Bowden is best known for writing 'Black Hawk Down', but has also written other non-fiction books as well. Most of the articles in this book are from hBowden is best known for writing 'Black Hawk Down', but has also written other non-fiction books as well. Most of the articles in this book are from his days working for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Great writer--sometimes the subject matter can be a bit depressing. Each article begins with a paragraph backstory to the piece. I'm afraid Mark Bowden may be one of the last old school journalists left....more
I first became aware of Lester Bangs when I saw the movie 'Almost Famous'. The movie was based on the exploits of a young Cameron Crowe when he was a I first became aware of Lester Bangs when I saw the movie 'Almost Famous'. The movie was based on the exploits of a young Cameron Crowe when he was a writer for Rolling Stone magazine in the early 1970s. In college and until a few years ago, I was a Rolling Stone subscriber. Cameron Crowe was a bit before my readership started in the early 8os, but I love the music of that time period. (When Jann Wenner sold Rolling Stone its reinvention by the new owners destroyed an already declining magazine.)
In the movie, Cameron Crowe meets Lester Bangs (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who was a rock music critic that for a time wrote for Rolling Stone, but primarily was a writer for Creem. (Sad side-note--Hoffman died from a drug overdose at 46. Lester Bangs died of a overdose of medications supposedly while trying to treat a bad case of the flu at 33. However in his concert reviews he often talks of taking his beloved cough syrup with him to get high along with an assortment of just about any pill in existence.) I didn't know much about Creem, or Lester Bangs work, but I love the time period.
Greil Marcus who selected and edited the book is another well known writer and music critic. I know partly why Marcus selected the writings he did was to show Bangs diversity as a writer--which I think he accomplished. Some of the pieces were unpublished notes--while interesting perhaps there were too many of these.
On to my criticisms. I don't know if Bangs didn't use a period in his writing, or the publisher was neglectful. Periods were rare find in the 377 pages of manuscript. Thankfully the practice of using capital letters to begin a sentence was still followed, otherwise much would have been incomprehensible. In any case this certainly made reading more difficult and time consuming.
Content was another disappointment. Much of the music criticism revolved around Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges, and punk music before it became popular in the 80s. I consider my music tastes to be fairly eclectic, but I have very little interest in this genre. Some of Bangs pieces would start out sensible enough, but digress in what seems like a drug addled, sex obsessed, gibberish rant by the end. Did I mention Lou Reed?
There were a couple of nuggets. One was a book review of Peter Guralnick's 'Lost Highway: Journeys & Arrivals of American Musicians'. A profile of twenty-one influential musicians including Elvis, Merle Haggard, Bobby Bland, Howlin' Wolf, Ernest Tubb, and Hank Williams. I added this book to my reading list, and realized I have other Guralnick books on their as well. A creative piece was a short-story style take on the backstory of Rod Stewart's song 'Maggie May'.
Overall, I'm glad I read the book, but disappointed in the content. If the early punk scene, Lou Reed, CBGBs, and the like is your thing, you'll probably enjoy this book. Oh, did I mention Lou Reed?...more
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