Rock & Roll &

Despite the latitude I've enjoyed at both Esquire and Newsday, I don't think I would have felt comfortable writing any of these five pieces anywhere except The Village Voice, where my aim was to extend my theory and my persona simultaneously--hence the column title, with that second ampersand trailing off into wherever. I hope these pieces indicate the way the two intermesh. If they're a little depressing, taken together, that's because they came out of a depressing time. Always the skeptic, I never really expected even a revolution in style, but the optimism of my co-culturists was infectious and the let-downs were major. Times don't seem any better now--they seem much worse, actually--but at least I'm resigned to them again.

Any Old Way You Choose It, 1973

Rock Is Obsolescent, But So Are You

Leaders and Parking Meters