Larson's Book of Rock [Paperback]

Bob Larson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1987

Larson describes the rock-music scene and offers practical advice on how to deal with rock music from a Christian perspective.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (November 17, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842356878
• ISBN-13: 978-0842356879
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A case study in Larson's Weaselhood, June 27, 2000

By 

Carrie Laben (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Larson's Book of Rock (Paperback)

As a previous reviewer noted, Larson was originally one of the ilk who claimed that the synchopated beat by nature caused evil orgiastic thoughts and demon possession. In this book he cheerfully claims that he never thought such a foolish thing. Instead he focuses on the sexuality and personal habits of various rock stars. As amusing as it is to read, this book stands as a monument to Mr. Larson's entire career of riding whatever scare-horse has been popular in fundamentalist circles, from rock music and Eastern religions in the '60s to UFOs, Marilyn Manson, and school shooting today.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Absurd!, April 17, 1999

By 

Gregory Klebanoff - See all my reviews

This review is from: Larson's Book of Rock (Paperback)

This is quite possibly the most absurd tripe I have ever read. Larson would have us believe that virtually every rock band in existence is a cohort of Satan. I find it difficult to accept that even he believes a word of it. You might want to read for a laugh, but it's not good for much else.--Greg Klebanoff

5.0 out of 5 stars If you really, really enjoy a comically bad canon of text, January 10, 2012

By 

The Imperator - See all my reviews

This review is from: Larson's Book of Rock (Paperback)

I got turned onto these silly things when I was in college, first semester writing comprehension--what, 1981? The instructor passed around 2nd semester papers so we'd get an idea what we had to write for term papers. One of my classmates, whose parents owned a bookstore, started giggling uncontrollably, waived me over (Mrs. T*** said OK), and told me I had to read the term paper, NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF ROCK MUSIC. Me: record nut. I read it; I laughed, too. Asked the instructor after class could I make a copy for personal interest, and vouched no other illicit uses. Bingo. I spent some months running down the bibliography and browsing book stacks. A whole bookshelf of this stuff, a personal interest.

The gist of most of the books in this genre is a) Rock music is the devil's spawn, b) the Beatles were EEEVIL and ushered in diabolical mind control in kiddie music, c) a concentration on a handful of the same "heavy metal" (before the "Hair Bands") such as Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osborne, Judas Priest, fill in blank here: (always the same cast of characters; it's like all the authors plagiarize the same material and change the words slightly), d) oh, yeah, don't listen to those Black records, too (early rap)! 80% of the books are not much text, a lot of grainy B&W photos of (the same parade of) album covers, snippets and examples. Scholarship and reading level in the low high school range at best. The last 20% of the books then say something akin to, "oh, yes, your parents need to throw away their Conway Twitty and Charlie Rich albums. They're EEEVIL, too," then "get rid of your easy listening and classical EEEVIL music, too!" Which leaves, ah, ha, that you can only get your lightweight pop fluff socially- and church-approved records (these books are all dated, circa 1985-ish; the same material gets recycled anew in every edition and title) from a Christian book chain. Ah, yes, I get it: a marketing strategy! Market segmentation!

These things are a fun read. Look up Dan & Steve Peters, Jeff Godwin (GREAT!), Steve Lawhead, and Jacob Aranza. If you want to see communists under your bed or hear them in your headphones, David A. Noebel.