The story would be nearly apocryphal had it not been documented with such fervor – Lester Bangs, loaded up on barbiturates, walks into a hotel room for an interview with his idol Lou Reed, the pasty, belligerent lead of The Velvet Underground, who was at the time releasing a body of solo work bordering on misanthropic. Resulting from that encounter was “Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves,” published by Creem Magazine in 1975. The interview is predictably pointed and colorful, the kind of exchange expected between two people with a profound love of music and all excesses of the spirit. With a reporter’s sensitivity, Bangs stripped down that encounter, dissembled all artifice of the musician and wrote words reminding us that rock stars are, after all, mere human beings.

Music journalism has come a long way since Bangs’ time. The freedom and immediacy of the Internet no longer restrict the task of criticism to privileged members of the media. Why read a music review when you can pirate the goddamn record and decide for yourself? We now have so many voices, opinions about everything, all of it fighting to be heard above the din. Musicians can now do away with journalists altogether, accessing fans through social media and direct distribution methods. Yet music magazines remain stronger than ever, and the debate over music—between musicians and critics—continues.

For this column, I want to wade through current events and releases to examine how our greater culture is affected, if at all. This is, of course, under the presumption, however naïve, that music is still transformative. “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” is a jab at the hero-worship of music and media, but it’s also a format that will allow me to showcase new or unsung talent, decry those with too much power and anticipate the exciting possibilities and futures of music. All of this, of course, will be based on loose practice, but my essential point is to celebrate music and musicians without forgetting their very human origins and purposes.

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To see more from Abe, visit http://evilmonito.com/author/abe/

Published on 31 January 2010 | |