Shark Between Period (3-3) Book Reviews
When I was a younger lad, the term "post-punk" sent me running for beer and an Eddie Money record. I had no interest in gender politics set to stop-and-start no-rhythms and bleated out by a fat lesbian with acne. Simon Reynold's Rip It Up and Start Again made my youth feel small. He made me feel as if transgender cries for liberation set to a primitive reggae beat were something to worship. Well, at least he had me going for awhile. The first half of the book is a fairly engaging exploration of some pretty terrific bands that took the the punk ethos and went in tangential directions. The second half is a joke that takes Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Adam and the Ants seriously. That said, I wholeheartedly recommend this if only to illuminate your ignorance about a time and a place you might have discounted because you did not want ideas getting in the way of your good time. Just check the chapter titles for the last two hundred pages and read selectively.

I finally delved into the cleverly marketed 33 1/3 series of writers opining at length about their favorite albums. This is a perfect fit for the aging obsessive looking to reconnect with the glories of his youth and bond spiritually with at least one other sad and pathetic geek. Sadly, nobody delivered a version for the Brainbombs' It's a Burning Hell, so I started with Andy Miller's take on The Kinks' We are The Village Green Preservation Society, and it was an enjoyable, if workmanlike, effort. If you've read Ray Davies' X-Ray, you'll have most of this info, but Miller's narrative provides context and makes a case that this is the greatest of all Kinks' efforts, and I humbly agree. Plenty of studio details, and loads of song context. If you're a Kinks fanatic, which I've become in my middle years, you'll have a fine two hours.