lost but found it to be like a "foreign language that you understand some of the words of", joking that "Aquinas has written shorter paragraphs."
She did, naturally, note that Morrissey is "incredibly gifted" as a lyricist, on which we can all agree.
Discussing the books that do work, Rob Doyle - who himself penned the critically acclaimed Here Are The Young Men - opined that Nick Cave should jack in the songwriting to concentrate on his novels, talking about his love for The Death Of Bunny Munro.
Turning to memoirs, it was the female writers and rockers that dominated the conversation.
Discussing Viv Albertine's Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys, Dave Haslam said that "the book reflected the music really well" and that she had "reinvented herself" with it, suggesting that more people know her now for that work than for her time in The Slits.
Similarly Tracey Thorn's memoirs were commended, with Nadine O'Regan saying that "the history of rock 'n' roll has been largely traced by male musicians" and welcoming the recent sea change.
Patti Smith's Just Kids was highly recommended, with George praising its portrayal of NYC: "It's one of the great evocations of New York in the '70s."
What else is worthy of your time?
Bob Dylan's Chronicles, says George, calling it "weird" and "impressionistic" in all the right ways.
Neil Young, on the other hand, could have done with a seasoned writer helping him out, reckon O'Regan, who didn't exactly dig his constant Pono talk in Waging Heavy Peace. "Artists... are not the most humble people," she said.
The takeaway? Musicians crossing over to the literary world are best served by a little humility.