Unpublishable Part One Summary and Analysis

"Fragments, 1976-1982" is a series of random notes Bangs wrote on a variety of subjects. In two of them, Bangs writes about he and his friends hate answering the telephone. Bangs describes himself as more social than most of his friends, who all seem almost completely isolated, but not by much. For instance, Bangs relates the anxiety caused by a simple trip to a convenience store. One of the shorter pieces seems to be a pep talk Bangs wrote to convince himself that he was not yet old at thirty. In the last short piece, Bangs urges readers to read authors who respect them and think for themselves.

At the beginning of "Notes on PiL's Metal Box, 1980" Bangs wonders if Johnny Rotten's (also known as John Lydon) music is justified as the record of a ruin civilization...