A Whore Just Like The Rest: The Music Writings Of Richard Meltzer

by Richard Meltzer

Overview

He is one of the inventors of rock criticism. His first book, The Aesthetics of Rock (acclaimed by Greil Marcus as "a disemboweling of rock's soft white underbelly"), became an instant cult classic when published in 1970. And for the next thirty years he fearlessly expanded the boundaries of music writing. Now he has collected the best of his prodigious output into a gonzo sampler of the reviews, profiles, interviews, and essays that form the heart of his rockwriter legacy. Traveling from psychedelia to the "dinosaur-rot early '70s" to the redeeming majesty of punk and the constant solace of jazz, this will stand as a remarkable document of an era by a singular voice in music writing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306809538
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	04/14/2000
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Richard Meltzer is the author of over a dozen books, including A Whore Just Like the Rest — winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award — and innumerable articles. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Read an Excerpt

Well, for starters, I invented this shit. Rock writing. I was first. Well maybe not literal first, just one of the first two-three-four, probably the first to take the ball and actually run with it; certainly the sole early manjack you're still reading now. Before Lester Bangs was, I am (and he's dead). Which, heck, I dangle as neither credit nor debit — just my way of saying hi.

Editorial Reviews

This book is akin to that best-of episode of your favorite sitcom that strings together the juiciest punch lines of seasons past. Unlike most sitcom one-liners, Metzler's could actually knock you out. This trip down memory lane, via the author's past writing clips with updated introductions, provides an uncensored insider's view into the formative years of the contemporary rock scene. Overall, however, the history takes a backseat to Metzler's groundbreaking writing. His early album and concert reviews set the stage for countless copycat critics eager to steal Metzler's flare. (They're still trying.) Much like The Nick Tosches Reader (LJ 4/15/00), also published by Da Capo, this work is a chronicle of creative critique writing. Essential for anyone entertaining thoughts of a writing career, this is recommended for all academic and larger public libraries with an extensive music catalog.--Robert Morast, Pro Rodeo Sports News, Colorado Springs Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Library Journal

...thought-provoking, funny and genuinely original...one of the most life-affirming books you may ever encounter.

New York Press

Meltzer is a stylish and substantive writer - provocative and incisive.

The Boston Globe

This collection fo literature, rescued from pop sludge magazines, documents one of the greatest collisions of art and journalistic drudgery. Great writing always finds a venue.
—Artforum

Glenn O'Brien

...essential to anyone interested in the genesis of writing on rock.

Billboard