Jesus Was Way Cool [Paperback]

John S. Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2001

As the leader King Missile, John S. Hall pricked the ears of society with tales like "Detachable Penis", "Take Stuff from Work", and our title track, "Jesus Was Way Cool". His work is familiar to listeners of contemporary radio, with the song "Detachable Penis" among the most recognizable.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (February 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887128158
• ISBN-13: 978-1887128155
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,684,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John S. Hall knows where it's at., September 11, 2004

By 

L. A. Ruocco "(Laruocco) Art Literary Giant" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus Was Way Cool (Paperback)

John S. Hall knows where it's at. This book is my favorite & nicest collection of masterpieces of poems ever. His mixes of mysticism, religion, pop sexual blatancy & the essential concepts of world philosophy finesse into normal sentences that are so nice they can be sung or voiced to melody... & he does do that on cd's & on stages.
I've seen the title piece "Jesus Was Way Cool" quoted in dictionaries like Shakespeare to define language. My other favs like "Open" & "Sensitive Artist" are just a few more cornerstone watermarks for history. ( John, does that part make sense? please edit ...he didn't get back to me fast enough, im writing this on my own, usually he helps me, he wrote the intro to my first great Work, "document zippo" & i consulted him & referenced him in dialogue prose in "Xero, turn-of-the-millenia," he is also my attorney. i wonder if he can sue himself for this.)
Compared to his newer pieces like "America Kicks Ass" which is brilliantly...[i was going to have him edit this part & make this a sentence] his Work sustains itself blah blah [actually can you end it for me please? i asked him, but these are important times, & he is probably doing something important right now & perhaps even political!]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite poetry, April 9, 2001

By 

Peter Imes (Columbus, MS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus Was Way Cool (Paperback)

Okay, I'm not that big of a fan of poetry myself, but Hall's writing is genious. I first learned of Hall through King Missile- a band that basically takes John's poetry and places some wack music in the background. I loved the lyrics of the songs and Jesus Was Way Cool offers almost the same entertainment as the music.

All of the works here are extremely clever, funny and entertaining. Most of the pieces are almost stream-of-conscious and leave you wondering what it would be like to be in the author's head. You don't have to be well-read to enjoy this poetry even though it is obvious that Hall is. His references to history and use of words illustrate that point.

To really enjoy the poetry though, I highly recommend listening to King Missile. If you like this poetry, hearing John speak the words he writes will double your listening pleasure.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars really funny, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jesus Was Way Cool (Paperback)

Really funny, more fun to read than most poetry books (whoops, that probably makes me sound uncultured) -- but you might have to be a King Missile fan to appreciate it completely.