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Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock'N'Roll Paperback – September 12, 1988

by Lester Bangs (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 264 ratings
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Vintage presents the paperback edition of the wild and brilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popular rock critic of the 1970s--edited and with an introduction by the reigning dean of rack critics, Greil Marcus.
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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Anchor
  4. Publication date
    September 12, 1988
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.8 x 7.95 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780679720454
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679720454
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Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader
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Editorial Reviews

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ents the paperback edition of the wild and brilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popular rock critic of the 1970s--edited and with an introduction by the reigning dean of rack critics, Greil Marcus. Advertising in Rolling Stone and other major publications.

About the Author

Lester Bangs wrote for Creem, the Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. He died on April 30, 1982.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0679720456
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anchor; Reprint edition (September 12, 1988)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780679720454
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679720454
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.8 x 7.95 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 264 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
264 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a brilliant collection of rock music criticism, with one noting it's mandatory reading for music fans. The writing receives praise for its supreme quality, with one customer describing the sentences as beautiful. Customers consider the book worth its price.

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13 customers mention "Readability"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and brilliant, with several noting it's a must-read for music fans.

"...This book is brilliant. I will probably read parts of it over and over again for years to come. Reading it is like reading classic literature...." Read more

"Really good. Love this book." Read more

"...The short story he derived from Maggie May is the best short story I've ever read and worth the price of the book . He writes about More than Rock ...." Read more

"I had so much fun reading this book. It delivers the promise - rock n roll as literature and literature as rock n roll...." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing quality"7 positive3 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as supreme with words that matter, and one customer notes the rare energy in the sentences.

"...Parts of his writing are nothing short of beautiful. You can really feel the way that music was changing and becoming something different...." Read more

"...ONLY the greatest rock writer ;Lester Bangs is one of the greatest american writers period ...." Read more

"...Add that to the fact that he writes endlessly to little avail, picking up dozens of new threads of discourse..." Read more

"...His writing was so personal, so unique that I think it forever changed the face of criticism...." Read more

6 customers mention "Music criticism"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's music criticism, describing it as an excellent collection that explores rock n roll as literature.

"Not ONLY the greatest rock writer ;Lester Bangs is one of the greatest american writers period ...." Read more

"...It delivers the promise - rock n roll as literature and literature as rock n roll...." Read more

"...He really was a brillant music reviewer in his time and quite genious." Read more

"...Music is abstract...." Read more

3 customers mention "Value for money"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth its price.

"...from Maggie May is the best short story I've ever read and worth the price of the book . He writes about More than Rock ...." Read more

"...The purchase pays for itself (intrinsically) with the chapter focusing on his correspondences between Lou Reed...." Read more

"...Excellent condition for the price and the words are what really matter, right?..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Scott Sommers, PhD
    5.0 out of 5 stars Documenting a turn in human history
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It's taken me a long time to get into the book. At first, I didn't like it. My sense was that the personal style that Lester Bangs pioneered wasn't very informative. I put the book down for a while and started reading some other things. Over the summer, I was struck by what exactly I was reading. Reading Bangs is not just reading about his opinions, some of which might seem trivial or unsophisticated by contemporary standards. Reading Bangs is reading history in the making. The music he talks about is only part of this. He was a pioneer in a way of talking about not just music, but also in talking about the world. He is the expression of a new kind of consciousness about criticism and rhetoric. After that, I couldn't read him without feeling that his work was genius. Parts of his writing are nothing short of beautiful. You can really feel the way that music was changing and becoming something different. This book is brilliant. I will probably read parts of it over and over again for years to come. Reading it is like reading classic literature. It's not for everyone, and some parts are hard to get through. But once you have that feeling, the world is different.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jamonite
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
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    Really good. Love this book.
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  • Terry Barham
    5.0 out of 5 stars another discovery to mourn
    Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Not ONLY the greatest rock writer ;Lester Bangs is one of the greatest american writers period . The short story he derived from Maggie May is the best short story I've ever read and worth the price of the book . He writes about More than Rock . Clearly he could have turned his talent to short stories , novels , or anywhere in writing and been brilliant . It's always a good sign , for me , when a book receives only 5 stars or 1 from reviewers here - reliably a sign of great work some readers just won't " get ". Roger Ebert called him one of the only critics worth reading for their writing alone . As with John Kennedy Toole , I mourn the loss of what we could've had . Alas it seems the way with so many , who whet our appetites with their artistic genius and leave us too soon . Best said in Kerouak's beautiful meditation - "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!". That , truly , WAS Lester Bangs . Thanks !
    14 people found this helpful
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  • R. McOuat
    5.0 out of 5 stars We need you, Lester Bangs!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I had so much fun reading this book. It delivers the promise - rock n roll as literature and literature as rock n roll. On a sad side, this book, like anything by Hunter S Thompson, makes me wonder about writers who lived like rock n roll stars and burned out too early. Did Lester (like Hunter) establish a "gonzo" reputation that required excessive drinking and amphetamines only to burn out too young? Hindsight is 20-20. I kept rooting for Bangs to rally… to focus on his writing and avoid the booze. He seemed to have some much un-actualized talent. I would love to hear what he would have said about all the subsequent bands that came along. He missed MTV (for the most part) and grunge and Taylor Swift. I would have loved to hear his impressions.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Jook Savages
    3.0 out of 5 stars Supreme writing, dismal edition
    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    A simple average calculation has led me to giving this thing three stars only. Why? Because Lester's megatonic work is evidently the best thing you'll ever read (five stars and then some), but, unfortunately, Anchor's 1988 paperback edition (which is the item this page is about, the one you see pictured above) is truly pathetic (one star... and then less). This thing is printed so badly you have to GUESS whether you're looking at a period, a comma, a colon, a semicolon, ellipses... Question Mark and the MYSTERIANS, indeed! OK, so maybe it's possible I got the really short end of the damn stick and the problem is with my particular copy only. But if I were you, I'd stay away from this edition and try a different one, one in which you can enjoy Lester's writing in all its rockin' glory.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • pidhajnyk
    5.0 out of 5 stars Like a shot of Methadrine!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Reading Lester Bangs is something everyone should experience. His writing was so personal, so unique that I think it forever changed the face of criticism. All I could think when reading this book was "What would Lester write today?" I think he'd be more frustrated and angry about the state of 'rock music' than ever? If he had a problem with the shiny, plastic bands of the 70s? What the hell would he think of American Idol and The Voice today? What would he think of how ALL forms of music have become 'pop' and have all blended and morphed into one giant homogenized whole?

    Sometimes I think it's probably best that certain people die when they do (like Lester Bangs), because really if Lester didn't die when he did-he'd surely have wanted to blow himself up today! I can almost picture him self immolating after having to live through a decade of Brittany Spears, Christina Aguillera and bad rip-offs. . .he would probably be able to find some solace in the White Stripes and the Black Keys? But really, two bands with Black and White in their monikers does not a decade of popular rock music make! RIP Lester.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • MDix
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stream-of-consciousness commentary by Lester Bangs
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2013
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    An interesting and entertaining collection of Lester Bangs's critical commentaries on the state of the contemporary music scene during the 1970s.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • mandylyn
    5.0 out of 5 stars LB Forever
    Reviewed in Canada on June 26, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Required reading for any true audiophile. I love you Lester.
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  • jesus julian martin jimenez
    5.0 out of 5 stars explendido libro
    Reviewed in Spain on February 18, 2014
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    explendido libro que no es si no el reflejo de un personaje legendario en el mundo de la musica y la critica musical
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  • Daniel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
    Reviewed in Mexico on January 10, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Lester Bangs es uno de los mayores críticos de rock de todos los tiempos, para mi, lo mejor de este libro es la forma en que Bangs combina la literatura, con la historia y cultura norteamericana para crear sus textos. Ojo, no es fácil de leer, dejando de lado el hecho de que está en inglés, la jerga sesentera norteamericana y las referencias culturales de la época son abundantes. Lo recomiendo para cuando estás adentrado en el rock and roll
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  • Julia Posey
    5.0 out of 5 stars Para os que querem conhecer a metralhadora verbal e cultural que era Lester Bangs
    Reviewed in Brazil on June 26, 2022
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    Compilação dos textos de um dos maiores e mais polêmicos críticos de música que já existiu. Essencial para fãs de música. Lester Bangs era único!
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  • Scriv
    5.0 out of 5 stars great rock n roll scribe, true fan
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Fascinating to read his opinions on music from an era when it was worth listening to.
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