This is a grab bag, really. So how's this for order?
Words about spielgusher
- From Magnet, MP3 at 3PM, with "Begins with S" from the coming album.
- Discussion or news of the album should be found in the January 2012 issue of The Wire. Virtually the same story and clip about "journalist Richard Meltzer" at Blurt, although they show less bafflement than Magnet.
1. Direct words about his writings.
The Aesthetics of Rock
- Los Angeles Times reviewed the Da Capo edition back in 1987. Here're their pages by Kristine McKenna.
LA is the Capital of Kansas
- Los Angeles Times has a reivew by Alex Raskin here.
The Night (Alone)
- I like this review for the subtite:Richard Metlzer Approximates the Awkward Ballet of Speech
A lot for A Whore Just Like the Rest
- Hermenaut's James Parker reviews A Whore Just LIke the Rest: The Music Writings of Richard Meltzer, midway down the page.. I like this end of article contrast: " Let's say amphibious, a creature between states. He's a bitter old bastard. He's a genius. He's a hundred-foot pillar of flame before which all sad hacks, sacked heads, and had-it sacks (and I mean me) should be a-kneeling." A creature between states - a good way to describe rock'n'roll.
- Even Entertainment Weekly had two cents to chip in.
- Words about his collaboration with the band Smegma, the beast.
- The San Diego Reader's John Brizzolara has some thoughts to share c. 2000 AD in A Trickster and a Mischief Maker
A blogger's verdict? "Don’t bother with the book, and avoid him at parties."
Autumn Rhythm
- Here's a review in the Charlotte Creative Loafing blog, Rock Critic as Geezer by Fred Hill.
- There's a review of the book's placement, interestingly: Richard Can't Dance
2. "Meltzer's Milieu" - RM, Tosches, Bangs, Marcus, Christgau, BOC, SWU, and many more.
- An interesting place to start is SUCK's Rock 'n' Roll Middle School by Hypatia, as it follows The impact of Aesthetics of Rock into its future and the broader rock-crit scene.
- The Boy Who Cried Freebird by Mitch Myers, reviewed HERE contains a variation on that theme I Haven't read the book, though. Caveat Emptor, as always.
- 1st person recollections about RM from one of the more well known figures in Meltzer's past work experience come from Robert Christgau and a decent summation ("I dunno--maybe Meltzer's from Triton and I'm from Uranus." Don't we all have that kind of planetary distance?). It is found on Christgau's site here: Impolite Discourse as well as this earlier summation c. 1970.
- Critical Mass: The Lester Bangs Legacy, by Matt Ashare, reviews A Whore Just Like the Rest and Let It Blurt, and The Nick Tosches Reader. Talk about acquaintances!
- The Buffalo Rock Symposium of 1974, during which hijinks happened, Patti Smith said something along the lines of "anything that Richard Meltzer does is rock'n'roll." RM's recollection of the event is a value added bonus.
- More of the same like as the ones above, but reviewing A Whore Just Like the Rest and The Nick Tosches Reader, and written by Jim Derogatis. It's The Noise Boys,
3. General broadsides/pieces on RM
- One of the most lengthy ones is this: Richard Meltzer, Noise Boy from LA Weekly.
- My favorite 'bio' is this piece on The Dictators' web site: A Brief History of Our Hero.
- Blastitude, Number One in 2000 AD, has Big Shit About Heraclitus, written at A Whore Just Like the Rest's publication.