Blowing It Up, Part Two Summary and Analysis

The essay "James Taylor Marked for Death" begins with a discussion of the British band the Troggs, best known for their hit "Wild Thing." Bangs writes that the band derived its name from the word troglodyte meaning, in this case, caveman. Less plausibly, Bangs claims that the name was inspired by a group of British youth who were actually living in caves at the time of the band's formation, which leads Bangs to wish that the band would have inspired a caveman movement in America. Bangs deeply admires the Troggs for making both incredibly sexual music but also surprisingly innocent love songs. Thinking about the band's songs, sends Bangs into a lengthy discussion of some of his adolescent sexual exploits, which is likely meant as a tribute to the power of the Troggs'...