Before his untimely death in 1982, Lester Bangs was inarguably the most influential critic of rock and roll. Writing in hyper-intelligent Benzedrin...
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Mar 31, 2011
Justin
rated it: 
Psychotic Reactions & Carburetor Dung made me high. I read that book and got high on Bangs’ writing. I admit it. High as a kite. Hooooooooo boy.
Having read Mainlines… (blah, blah, blah, etc.), I’m left feeling like that effect was somewhat in the editing (and just maybe where my little head was at at the time). And the editing in this one is like getting a bag of weak weed with your last fifty dollars. Or forty for you non-Cali residents. Then mixing it with the dregs of that More...
Having read Mainlines… (blah, blah, blah, etc.), I’m left feeling like that effect was somewhat in the editing (and just maybe where my little head was at at the time). And the editing in this one is like getting a bag of weak weed with your last fifty dollars. Or forty for you non-Cali residents. Then mixing it with the dregs of that More...
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Dec 01, 2008
Adam
rated it: 
Along with Hunter S. Thompson, Bangs has given me some insight into the 70's post-counterculture sense of failure, doom, and depression. Also like Thompson, he is able to inject incredible wit, intelligence, and subversion. By studying their heroes (Thompson's Jimmy Carter; Bangs' 60s garage bands), they even offer some hope for new politics and creativity.
Bangs also practices the kind of journalism I love--insistently subjective. Not only are his digressions and tangents hilariou More...
Bangs also practices the kind of journalism I love--insistently subjective. Not only are his digressions and tangents hilariou More...
May 11, 2010
Kate
rated it: 
Once at an allergist appointment to treat my asthma I had to use a nebulizer, a machine to help my medication get deep into my lungs. There were two end results: I started breathing better and was high on oxygen and I got more medication into me than normal and got high on that. Basically, I was high as a kite for an hour or two and then it wore off. But for that brief period of time, I was happy and did everything at warp speed and was lovin' life.
Lester Bangs, for those of you not famili More...
Lester Bangs, for those of you not famili More...
May 04, 2009
Eric
rated it:
From an essay on Nico's album:
"I don't know if I would classify it as oppressive or depressing, but I do know that 'The Marble Index' scares the shit out of me. But what scares me even more is what people seem to want instead. Every time I see some kid with concentration-camp-cropped hair maybe tinted green with maybe a garbage bag over his or her genuinely pathetic belittle frame, I want to puke and maybe even cry a little at the same time. Because so much of this punk rubbi More...
"I don't know if I would classify it as oppressive or depressing, but I do know that 'The Marble Index' scares the shit out of me. But what scares me even more is what people seem to want instead. Every time I see some kid with concentration-camp-cropped hair maybe tinted green with maybe a garbage bag over his or her genuinely pathetic belittle frame, I want to puke and maybe even cry a little at the same time. Because so much of this punk rubbi More...
Feb 12, 2009
Marissa
rated it:
I finally read some Lester Bangs, after all this time reading stuff about how he's the best rock critic of all time blah blah. I feel very 50-50 about it. I appreciate that he seems to recognize the quality of many of the grossly underrated women making rock music back in the day in a fairly non-condescending way, but then there are articles describing a Hell's Angels gang rape and long sexual fantasy sequences that are really horrible. He has some good insights about the failures of punk and th
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Dec 16, 2009
Casey
rated it:
i think this is the lesser of the two lester bangs anthologies. i really only remember that he hated an album by Canned Heat. no one was upset by this. not even members of canned heat.
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Dec 26, 2010
g026r
rated it: 
I am officially declaring myself through with Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste. My tolerance for drug-induced, stream of conscious writing is slim, and 400+ pages of such is just too much. So, at a bit past the halfway mark, I'm calling it quits.
Which isn't to say that there isn't some interesting pieces in here — Kind of Grim, his article on Miles Davis, for instance, is excellent as is his Patti Smith piece, even if I don't entirely agree with his comments on the latter. More...
Which isn't to say that there isn't some interesting pieces in here — Kind of Grim, his article on Miles Davis, for instance, is excellent as is his Patti Smith piece, even if I don't entirely agree with his comments on the latter. More...
May 02, 2009
Tom
rated it:
I've read this three times now (previously, once within a couple months of its publication, and again about three years ago), and while I still think it's inferior to Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, I'm probably more inclined to recommend this one to the timid or curious reader.
Here's why: Although PRaCD includes the landmark early pieces on the Stooges' Fun House and the Troggs, as well as the essay on the Clash, some of that stuff can be a chore if you aren't ready for it. More...
Here's why: Although PRaCD includes the landmark early pieces on the Stooges' Fun House and the Troggs, as well as the essay on the Clash, some of that stuff can be a chore if you aren't ready for it. More...
Dec 04, 2010
Russ
rated it:
More record reviews in here than in "Psychotic Reactions," but that's perfectly OK. The real gems are the longer pieces, though -- an Island Records junket to Jamaica to see Bob Marley, a rumination on the senseless life and death of Sid Vicious, and a tremendous piece on Black Sabbath. No one much writes like Lester, and it's a damn shame.
Jul 11, 2008
Quentin
rated it:
In some ways, much broader in scope that the other Bangs collection "Psychotic reactions and Carburetor Dung". It contains Bangs' ruminations on Jazz, folk, and heavy metal, along with travel pieces on Austin, California, and Jamaica (the book is almost worth it for that article alone). But the real whirlpool here is the lengthy "Bye Bye Sidney", where Bangs begins with the Sid Vicious murder/suicide and uses it as a vehicle to take us through a powerful critique of media-c
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May 11, 2011
Tyler
rated it:
While I'm giving this three stars overall, there is definitely some five-star material in it. I noticed a lot had been previously unpublished, so maybe this wasn't the best choice of a first Lester Bangs book. Things began to feel repetitive as it went on. Still, a few essays, particularly the Miles Davis ones, the post-Beatles retrospective, and the Captain Beefheart profile, are among the best writings on music that I have ever encountered. I understand that Psychotic Reactions already col
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Mar 15, 2011
Mark
rated it:
Not quite the collection that 'Psychotic Reactions' was, but it's still Bangs. Angry, passionate & irrationally in love with Rock & Roll. Lester's writing is like letters to a lover that constantly cheats on him, stands him up, leaves him waiting in the rain, never intending to show up. Brilliant and heart-breaking.
Jan 11, 2011
Kate
rated it:
absolutely fucking hilarious. i'll remember the black sabbath essay as long as i live. it's a shame lester died so young.
Jul 19, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
Lester Bangs is pretty full of himself, but this was still kind of fun to read.
Jun 04, 2009
Eric
rated it:
"Psychotic Reactions" is still the definitive Lester Bangs collection, but you can find some good stuff here, too. Because even second-rate Bangs is better than 90% of the crap out there.
Jul 03, 2008
Dutch Southern
rated it:
This is like a B-side and rarities collection. Not Bang's best but still better than the rest. "Bob Dylan’s Dalliance With Mafia Chic" is the standout track. Bangs trashes "Desire", one of my favorite Dylan albums, and even calls Dylan an exploiter of blacks all while using the n word. I don't agree with one single word in this essay but it had me laughing and nodding like I did. Bangs was a genius even though he was wrong ninety percent of the time.
Jun 04, 2011
Saxon
rated it: 
Meh. I can see how Lester Bangs was a big deal back in the day. Too bad 100,000 music reviewers have coped his style, whether intentionally or unintentionally (I'm guilty of this too), that its hard to read this and not just lump it in with another snobby, overly self-righteous reviewer for Pitchfork.com.
I get why he's important but is this really relevant anymore? I dunno.
I get why he's important but is this really relevant anymore? I dunno.
Feb 17, 2008
matt
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 04, 2012
Erin
rated it:
Sped out wordsperm with accompanying mess. Much has been made of Lester Bangs and I cannot see why. Perhaps because I grew up among the over saturated cultural vomitorium of the 2ks I am unamused and frankly bored of the rock and roll dictates of a drug using hipster.
May 22, 2008
Paul
rated it:
Not as essential as the first collection -- at least I didn't think so, but still firing on all cylinders as far as the quality goes. If you only have two books about music on your shelves it should be this one and its predecessor.
Dec 04, 2011
Elle
rated it:
'Twas what I expected it to be. Vastly inferior to Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung though. I'll enjoy another read through, I'm sure... (because I got high).
Sep 27, 2008
Bruce
rated it:
Great, if not quite as great as Psychedelic Reactions...only because this is a second pass through the Bangs oeuvre. But a fifth pass will find invaluable gems too.
Jun 22, 2008
Blair
rated it:
Lester's piece on Dylan's 'Joey' is required reading for any Dylan fanatic. Bangs readily admits when his opinion changed or was wrong in the first place, which I admire.
Nov 17, 2010
Gena
rated it:
An interesting window into the time from a surprisingly unique individual.
Jun 08, 2008
Eric
rated it:
Amusing, though I feel these were not necessarily his best reviews. Funny how he turns the corner on Miles Davis' "On The Corner."
Jul 14, 2008
Dan
rated it:
hilarious reading from someone with a passion and opinions so different from the mass.
