Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Lester Bangs on Elvis

The concluding paragraph of Lester Bangs' famous obituary:

“If love is truly going out of fashion forever, which I do not believe, then along with our nurtured indifference to each other will be an even more contemptuous indifference to each others’ objects of reverence. I thought it was Iggy, you thought it was Joni Mitchell or whoever else seemed to speak for your own private, entirely circumscribed situation’s many pains and few ecstasies. We will continue to fragment in this manner, because solipsism holds all the cards at present; it is a king whose domain engulfs even Elvis’. But I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis. So I won’t bother saying good-bye to his corpse. I will say good-bye to you.”

2 comments:

topmo said...

Honest. Succinct. Provocative. No indifference to Lester from this seat.

topmo said...

Cecil Hurt tweeted he wished he could write like Lester Bangs. I wish I could write like Cecil Hurt.