meaning of c86; books about pop
>Books. (Spurious tone of authority off.) I have High Hopes & Excitement
>Avaiting the Duke's book; anyone read the two he named? I often find
>myself the only one in a room with a kind word for Greil Marcus-- for me
>he's the only "pro" (paid writer of whole books) who remotely approaches
>what good zines should sound like
Can't say I've ever finished a Greil Marcus thesis! I forgot one more to add
to the list of recent ones is Michael Bracewell's 'England is Mine' which is
again a good and funny read - very personal and idiosyncratic (which is what
I've always liked about fanzines), especially when it starts looking
seriously at Sham 69! lyrics. David Toop's 'Ocean Of Sound' wasn't bad
either ('ambient' through the ages). What they all have in common to me is
you get a sense of the writers personality, rather than someone trying to
write 'the definitive guide to' and be an authority, and they're usually
well written enough to keep reading when you don't know the music in
question anyway.