Shots From The Hip
A series of reviews from CSM mainly music related from back in the day to when the book was published in the early 90s. Charles had a particular style which I enjoyed reading in the late 70s when I was an avid NME reader. He's very enthusiastic about the bands that he likes and ones that are authentic (although I guess that's very subjective) and very scathing about the bands he doesn't like or such as flabby white rock groups. I guess that my musical and political tastes coincided with CSM, and the NME in general, meant that I appreciated his reviews and writing. In re-reading some of CSM's articles they haven't lost any of their wit or relevance. In fact rather than seem dated Charles' thoughts are prescient both in musical predictions and his musings on society in general and the music industry's place within it. I was personally impressed by his references to punk in early articles and his understanding in the mid 70s that the New York protopunks and subsequent London punks would blow away the dinosaurs of rock, albeit temporarily and albeit for some of us, and bring rock to ground zero. I also loved his love of blues. Now I'm sure that any compendium of journalistic articles will pick out the ones that are the best written and predict the future but having read so much of CSM in the 70s and early 80s I know that he authored an awful lot of current and entertaining copy. And that's the beauty of this book, it is entertaining whether Charles being enthralled by a first Ramones gig or taking the piss out of the rock establishment. Hey ho let's go.
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