Being for the Benefit of Sgt. Pepper

I'm truly beginning to hate rock critics. It seems the more relevant the subject matter, the more irrelevant they reveal themselves to be. For example, Jim DeRogatis has recently published a book entitled Kill Your Idols, a collection of essays meant as a "carbon copy/evil flip side/sarcastic Generation X response" to an earlier collection called Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island featuring Dave Marsh, Lester Bangs, etc. praising their favorite rock and roll recordings.



On his website, DeRogatis describes his book as "a spirited assault on a pantheon that has been foisted upon us." Not only is this miles away from being an original concept, I find it to be incredibly hypocritical from a man who not only has written for Rolling Stone (the vehicle that more or less built the aforementioned pantheon), but who also questions "whether an art form as loud, rude and unruly as rock 'n' roll should even have a canon in the first place." Then why add to it with this self-important compilation? I resent the smug notion that I, or any other rock fan, love Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band because I am unconsciously attaching a undeserved cultural relevance to it. This is a completely antiquated notion, and it seems as though DeRogatis (who is closer to a baby boomer than the GenX'er he claims to be) may not only be experiencing a midlife crisis, but has lost his sense of cultural perspective. Sgt. Pepper's has not endured because of its listeners' feelings of nostalgia, even if it supposedly captured the spirit of its day. He also contradicts himself when he compares the album to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, betraying his argument (however inconsistent) that music should be listened to objectively. Granted, Pet Sounds is a far superior album, but that's not the point.



I guess the real point is that this book has already been done to near perfection. It's called Worst Rock-And-Roll Records of All Time by Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell. This book is not only hilarious, it contains far superior writing and a genuine sense of humor, more a pie-in-the-face compared to the humorless stoning offered up by DeRogatis and friends. Guterman and O'Donnell sum their ideals up thusly:

An important part of being a good rock and roll fan is reveling in songs so laughable it's hard to believe any sane record company released them. We have two goals here: to be funny and to infuriate.

In other words, like all good assassins, they ultimately turn the gun on themselves in the end. They never claim to be above listening to a Melanie record, they merely pretend to be above praising it.



I think they succeed where DeRogatis fails.