No more after this, I promise.
“There was a lot of garbage, but there’s always a lot of garbage. There’s a lot of garbage now. My basic rule of thumb when it comes to anything, whether it’s movies, music, or books is at least 90 percent is going to be shit. At least, and sometimes it will get up to 99 percent shit. Only a tiny fraction of anything at any one time is going to be really good.”
I’m pretty sure we’re at the 99 percent threshold right now.
OK, OK, he’s right and I will read his book. I was only pointing out before that we are all inclined to hyperbole, and that there is nothing brave or heroic about listening to music. Not unless listening can get you thrown in jail.
I don’t think he’s saying it’s heroic to listen to music, I think he’s saying that the real rock part is pushing so hard you’re overdriving the mic, and the techs letting it go because it isn’t that important. This is Marcus-ian secret history, teasing meaningful details from what happened, if (or especially) no one was thinking such thoughts then.
That he brings this up in the context of the Ramones drives the point home.
I like this type of thing, it helps one think about things in a different way, but it is a mistake to think of it as more than an argument. Could be a good one, could be bullshit.