I’m on vacation this week so I brought my daughter, A, down to the city pool. I’m sitting here under an overcast sky reading a book while she swims watching two lame lifeguards compare their dance moves to Maroon 5’s This Love blasting over the P.A. Is this what suburban moms do all summer? Yikes, I’m not missing much.
The book I just finished was We Got the Neutron Bomb by Marc Spitz and Brendan Mullen. It documents the late 70’s to early 80’s punk music scene in Los Angeles. I like the way it is written because it is basically strings of quotes categorized by topic. The L.A. scene definitely has its own flavor compared to the Brits or New York City. Who knew that such varied acts as The Germs, The Go-Go’s, The Blasters, X, Black Flag, and Los Lobos came out of the same scene? M, you might like to read this one! Lots of quotes from The Go-Gos!
X is currently on the road. If you have a chance to see them, I would recommend it. I saw them in 2003 and they were very good, although Exene seemed a bit fragile.
The first chapter, which makes a case for Jim Morrison being the godfather of punk, is worth reading. I heard Iggy Pop tell the same story on a music show and it killed me! There is a documentary that was made called The Decline of Western Civilization about the scene that is not released on DVD. Of course some of the main players state in the book that the documentary did not fully capture the scene. Until it is released, a good companion doc is Mayor of Sunset Strip. The documentary focuses on the life and times of Rodney Bingenheimer, who is quoted in the book quite a bit. This documentary is a fascinating look at the L.A. music scene, but most of all about being a fan or being near celebrity. Be ready for a laundry list of celebrities making an appearance and also some sad moments. Feeling something! --J
No comments:
Post a Comment