Lester Bangs: Psychotic Reaction

So a while ago i presented a family friend with a copy of Lester Bangs collected writings, 'Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung'; he read it and gave this reply via email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Josh,

I wanted to thank you for your incredible, eye-opening gift. I thought it would be more appropriate to express my gratitude having read and considered it, rather than prematurely as etiquette might have made inclined.

It has indeed taken me a long time to complete. The more I read, the more I felt it necessary to afford each tiny portion the time and probing and background research I required to get the most out of it. Even so, I might have dwelt longer between its pages, but could not - I fly for Japan tomorrow evening and have only bagspace for the novel I promised I'd trawl in transit.

Aside from his unique style (and disregard for literary conventions), I found particularly fascinating Bangs' gradual transition in perspective, which strangely doesn't seem chronological, but rather follows the course of the compiled journal.

Although I don't always agree with him, I acknowledge that the whole exercise would have held rather less value if I did. It is a lot harder to maintain an opinion than it is to criticise it and, in spite of the misleading title, the primary role of any worthwhile critic is to stimulate its readership, not to define good taste and popular thinking.

Another side-benefit of this text has been a context for folk and punk and Bowie and electronica, as extremes, which I just didn't understand. I now feel I know not only the bare history, but grasp a little of the culture and hysteria which accounted for its popularity.

And the Fugs were cool.

I'll write upon my return, but until then, many thanks. Regards,

Angus

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....so their you go. Track down some oh his writings and become both confused; and enlightened.

Angus and Josh endorsed.