I argue that the autobiographical text plays a specific, central role in our present popular-music landscape. It participates in and shapes discourses of music history in a post-millennial era obsessed with rock heritage and retro culture. Not that nostalgia alone defines it, however: beyond that, the memoir frequently gives voice to a mode of late-style expression. While the autobiographical text lends itself to critical commentary and introspection, I trace how in this context it further functions as a site of expression and even creative experimentation.