What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

"Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip and come on up to the Mothership." From "Mothership Connection" by Parliament

Just finished reading the 500 page opus Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan. Sometimes I like a long book, and this didn't disappoint although the last fifty pages tended to drag. Perhaps I was tired of reading, or perhaps I was tired of hearing about Jann Wenner. The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic and the usual cast of characters gave it great accolades. Hadn't read such a long and thorough exposé about the music industry since Life, the Keith Richards autobiography. Like the industry itself, there's plenty of sex and drugs and rock and roll throughout the tome. Unfortunately, it's the same old story, same old song and dance with these showbiz insiders. Too much coke and too much smoke. The overarching theme tends to feel like a predictable script for a VH1 Behind the Music episode.

That's not to knock the book. It's a page turner with plenty of juicy gossip. Originally bought it because I wanted some perspective on the San Francisco music scene in the late 60's, plus information about Hunter Thompson and Tom Wolfe (The Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe, not the Look Homeward, Angel Tom Wolfe.). If I could jump in the Wayback Machine and beam back to the mid 1960's, my preference would be Carnaby Street in London. The Yardbirds, The Beatles, The Animals, The Stones, they all hung out there with thriving live performance venues. San Francisco in 1967 would be my second choice. Music mavens have said many times in many ways that it was a magical place. The Main Event until the Hells Angels killed a guy at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969 as the Rolling Stones sang "Under My Thumb". That ended the era of Peace and Love.

What I could glean from the book is that although Rolling Stone was instrumental in nationally amplifying Hunter Thompson's prominence as a political scribe, Wenner had a habit of stiffing him. Thompson, you may recall, was given Cult of Personality status from being caricatured as Uncle Duke in Doonesbury. Plus, his 'Fear and Loathing' books are second to none. I've never been fleeced for a freelance job, but the unfortunate reality for a writer is you get about one week's worth of wages for about a month's output. A day job helps. Making it in the arts and entertainment industry is like trying to win the lottery. Better to go for the gusto and write what you like.

Back in olden days, when Zine publishing was in it's heyday, I wrote a series of stories dubbed 'The Salvation Army of Books'. They were printed in a local Philly fanzine buy a couple of guys I knew. The scenario was simple. I'd go to thrift stores, buy twenty year old paperbacks for ten cents apiece, then review them. The books weren't the Harvard Classics, but were very popular in the 60's and 70's. You'd be amazed how much things change in twenty years. Leisure Suits didn't last too long. Neither did EST Therapy, Puka Shells, and Platform Shoes. The list goes on and on. I'd also buy the pulp novels for their covers. Some of the artwork was great. Catchy titles, too. Sweetheart You Slay Me. Honky-Tonk Homicide. The Two Timing Blonde. And so on a so forth. Fanzines are anther word for vanity press, but some of the output was phenomenal. Digital versions still exist on the Internet, but it seems like a young person's game.

Bought Sticky Fingers at Bronx River Books in Scarsdale, an independent bookseller. They have a great selection of nonfiction and novels. The entire village is trying to support it and I hope they make it. But it's a tough business, especially when they're battling artificial intelligence systems from the likes of Amazon. As I've stated earlier, I've discovered great new authors recommended by Amazon algos. Plus you can't beat the price. However, sometimes it's better to pony up to help an endangered species. Nevertheless, it's survival of the fittest.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile." From the movie Star Trek: First Contact

The Daily Beast described Sticky Fingers as, "The Essential American Biography For Our Times.". I disagree. It's primarily about Rock and Roll which peaked sometime in the 1980's. That was over thirty years ago. Although Wenner is a major celebrity hound and there's coverage of A-list movie stars throughout the book, it fizzles out by 1990. Problem being, it chronicles Rolling Stone Magazine until about 2015. In addition, about the last 100 pages of the bio focus on former macho man Jann Wenner coming out and getting married to a same-sex partner. He comes off as a hypocrite.

Wenner made a mint with the magazine, but he's been insignificant for years. Rock and Roll as we used to know it's been relegated to second-class citizenry with the advent of technology as a cultural force. That's why I believe Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is much more indicative to what's going on now. Both Steve Jobs and Jann Wenner dominated Pop Culture at one time or another. Both have also been described as narcissists, to put it mildly. Maybe they were just ahead of their time. Like the old adage goes, "Be kind to the people you meet on the way up, because you're going to meet the same people on the way down.".