Incidentally, for people who love reading unflattering biographies, I whole heartedly recommend reading "Sticky Fingers" - a bio of the mostly loathsome former publisher of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner. Apparently, it was originally going to be written with Wenner's full cooperation, but Wenner withdrew completely when his designated co-wr…
Incidentally, for people who love reading unflattering biographies, I whole heartedly recommend reading "Sticky Fingers" - a bio of the mostly loathsome former publisher of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner. Apparently, it was originally going to be written with Wenner's full cooperation, but Wenner withdrew completely when his designated co-writer Joe Hagan informed him that he was simply going to tell the entire dismal truth.
Among other unsavory tidbits in it, we learn that Wenner's starfucking instinct makes him fundamentally incapable of accepting anything less than gushing reviews of the Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger's solo work in particular. As such, a lot of the reviews written for even the most mediocre or even lousy Stones albums or Jagger solo records would get gushing reviews suggesting that they were works of monumental musical genius, on par with old Wolfgang Amadeus himself, etc. etc.
There's a reason all these magazines bit the dust, but at least Rolling Stone really did deserve to croak IMO.
Wenner also keeps bands that might reflect anything biker-ish and therefore too "low class" out of his very bourgeois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inexplicably has rap acts in it, but eschews major rock bands like Steppenwolf, just to name one of many. "Born To Be Wild," but not too wild, I guess.
Yeah, when you read their reviews of Black Sabbath, you get the idea too. They even kept calling him TOMMY Iommi in their magazine for god knows how long.
There were apparently a bunch of people on Wenner's starfuck list. John Lennon used to be #1, but Mick Jagger was never far behind. He even kept worshiping Bob Dylan after Dylan called him a useless prick.
Which is fine (if annoying) in and of itself, but it also affected the neutrality and quality of the reviews. Musn't write something that will piss off the big boss, after all.
Yeah, RS never had much use for Sabbath, which only shows how clueless they were even back then. Sabbath went on to be one of the most copied and influential rock bands of all time, while Rolling Stone just sank to its current dismal state, trying (and failing) to take down Marilyn Manson with gossip and no evidence. I remember when Jann had his mid-life crisis and left his wife for a man. Then later on he tried to deny the whole thing. I might have to read Sticky Fingers for a laugh!
"Sticky Fingers" is a great read that should completely disabuse anyone of the notion that rock 'n' roll is an art form. I fear there are a few such nostalgic souls still around, and I say let's round them all up, inter them in a re-education Camp, and force them to read "Sticky Fingers!"
Rock 'n' roll is an assembly line industry subordinate to the dictates of capital. Once you understand this, you can appreciate it the same way you might appreciate a Ford automobile: It got you where you wanted to go back in the 70s, and chances are today's model will get you where you want to go today.
Jann Wenner comes across as a kind of Gatsby. And it's easy to understand why he hates this book so much, though personally, I think he should chill. After he's dead, and they make the inevitable bioflick, he will come across as a likable, picaresque sort of rascal with a big smile and an amazing capacity for ingesting the complete pharmacological pantheon without any apparent ill effects.
Incidentally, for people who love reading unflattering biographies, I whole heartedly recommend reading "Sticky Fingers" - a bio of the mostly loathsome former publisher of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner. Apparently, it was originally going to be written with Wenner's full cooperation, but Wenner withdrew completely when his designated co-writer Joe Hagan informed him that he was simply going to tell the entire dismal truth.
Among other unsavory tidbits in it, we learn that Wenner's starfucking instinct makes him fundamentally incapable of accepting anything less than gushing reviews of the Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger's solo work in particular. As such, a lot of the reviews written for even the most mediocre or even lousy Stones albums or Jagger solo records would get gushing reviews suggesting that they were works of monumental musical genius, on par with old Wolfgang Amadeus himself, etc. etc.
There's a reason all these magazines bit the dust, but at least Rolling Stone really did deserve to croak IMO.
Wenner also keeps bands that might reflect anything biker-ish and therefore too "low class" out of his very bourgeois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inexplicably has rap acts in it, but eschews major rock bands like Steppenwolf, just to name one of many. "Born To Be Wild," but not too wild, I guess.
Yeah, when you read their reviews of Black Sabbath, you get the idea too. They even kept calling him TOMMY Iommi in their magazine for god knows how long.
There were apparently a bunch of people on Wenner's starfuck list. John Lennon used to be #1, but Mick Jagger was never far behind. He even kept worshiping Bob Dylan after Dylan called him a useless prick.
Which is fine (if annoying) in and of itself, but it also affected the neutrality and quality of the reviews. Musn't write something that will piss off the big boss, after all.
Yeah, RS never had much use for Sabbath, which only shows how clueless they were even back then. Sabbath went on to be one of the most copied and influential rock bands of all time, while Rolling Stone just sank to its current dismal state, trying (and failing) to take down Marilyn Manson with gossip and no evidence. I remember when Jann had his mid-life crisis and left his wife for a man. Then later on he tried to deny the whole thing. I might have to read Sticky Fingers for a laugh!
"Sticky Fingers" is a great read that should completely disabuse anyone of the notion that rock 'n' roll is an art form. I fear there are a few such nostalgic souls still around, and I say let's round them all up, inter them in a re-education Camp, and force them to read "Sticky Fingers!"
Rock 'n' roll is an assembly line industry subordinate to the dictates of capital. Once you understand this, you can appreciate it the same way you might appreciate a Ford automobile: It got you where you wanted to go back in the 70s, and chances are today's model will get you where you want to go today.
Jann Wenner comes across as a kind of Gatsby. And it's easy to understand why he hates this book so much, though personally, I think he should chill. After he's dead, and they make the inevitable bioflick, he will come across as a likable, picaresque sort of rascal with a big smile and an amazing capacity for ingesting the complete pharmacological pantheon without any apparent ill effects.