General & Miscellaneous American Art, Rock & Roll - General & Miscellaneous, Individual Artists, Traditional Rock - General & Miscellaneous, Punk/New Wave, Pop/Op Art & the 1960s
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Overview
The Velvet Underground, among the most influential bands of all time, are credited with creating a streetwise, pre-punk sensibility that has become inseparable from the popular image of downtown New York. "Discovered" by Andy Warhol in 1966, the VU - with their original line-up of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Mo Tucker - would soon become the house band of the avantgarde, composing songs simultaneously furious in their abrasiveness and beautiful in their pathos, standing in striking contrast to the prevailing flower power of the era. All Yesterdays' Parties gathers for the first time almost all of the published writings contemporary with the band's existence-from sources as mainstream as the New York Times to vanished voices of the counterculture like Oz, Fusion, and Crawdaddy! The book is a revealing snapshot of an era by trailblazing rock writers such as Lester Bangs, Robert Greenfield, and Paul Williams. With photographs, posters, and other visual evocations of the period throughout, All Yesterdays' Parties is an invaluable resource, a trove of lore for anyone interested in the VU, their roots, and legacy.Synopsis
An invaluable resource, a trove of lore for anyone interested in The Velvet Underground, their roots, and legacy.
Gambit Weekly 7/19/05
"As a time capsule for the nascence of the alternative music media..All Yesterdays' Parties, is tops."
Editorials
Dave Itzkoff
Following a lucid and scholarly introduction, Heylin wisely lets these primary texts speak for themselves, and after Lester Bangs's bittersweet 1971 post-mortem on the recently broken-up band, it's arguable that another word never need be written about them.— The New York Times
NewBeats August 2005
"These collected writings serve as a time capsule of an era that can never be recreated ... The reference source."Gambit Weekly 7/19/05
"As a time capsule for the nascence of the alternative music media..All Yesterdays' Parties, is tops."Library Journal
British music journalist Heylin, noted for his biographies of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, now tackles the Velvet Underground (VU), a band whose influence far outweighed its popularity. The book is made up of a lengthy essay on the band's importance-Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Mo Tucker are credited with anticipating 1970s punk rock and bringing a streetwise realism to pop music-as well as a wide-ranging collection of reviews, articles, and reproductions of concert posters and flyers. Some of these materials are drawn from major publications (e.g., the New York Times and Rolling Stone), but most come from important underground publications; all date between 1966 and 1971, when the band was active. Heylin's unique amalgamation reflects the extremes of public reaction to the VU and achieves a balance that Andy Warhol-heavy books and gushing contemporary magazine retrospectives lack. An important resource for academic libraries with popular culture and American popular music collections; it may also interest public libraries, particularly those in large urban areas that maintain collections related to 1960s rock music.-James E. Perone, Mount Union Coll., Alliance, OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.Book Details
Published
February 1, 2006
Publisher
Da Capo Press
Pages
316
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780306814778