Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147349 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Synopsis
Traces the life of visionary rock critic Lester Bangs from his childhood in Southern California to his untimely death at the age of thirty-three, describing his place in the turbulent rock music culture of the 1970s.

Customer Reviews

Biography and history of rock criticism
This engaging biography of Lester Bangs captures the essence of the legendary rock writer with great clarity. DeRogatis writes with passion by making Lester's passionate sense of life come alive, unlocking great swathes of rock culture and rock literature that I had not been aware of. It emerges that Bangs was a kind and likeable person with lots of integrity.

The book details his personal life but also serves as a history of rock criticism. The afterword covers his legacy in the work of music writers, in the lyrics of other artists, in his musical influence on certain alt-country bands, and in the book Psychotic Reactions, a compilation of his work by Greil Marcus.

The appendices include Lester's How To Be A Rock Critic: A Megatonic Journey and some of his lyrics. Let It Blurt provides copious notes, sources and a wonderful bibliography of Bangs' articles, reviews, books, contributions to anthologies and encyclopaedias, letters and recordings, plus articles about him by other authors.

The text is well illustrated throughout with black and white photographs of Bangs, other rock journalists and artists like Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen. Let It Blurt is a classic, both as a fascinating life story and history of rock writing, and is a valuable reference source to the work of this seminal author.