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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Bangs spends almost half of the review of the album talking about the song ______, which Bangs believes is about a transsexual man.

2. Bangs suggests that the music of ______ was a natural reaction to the chaos of the late 1960s.

3. Bangs feels that Morrison has a unique talent to take a simple phrase and repeat it until it becomes something ______.

4. Bangs suggested that rock bands had become pretentious and therefore deserved to get pied in the face like ______.

5. Rock crowds had become convinced that bands were supposed to be objects of ______.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the observation that Bangs makes about the rock bands of the time and how they were seen by crowds?

2. Why does Bangs recommend the album "White Witch", even though it's difficult to tell whether he is being serious or not in this essay?

3. Why does Clark believe that he will still be around for years to come, as he says when talking to Bangs?

4. Why does Bangs speak so highly of the Van Morrison album, "Astral Weeks," in his essay?

5. What does Jon Landau do in response to the way that Lester Bangs writes about music, according to the essay?

6. What does Bangs believe about the show of David Bowie when he goes to promote it in his work?

7. What does Clark believe about the trend of glam rock when it is discussed with Bangs?

8. What does Bangs believe is the benefit of not knowing how to play an instrument, as he notes the Stooges were unable to do at first?

9. Who are some of the famous guitarists whose careers were launched by the Yardbirds rock band?

10. What happens when Bangs decides to chase his landlady back to her apartment as he is playing the saxophone?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bangs believes that a free style of music is much more effective than a more arty style, like Led Zeppelin.

Part 1: How would you characterize the music of Led Zeppelin?

Part 2: Do you think that free music is better than music which is more structured?

Part 3: Why do you think Bangs is more forgiving to free music?

Essay Topic 2

Bangs describes feeling more powerful as a result of the most masculine album that Reed makes in "Metal Machine Music."

Part 1: Why do you think powerful and masculine are two words that are associated with each other?

Part 2: Do you think that women singers can be powerful? Why or why not?

Part 3: How do you think a song can be made more powerful for the audience?

Essay Topic 3

Bangs is a music critic, someone who is paid to talk about his opinions about music, which sometimes are stilted and unbalanced.

Part 1: Do you think a music critic should try to be more balanced in their writing?

Part 2: Do you agree with most of Bangs' ideas about music?

Part 3: How do you think a music critic is able to criticize music without letting their own tastes get in the way? Is this possible?

(see the answer keys)

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