Customer Reviews

I hate New Music the Classic Rock Manifesto

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This is a hilarious quick read. And, some of the sections provide useful information that will make you run to your iPod or MP3 player to update songs or listen to some of the classics.

This is not a serious read, but rather the author's opinion regarding the heyday of is favorite music, rock n roll. (Note no use of the ampersand or and). One of my issues with the book, though is that it's very anglophone and male focused. It's a veritable sausage party without any analysis.

That said, he is critical of the over-commercialization of rock music or new music of today. Anyone interested in music and pop culture will enjoy this book.

My suggestion: do not take this book seriously. Thompson (who has written memorably on Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers among others) declares in this tome that the only good music EVER was made between 1968-1976. Period. His acid words are so extreme they're laughable, and believe me, he knows it! But he's not going to back down for a book obviously undertaken as a self-indulgent rant against all things that annoy a grumpy baby boomer who remembers the good old days.

And the thing is, when he gets going on the stuff he loves and why (for example, Heart's lifting of every idea they had from Jimmy Page, but doing it so well he succumbs even to their folkiest moments as well), he's readable and full of fascinating detail.

Thompson, in this book, is Don Quixote, and iPods are his windmill. Tilting at them will never work, but you can't blame a grouch for trying.

When you strip away the caustic observations and bitter humor of Dave Thomson's I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto, what you're left with is a fierce, passionate love letter to the classic rock `n' roll (never rock and roll) bands the veteran music journalist cut his teeth on. The fact that those caustic observations and bitter humor are what makes I Hate New Music so much fun is an added bonus. It's Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota if you replaced Chuck Klosterman's wide-eyed farm boy with the bitter troll hunched over stacks of used vinyl at the local record show.

Thomson makes his case for the superiority of classic rock with razor sharp wit and the crushing, casual dismissal of contemporary sacred cows like R.E.M, U2 and Radiohead. The fact that he's (almost) completely wrong shouldn't deter anyone from enjoying this book for what it is. There's a reason they call music from that era "classic" rock, and Thomson's obvious passion for the music is extremely contagious. Whether he's holding forth on concept albums, double-live albums, benefit shows, whether or not Clapton is actually God, or the innate superiority of the 8-track (seriously), even when you disagree with the man you can't help but grin at his observations.

At just over 200 pages, I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto is a quick read, but it's also a wickedly funny one that pays tribute (in its own cynical way) to the greatest music ever made. If your radio is perpetually stuck on the classic rock station and you still spin Uriah Heep, Budgie and Mountain on a regular basis (even better if they're on vinyl), you have to check out I Hate New Music: The Classic Rock Manifesto. Turn it up.

An Impromptu review

Thompson rants off a snarky, pessimistic, bitter polemic against anything written since the mid-seventies, and much written before. His sentiments, aimed generally at rock and pop in the mainstream (though spraying widely) are understandable, but rather than seeking understanding through a broader context of societal and (music) industrial change, he spews his peculiar views, sloppy with vitriol sweetened lightly with wit yet still wet with tart venom. His prose has the informal and disorganized feel of a tirade. This book is interesting, though primarily as a case study, one pop-literate, pissed-off, opinionated reaction to dramatic changes in culture and art, rather than as a source of reliable information.

There ya go,
dca

The proviso being, yes, he's Caucasian centered, "rock" oriented, so he's critisizing that which he knows; don't confuse that with racism.

That said--and I'm only half way thru this book--I agree with everything he's said (except maybe a few examples he uses aren't bands I'd count as highly as he does). Does that mean that if HE'S right, then I'VE been right all along, because I've thought along the same lines? Possibly. Like any rant, you take it with a grain of salt as a knee jerk reaction. However, when you're as passionate about the music you listen to, and have the knowledge to analyze why the music you don't enjoy sucks, it borders on science. So when other music fans--nay, the full word, "fanatics"--say much the same thing....

I say he's got something here. Take it seriously, and don't mistake passion--or age--for curmudgeonly behavior! If even one tenth of newer artists were as passionate about their music
as those bands in the era Thompson takes as great, things would be a lot less formulaic, and dull, these days. But then, try and wrest creativity from Big Money...which is the root of all formula. And, no, new music doesn't all suck--that would be the curmudgeonly knee jerk reaction--you just have to dig around on the internet and elsewhere to find it.

It's a quick fun read and almost a music history primer for those who are curious about why us old curmugeons--long time music fans--are up in arms. I cracked a wide grin when I saw this book on the shelf... Damn straight, Dave!

(NOTE: I've finished reading this and my opinion has changed a bit. He digresses from the argument at exactly the next chapter i would have read next--12 I think--and goes off into laudatory praise
for who he holds in high esteem. This veers away from the premise. Plus he starts praising 8 TRACK TAPES of the pre-recorded variety. HUH? They were godawful dreck, maybe handy in the car, but at home, forget it! Gobs of tape hiss, and that blasted track change clunk in the middle of songs at times! The last chapter, he finally comes around and makes a fair enough point in summation. But then again he digresses into comedy--a short bit centered on what John Lennon's career would be like now--and a list of 100 songs he thinks are legendary from the era he's studying. Four fifths of these are just the usual pop that was alright to hear on the radio, but I for one wouldn't buy it, and would definitely not call legendary. I'm knocking a star off...
Kudos for having nailed the whys and wherefors; but due to the digression, also a little bit self serving.)

I was born the year that good music died according to Thompson. I abandoned most new music around the time I graduated from high school and started in college, in favor for classics by Led Zepellin, Bruce Springsteen and the likes. I enjoyed reading this book from the aspect of his historical description of the evolution of Rock music, especially since I was not around to witness it myself, but disagree with most of his opinions regarding new music and technology, and have a hard time believing that 8-Track tapes are superior to Compact Discs.

I've been waiting 4 years to someone write something like that!
If you have "D ear" to undestand music this is your book. I luv it! Perfection on Earth!!!
D Best!!!

I absolutely get the premise of the book, which is that "classic rock" died around 1977 (and he gives the many reasons why) and that there is really no hope for the phenomenon to be repeated (also lists the many reasons for it).

The author presents his theories and proofs thereof very well, but looses focus about 3/4 of the way in and finishes somewhat weakly. But it is a good and funny read if you love Sabbath,Led Zep, Beatles, Stones (and even Elton!).

Nevertheless, if for you "classic rock" is important, music is important and you grew up reading album liner notes like they were the word of God (for example, you actually know who Jim Marshall, Eddie Offord, Neal Preston and Eddie Kramer are) or because your first music collection was a vinyl LP collection, then you will have a lot of fun reading this book.

This book is fun to read. Author Dave Thompson is knowledgeable and funny, although you many not always find yourself agreeing with him.

For example, Thompson believes that 8-track tape was superior in audio quality to all other music formats, forgetting about tape hiss. In addition, some of his favorite bands are a little strange (he likes Black Oak Arkansas and treats Kiss as if they were more than just a joke).

There are times when you don't know whether Thompson is being serious, such as when he says about Bono: "The man's heart is just so huge, there's a place in it for everyone. A bit like God's..."

If you're a fan of classic rock and have come to the conclusion that there's no new music worthy of being interested in, you'll enjoy this book.

Dave Thompson is like that old man in his robe and slippers who goes out to pick up the morning paper only to find that his yard is T.P.ed and the kids are doing doughnuts on his front lawn. He shakes his cane at them, telling them that they will rue the day...

Was it Alice Cooper who said something similar about himself, since now he is semi-retired and mainly plays golf to while away his golden years? Or some so-called Rock Critic, trying to make a name for himself? Who cares? Iggy Pop is now Iggy Grand Papa, and even Dave Thompson is saying that Ozzy is too old and should never have appeared at Oz Fest, even though it was named for him. Finally, did anyone see The Who at the Super Bowl? It was rather sad to hear the most famous primal scream in Rockdom as the half time's most anti climactic Daltry moment.

I Hate New Music, the Classic Rock Manifesto, does bring up a valid point--that 1959 to 1976 was a very fertile period for music, and it is best when Thompson displays his passion about music that he really loves, or even when he is mourning the death of the 8-Track tape format! Where it falters is when he is just attacking new music easy targets, like shooting Phish in a barrel, or when he vents about things like Sgt Pepper's and how over rated it is.

I like a good screed as much as the next guy, but Thompson failed to impress me. Plus, he is very inconsistent, for instance, in his Classic Rock Manifesto, he claims that synthesizers have no place in rock, yet on his list of the top 100 Classic Rock tracks, there are synthesizers up the Grand Wazoo. He even lists an Emerson, Lake, and Palmer tune, as well as The Who.

Though this book was published in 2008, there is hardly any mention of rap or hip hop. You'd think that he'd be all over that, but he pretty much ignores it all together. I would have liked to hear a sharp critique of rap and hip hop, but the bands that he spends the most time berating are most often ones that at least try to carry on the Rock 'N' Roll tradition. They are derivative, while bands like Radiohead at least try to deconstruct the rock paradigm of Guitar, Bass, and Drums. So, if bands carry on the tradition, they are derivative, but if they try something new, he doesn't like them because they aren't carrying on the tradition. Also, punk rock is dismissed with hardly a mention. What about The Clash? Joy Division? The Smiths? Green Day? Smashing Pumpkins?

I just read another book on Rock that I liked much better. It was by John Perry, and it was all about The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. Too bad that book is out of print. It made a very good case for Exile being one of the milestones of The Rolling Stones' long and illustrious career. Another book that I liked more than I Hate New Music was Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock'N'Roll by Lester Bangs. That book was also the inchoate ramblings of an old man, but with infinitely more style and panache. Even when he was absolutely 100% wrong he was still entertaining to read.

Darn Thompson's got me doing it now. OK, I'll admit that I had a little fun reading this book, and Thompson does know quite a bit about the music, but what was up with an extended credenza on Jim Dandy and Black Oak Arkansas? Yet not a word about Link Wray's Rumble, or Be Bop a Lula by Gene Vincent?

I thought reading I Hate New Music would be like hanging out with Barry the opinionated record store clerk played by Jack Black in High Fidelity, but instead I am stuck with the dad who wanted to buy his daughter "I Just Called to Say I Love You" for her birthday.

"Everywhere I hear the sounds of marchin' chargin' feet, boy. 'Cause summer's here and the time is right for risin' in the streets, boy."

Schirmer's Classic Rock Albums Series, Editor Clinton Heylin: Exile On Main St.; The Rolling Stones, By John Perry (Paperback - 1999)

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'N'Roll by Lester Bangs (Paperback - Sept. 12, 1988)

Beggars Banquet
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Don't Look Back, More Than A Feeling
Led Zeppelin 1
Frampton Comes Alive!
Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best of Blue Öyster Cult
One More from the Road, Free Bird
Machine Head, Smoke on the Water

"But what can a poor boy do, except to sing for a Rock'N'Roll band? 'Cause in sleepy London Town there's just no place for a street fighting man. No."