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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
This is dense, slightly problematic (in that there are some dated words and concepts), but overall it's genius. The emotional aspects of the essays are out of this world. The essay/article on the Clash alone is worth the price of the book. Highly recommended to anyone who likes music writing.
i don't believe that a critic as astute, relevant, and sharp as Lester Bangs could exist today. it saddens me that no one can write about music with the insight that Bangs could, but it makes this collection all the more precious. the man was a genius.
It's a terrible cliche, but so am I. Bangs is still my all-time favorite music writer. Despite his personal flaws and a tendency to run on a bit, I love every fucking word. His NME feature about the Clash is especially good.
When so much music criticism these days has been relegated to barely 100-word reviews in aging rags like Rolling Stone and Spin, or, conversely, revels in insular purple prose on blogs like Pitchfork, the writing of Lester Bangs comes off today as the rarest of revelations. I don't think I've ever read any kind of criticism (let alone of the pop music variety) that possesses such a halcyon mix of anecdote and honest insight. Overblown, excessive, brilliant, and more fun than mixing alcohol and marijuana at a Stooges show.
Great collection from one of my idols. Also, the funniest book about rock-and-roll ever, and a big inspiration for my Greenspeak column. One of my columns, in fact, was a direct homage (theft)--an entire column written as a series of exclamatory statements. (I credited him at the end of the column). Even if you're not a music fan, per se, his writing was godlike: prescient, biting, introspective, angry, hilarious. And most of it was done in his 20s.
Also: This is the character that Philip Seymour Hoffman plays in "Almost Famous."
READ THIS BOOK.
Also: This is the character that Philip Seymour Hoffman plays in "Almost Famous."
READ THIS BOOK.
One of the most influential music books I've read...almost like an [b:On the Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573] for rock 'n' roll in the 70s. Most importantly, it introduced me to Astral Weeks.
There's a lot to like in this book, though there's plenty to skim too. I especially liked the pieces he wrote about touring with The Clash.
funny
informative
slow-paced
i mean yeah there're a few misfires but bangs at his best knew what r'n'r was, or what it was supposed to be.
One of my all time favorite books, so my review will be undoubtedly filled with gushing bias and admiration...
Record reviews and cultural criticism in the hands of a burroughs fanatic. I'm not saying doc benway makes any appearances or anything, but... oh wait, he does. The amazing quality of Bangs' writing hinged on his ability to believe one hundred percent in the opinions he strove to prove, question himself in the process (while still believing in himself without question) and completely flip flop his opinion to something different a month later.
His early appreciation for iconoclastic underground rock/punk figures like Iggy Pop/ Lou Reed and screaming about forgotten heroes of the mid 60s like the Troggs or the Count Five... his voice howled the truth by way of the underground of the counterculture in the wilderness of the bloviating mainstream 70s.
Record reviews and cultural criticism in the hands of a burroughs fanatic. I'm not saying doc benway makes any appearances or anything, but... oh wait, he does. The amazing quality of Bangs' writing hinged on his ability to believe one hundred percent in the opinions he strove to prove, question himself in the process (while still believing in himself without question) and completely flip flop his opinion to something different a month later.
His early appreciation for iconoclastic underground rock/punk figures like Iggy Pop/ Lou Reed and screaming about forgotten heroes of the mid 60s like the Troggs or the Count Five... his voice howled the truth by way of the underground of the counterculture in the wilderness of the bloviating mainstream 70s.