"Apathy for the Devil"

"Apathy for the Devil" as the aptly named title of Nick Kent's new book, a recollection of his days as a self-absorbed but supremely talented rock journalis in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Nick Kent's second book was published 25 years after the firstKent did some amazing work during that period (as noted in a previous post on Kent's first book) but became his own worst enemy. Hanging out with drug-addled musicians for days on end led to him taking drugs for days, weeks and months on end. At some point, your work suffers and your boss at New Musical Express takes notice. Kent skated on his talent and charm for years but after a while, he burned too many bridges in the music and publishing business.

"Apathy for the Devil" is an enjoyable book, but Kent is exasperating. While he takes light blame for his general woes, too often he sees demons that probably weren't there. For example, The Sex Pistols seemed to spend much of their waking hours plotting how to beat, cajole and otherwise snuff Kent, all for reasons Kent can't fathom. He has a love affair with a then-unknown Chrissie Hynde but hasn't a clue why she suddenly dumped him. Later, during a long unstructured but totally NME-funded reporting assignment in Los Angeles (can you imagine the expense account?) he nearly dies through violence and drugs. Again, he points to enemies, be they John Bonham or angry managers.

That incredulity on Kent's part to understand why he's so disliked resurfaces throughout the book. Lather, rinse, repeat. To Kent's credit, he delivered some potent criticism of the musicians he covered -- some of them close friends, even drug buddies -- so backlash was inevitable. But Kent's blame game gets old after awhile.

I read the Kindle edition of "Apathy for the Devil" because a print edition was not yet available but it's easy to see why Kent has been slow to regain a publisher 25 years after his first book arrived. He clearly was his own editor, a mistake for someone so full of themselves. And while this book doesn't come close to the more focused "The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music," it's a breezy, fun read for fans of glam, early punk and the underside of some of rock's biggest names. 

When your heroes don't age well

Rock journalist/musician Mick Farren was one of my heroes as a teen. I loved his monthly columns in Trouser Press magazine, where he came across as a genius, the little man taking on the machine. I was a wide-eyed teen/young adult at the time, discovering my own sense of right and wrong, but Farren seemed like the real deal. He was a musician turned journalist, so had some street cred.

Fast forward 30 years to this interview with Farren, promoting "Speed-Speed-Speedfreak: A Fast History of Amphetamine." I don't have anything against anyone writing a history of speed, particularly when it was government sanctioned at one point. But this interview, while interesting enough, just crushed all illusions I had of Farren as a rock god, a voice of my generation.

Granted it's been 25 years since I read anything by him (I was unaware he was cranking out unknown books by the dozens, but have bookmarked his blog). But these days he's a stumbling, bumbling, hacking shell of his former self.

To my two daughters, I hope you watch this. This is what happens when you abuse drugs.

"That Metal Show"

The promise of cable TV -- and now the Internet -- is the ability to serve quality programming to niches.

One of the better examples is VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show," a weekly roundtable talk show that treats hard rock and metal with respect but still keeps a nice level of low brow. New York DJ Eddie Trunk is the ringleader, but co-hosts Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson are no slouches in adding humor, knowledge and tough questions of the weekly guest.

The number of star musicians interviewed over the course of five seasons is a who's who's of metal, both well-known and should-be-known.

A centerpiece of the show is "Stump the Trunk,"  an interactive element where audience members try to best Trunk's metal IQ with questions that are all over the metal map. It's amazing how often Trunk comes out on top, answering arcane questions from fans who are hardcore beyond belief. Trunk and the guest(s) often are the only people in the studio not wearing a metal T-shirt.

Whether you're a metalhead or just a fan of music, the show is a fun and informative 30 minutes (w/extras online).