Jeff Pike tackles Eminem’s “Kim” in his Top 100 songs series, which is well worth perusing in its entirety.
I thank Jeff for giving a shoutout to my own piece about “Kim”, one of those posts that I definitely hesitated over before hitting “Publish”. But I was instantly glad I wrote it. I stand by my assessment. I am glad to hear from others who respond to that brilliant trainwreck of a performance.
Thanks, Sheila. Some great, great stuff on Lester Bangs today — both the one you wrote and the one you found. Those notes for the review have long been one of my favorite single pieces by him. But I halfway think, first impressions, that that essay by the Goodreads woman (“Helena”) is right in the vicinity as well, at least as good on Bangs as Bangs was on Elvis, and Bangs of course was very good on Elvis. Have been reading the Legs McNeil/Gillian McCain oral history of New York punk-rock this week and Bangs shows up there too, as always a strange, gnomic, chameleonic figure. Even in photos he looks so different sometimes you wonder if it’s actually the same person. On the alien from outer space issue, I think this might be a case of “takes one to know one.”
// On the alien from outer space issue, I think this might be a case of “takes one to know one.” //
Ha! Totally. Lester Bangs is uncanny in a similar way.