DRUNK, STONED, BRILLIANT, DEAD: The Writers and Artists Who Made the national Lampoon Insanely Great, by Rick Meyerowitz "Well, this is a book done by an artist. I waited 35 years for some writer to tell the story. And they didn't do it. When I decided to do this book, my thought was, here's a chance to do a book that includes the artist. The magazine really was built, in a lot of ways, around its imagery. And its imagery was fantastic. There was a team of people that were supplying those images. Like Michael Doret, who did a few … [Read more...]

Cover of Booker T. & The MG'sDigitally enhanced combovers for aesthetically thirsty underdawgs...More Keef Ink: The redoubtable Bill Wyman (yes, that Bill Wyman) prints a scathingly ravaged letter from brother Jagger about Life with a capital L. One of the better band briefs yet wrought, outflanking the need for Sir Mick to write his own. BEST OMITTED SUBTEXT: why Jagger never warned Lennon off Allen Klein.  Followup on Wyman's Hitsville here. Same Old: For a book I admire, I'd be a lot more tempted to go along … [Read more...]

Image by Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis via FlickrMaybe flavor of the month, but @Discographies has its moments: Big Star/Nick Drake: 1 Immortal songs about hope; 2 and girls; 3 and loss, time-traveling forward to a future that would someday hear them.And it's NOT Xgau. Oh, can we make requests? Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground, Beach Boys, Byrds. Eyeweekly.comNME.co.ukPoptenPaste.comRelated articles by ZemantaSumming up bands' careers in 140 characters (holykaw.alltop.com)Bands careers in 140 characters (wiretotheear.com)Remember … [Read more...]

Image by triley60 via Flickr...But Tim Riley, who just finished his big bio John Ono Lennon, hails Nowhere Boy's musical authenticity and "weird mother/son/aunt love triangle, one of the most screwed-up relationships ever." Riley screened it for his Emerson College students, who loved it, though for them it was "a weird time warp." Keith Richards they know (if only from Pirates of the Caribbean). "Their parents dragged them to Rolling Stones shows." But early Beatles seem remote. Riley … [Read more...]

Ephemera for Complicated Souls... Quote of the Week: Of all the preposterous things Keith Richards said on Fresh Air last week, his Altamont quote has to be the most offensive (cue: 27:40): "Meredith [Hunter], who went down in this scene... he was asking for trouble... " Right, that's what we've all learned from Altamont: blame the victim. Horse-hockey. At the end he signs off saying, "Nice try, Terri," which goads her into a huge laugh. Here's your new Frank Sinatra: irresistible musician, repulsive human being. Almost ironically, the BBC … [Read more...]

Visual Storytelling … [Read more...]