Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste : A Lester Bangs Reader

Rating:
Summary: The Big Bangs
Review: This + PRACD = essential purchases for Lesterphiles. Trying to choose between the two is like trying to choose between "In a Silent Way" and "Fun House". or "The Ramones" and "The Clash". It's ALL essential. Be greedy.

Rating:
Summary: I miss Greil Marcus...
Review: This is a brilliant book, there's no doubt about it, brilliance is a given for Lester Bangs, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd go with Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung every time. John Morthland just doesn't have the sense of discipline that Greil Marcus had, to take what was important, revelatory, or just plain inspiring, even if it was a bland review of the latest Chicago album, instead he pulls out all the big hitters and lines them up in a row, so reading this book is a wee bit like being stomped on the head.

Rating:
Summary: I miss Greil Marcus...
Review: This is a brilliant book, there's no doubt about it, brilliance is a given for Lester Bangs, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd go with Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung every time. John Morthland just doesn't have the sense of discipline that Greil Marcus had, to take what was important, revelatory, or just plain inspiring, even if it was a bland review of the latest Chicago album, instead he pulls out all the big hitters and lines them up in a row, so reading this book is a wee bit like being stomped on the head.

Rating:
Summary: Find a better waste of time
Review: This is probably the more well-rounded of the two volumes of Bangs' articles and miscellaneous whatnot now available. The big issue I've been having with it is that it was clearly designed as an entry point for curious parties. "Main Lines" avoids being too obscure if it can help it - even Captain Beefheart seems to me part of the Popular Music Canon - and the pieces here are far more watered-down than the ones in "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung." What I mean by that is that, aside from Bangs' juvenalia (which is briefly touched on at the beginning of the book), this book lacks much of the spirit of discovery that was so beautifully brought to the fore in the first. If you're a Bangs fan or a voracious reader of musical criticism, it wouldn't hurt to read this... but if you're new to Bangs and want to know why he's one of the best music journalists of all time, you should pick up "Psychotic Reactions."

Rating:
Summary: Everything in the title, and unabashed populism to boot!
Review: This is probably the more well-rounded of the two volumes of Bangs' articles and miscellaneous whatnot now available. The big issue I've been having with it is that it was clearly designed as an entry point for curious parties. "Main Lines" avoids being too obscure if it can help it - even Captain Beefheart seems to me part of the Popular Music Canon - and the pieces here are far more watered-down than the ones in "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung." What I mean by that is that, aside from Bangs' juvenalia (which is briefly touched on at the beginning of the book), this book lacks much of the spirit of discovery that was so beautifully brought to the fore in the first. If you're a Bangs fan or a voracious reader of musical criticism, it wouldn't hurt to read this... but if you're new to Bangs and want to know why he's one of the best music journalists of all time, you should pick up "Psychotic Reactions."