Lester Bangs (1948-1982) was an influential American music journalist / critic / author / musician. Maria Bustillos of The New Yorker described him as ‘truth-teller’ but also as ‘a wreck of a man, (…) fat, sweaty, unkempt — an out-of-control alcoholic in torn jeans and a too-small black leather jacket.’ In short, someone about whom many stories are still circulating (read Jim DeRogatis’s biography Let It Blurt if you want to know more). Several songs had already been made about him and today this promising (digital) single / video is added, of The Mitchums’ new album Wet Log due out this spring. The track – with a trombone in addition to the usual guitars and drums! – pays tribute to the memory of ‘the most famous rock critic of all time’, the lyrics are an excerpt from Bangs’s book Psychotic reaction & Carburator dung. The music is available via Espora Records.
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