Perspective

Bangs is simultaneously a huge fan of rock and roll, a rock musician himself, and one of the most relentless critics of the genre. Bangs was born in Escondido, California in 1948. His father died when he was five years old after which his mother became a devout Jehovah's Witness. It is possible that Bangs' writing was influenced by this religious faith as it often exhibits a certain sincere righteousness although never about traditionally spiritual topics. Bangs published his first review in 1969 when still only twenty years old. It was a highly negative review of the Detroit rock band MC5's first album published in "Rolling Stone." The review reveals two things about Bangs' style of criticism: he tends not to like almost anything on the first listen, and he is more than willing to change his mind as evidenced by the fact that Bangs grew to love the...