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Slacker First Class |
He's kinda the reason I've gotten into music as heavily as I have. I was wondering what everyone else thinks about a guy who considers Metal Machine Music as one of his favourite albums. Does anyone else enjoy the way he ranted absolute crap from the bottom of his beergut?
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Guru |
He has an incredibly insightful essay on race in NYC's CBGB punk scene that was published in the Voice some time ago. I read it in a collection recently. I wish I could find it online
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Jedi |
I've read the Metal Machine Music piece, and its quite obvious he's being faceitious. Still, I like what I've read of his and love the idea of goring James Taylor to death.
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Guru |
Years and years and years ago -- way back in the early to mid 1970s -- I used to read a music magazine called CREEM or CREAM and Lester Bangs was the star attraction. I think he was to CREAM what Hunter Thompson was to Rolling Stone back in the day.
I was only a teenager and can't remember what I thought about LB, but do remember that publication, which I assume is long defunct. I remember I had two T-shirts I bought from the magazine. One said "Boy Howdy." |
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Jedi |
http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/reviews/astral.html
Lester Bangs being very verbose about Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks." This and Philip Seymour Hoffman playing him in Almost Famous is what got me interested in him. ------ And you're lying if you sing along |
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Slacker First Class |
Lester Bangs' review of Astral Weeks was sort of a major precedent for what we try (and mostly fail) to do at CMG. we even say as much on our myspace.
it's the passion that gets you. Chet Betz cokemachineglow.com |
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Guru |
That is an incredibly heartfelt review. It takes a special kind of man to equal emotional tenderness and raw rage into a form of creative expression and masculine nobility. Masculine nature and feminine nurture.
I don't know how to describe that "tough, but vulnerable" feeling quite right, but that's my best shot. Bangs is good at being tough but caring. Coarse but fair. |
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Jedi |
I haven't listened to Astral Weeks in years, and that review just prompted a listen. That's a damn good record.
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Guru |
Even though I don't agree with many of his critical assessments, the books that collect his rock reviews/essays are really entertaining. Both are great. I highly recommend them.
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Jedi |
He's definitely one of my major influences... but that's what every critic says. I can't tell you how many people I've seen give a wicked review to the new Linkin Park or Evanescence then turn around and praise LB as their lord and savior. Bangs would hate you people.
________________________________________________________ "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson tinymixtapes.com / The Skinny / PopMatters |
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Jedi |
When Almost Famous came out I had just read Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, which is a collection of his essays edited by Greil Marcus, and Let It Blurt a biography by Jim Derogatis. In my Lester Bangs haze, I mistakenly thought that the movie was supposed to be a biopic about Bangs. I was so disappointed that I didn't enjoy the movie (I have since reconciled and absolutely love that movie). Anyway, reading those two books back to back was very enlightening and I recommend both to any serious study of criticism. I picked up another collection of essays a couple of years ago called Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader edited by John Morthland, but I've yet to read it. Anyone care to comment on it? _____________________________ Weep to Water the Trees. "This is my main concern with Obama; what if he has been groomed since childhood to blend in with the zionists and infidels? What if he has been led along by a radical islamic terrorist organization and positioned to become an influential politician? What if Obama gets into White House and turns out to be some crazy muslim terrorist? What do we do then? We'll be pretty screwed. It could happen." -- by some fucking nutjob |
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Guru |
Sure will. It's a great book! I think I'd rate it slightly above "Carburetor Dung" because the essays are more in tune with my taste. I love the articles on Captain Beefheart and Bob Marley, especially. Plus many others I can't think of at the moment. I must have read that book five times in the last 3 years. Do yourself a favor: sit down and read this book! |
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