In this book the amount of time we spend with Greg is quite minimal

which is why he might have not looked as much of an  arse here

and I don't think it was a negative at all.
Rodrick has been barely present in the past few/lot volumes, plus the band was only mentioned most of the times, so I'm not mad we got a story focusing on them.
The pop cultural references were clever and funny, I also liked how the author explained things about the entertainment industry through the characters.
The ending was also fun, it seems I still underestimate Kinney in this sense, because I keep not expecting the turns the events take. :D