Lester Bangs always seemed like a writer who got over his writers block by becoming a rock critic. He was smart, analytical, and funny, but his writing always seemed to veer outside of the idiom like it was a cage. I understand the thought process behind that (right: here’s what I’m supposed to do, now how can I subvert it in a vaguely topical way?), but ultimately I think that way of thinking is more about insecurity than insight.
But he really was quite a keen mind, and writing aside (although I truly love and am inspired by his writing), his insights into music and culture are extremely interesting outside of his prose. They’re also interesting in the context of today’s music culture and business.
Here is an interview with him,where he talks about the music business, the way rock’n’roll had developed, Zappa, elitism, the cultural affectations of the sixties, and a lot more, all in a meandering way. It’s divided up into 2 parts:
Part 1: [audio:LesterBangs_Side_1.mp3]
Part 2: [audio:LesterBangs_Side_2.mp3]
These are both about 45 minutes long, so I assume they’re each 1 side of a c90 cassette. I would guess that the interview was recorded somewhere around 1980 or so (he died in 1982). I don’t remember where I found them, but I imagine they’re available on archive.org, but you’ll have to search on your own.