Lester Bangs never lived in Boston; by all accounts he probably never even visited The Hub. But in the middle of the critical and audience rave—How To Be A Rock Critic—we’ve dug through his writing to find out what the legendary rock critic thought of the music scene and rock criticism coming out of Boston in the sixties and seventies from afar. Bangs credited local band Black Pearl with developing the genre that…
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“In all, 26 ‘Norties’ went to various local and visiting companies and artists for outstanding work at venues around the greater Boston area.” – WBUR Congratulations to all of the winners. We are so proud to have two award winners from our 2016/17 Season: Outstanding Ensemble: “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” Druid Theatre Company presented by ArtsEmerson Outstanding New Script: “Mala,” by Melinda Lopez, ArtsEmerson Also, looking to the future, we are so excited to see the…
Lester Bangs is one of the most well-known critics of his generation because he epitomized the art form of writing about art. Obsessed with music, Bangs wrote: “Ultimately being a ‘critic’ just means wanting to inflict your tastes on other people. It’s a very honest impulse: I simply want you to like the same things I like. I need you to like them. Then I will not be alone.” Criticism is the art of persuasion,…
He helped popularize musical terms like “Punk Rock” and “Heavy Metal.” He’s been called “America’s greatest rock critic” and was fired from Rolling Stone Magazine for being “too mean” to the bands. Contrarian and cantankerous: Do you know Lester Bangs? For some, the most well-known cultural touchstone for Bangs is the largely adored Cameron Crowe film “Almost Famous” where Bangs was as portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. For others, it’s Bangs’ revered and widely…
The title of the one-man-show about Lester Bangs– How To Be A Rock Critic –is taken from a snarky self-deprecating piece the infamous music critic wrote for a Buffalo publication called Shakin’ Street Gazette in 1974. But on the heels of the production arriving in Boston this week, we were delighted to find out that this piece originally appeared in Boston alternative newspaper The Real Paper in 1973, albeit under a different title. Former Boston Phoenix…