books about pop
Julian said:
<< > Can't say I've ever finished a Greil Marcus thesis!
and then the Duke said:
<< ditto... i can't fathom the appeal, but then some would say the same of
some of my loves, so, so what. I know it's kind of obvious, but i still
have Lester Bangs on the top rung. >>
I have to stick up for Greil Marcus myself. As a wee lad I read his _Rolling
Stone_ (of all places!) articles on early-80s British music -- Lora Logic,
Gang of Four, Delta 5, Mekons, Raincoats, Rough Trade Records -- and they got
me interested in music beyond the obvious punk/new wave heroes. Anyone who
knows me is aware of how much damage these articles caused me :). I can't say
I'm too interested in Marcus' more recent work, though I still think he's one
of the better mainstream-level critics currently working, but I'll always be
indebted to him for this crucial phase of my development.
Lester Bangs still holds up for me -- once a year or so, I'll go back to
_Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung_ and get excited all over again.
Can't think of hardly anyone else who infused her/his writing with the same
passion. The Richard Hell piece, in particular, leaves me shaken.
Does anyone else on this list (besides Steve Burt) hold Gerard Cosloy's old
_Conflict_ zine in as high reverence as I do? Read between the sarcasm and
inside jokes, and it's clear that that Gerard was an obsessive music fan ahead
of his time in so many different ways...
mike
ciflux@--hidden--
http://members.aol.com/ciflux