Jann Wenner, ‘Rolling Stone’ Founder, Thinks Rock is Dead
Jann Wenner launched Rolling Stone in 1967 at age 21. At age 76, his feelings on rock music, the backbone of his tenure helming the magazine, have significantly changed. Wenner took…
Jann Wenner launched Rolling Stone in 1967 at age 21. At age 76, his feelings on rock music, the backbone of his tenure helming the magazine, have significantly changed.
Wenner took part in an interview with The New York Times to promote his new memoir Like A Rolling Stone. The feature kicks off with a bold intro: "Rock may be dead, but Jann Wenner is still rolling." Later in the piece, Wenner is quoted saying of rock music, "I'm sorry to see it go. It's not coming back. It'll end up like jazz."
On top of that, Wenner had some choice words about the Rolling Stones referring to the band in his book as an "oldies review." He told NYT about seeing the Stones live, "Since I have to use a cane to get around, going to see them at a coliseum, it’s just like, why? It’s an interesting show, but I’ve seen it 20 times." (Wenner would tell Dowd if the Stones played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn near his home in Montauk, he would attend.) Wenner added, "Now they're older and Keith has certainly slowed down. Mick is still a miracle, but he's so old looking. I don't mind, but they look like people out of 'Lord of the Rings' or something."
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Wenner's memoir comes just over five years after the release of Joe Hagan's Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. While Wenner chose Hagan, himself, to pen the book, he told NYT, "I made a terrible choice of a writer, who turned out to be a gossip reporter more than a really careful in-depth writer." Wenner added, "I gave him this great opportunity to look at my archives, but he was too interested in the sensational gossip stuff."
In response to Wenner's statement to NYT, Hagan replied, "I still have an affection for Jann and I’m flattered that I could inspire him to write his own book, even if he fails to credit me."
Hagan noted, "While his ‘gossip’ comments are hilarious coming from the former publisher of Us Weekly, I also find it sad how blind he is to the journalistic ambition of my book, which was an homage to the style and spirit of Rolling Stone at its best — Jann’s true legacy."
Perhaps, the only way to get any sort of understanding of Wenner is to read both Sticky Fingers and Like a Rolling Stone, which comes out tomorrow (September 13.)
It's no secret that some Rolling Stone album reviews haven't aged as well as the albums they initially slammed.
Here are just five debut albums that have gone on to become iconic that were panned upon release by Rolling Stone.
Led Zeppelin - 'Led Zeppelin I'
AtlanticJohn Mendelsohn spent the bulk of his review comparing Zeppelin to the Jeff Beck Group. Mendelsohn saved his harshed critique for Jimmy Page calling him "a very limited producer and a writer of weak, unimaginative songs" and that "the Zeppelin album suffers from his having both produced it and written most of it (alone or in combination with his accomplices in the group.)" It's a good thing Jimmy improved a little in the writing department, right?
Black Sabbath - 'Black Sabbath'
Warner Bros.Lester Bangs tore Sabbath a new one in his review on their debut writing, "The whole album is a shuck...the album has nothing to do with spiritualism, the occult, or anything much except stiff recitations of Cream cliches that sound like the musicians learned them out of a book, grinding on and one with dogged persistence...The even have discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like velocitized speedfreaks all over each other's musical perimeters yet never quite finding synch - just like Cream! But worse." Bangs may have been lauded as "America's greatest rock critic," but we're sure there are plenty disagree with his assessment here.
Van Halen - 'Van Halen'
Warner Bros.Charles M. Young declared in the first sentence of his review on Van Halen's debut, "Mark my words: in three years, Van Halen is going to be fat and self-indulgent and disgusting, and they'll follow Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin right into the toilet." It's pretty safe to say that Charles was a little off in his prediction.
Jimi Hendrix Experience - 'Are You Experienced'
RepriseIt's difficult to imagine anyone saying anything negative about the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but Jon Landau found a way. While Landau praised songs like "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe" and "The Wind Cries Mary," he wrote of the rest of the album, "Everything else is insane and simply a matter of either you dig it or you don't. Basically, I don't for several reasons. Despite Jimi's musical brilliance and the group's total precision, the poor quality of the songs and the inanity of the lyrics too often get in the way." Yeah...whatever, Jon.
AC/DC - 'High Voltage'
AtlanticBilly Altman wrote that with the release of AC/DC's debut, the hard rock genre "unquestionably hit its all-time low." On top of that, "Lead singer Bon Scott spits out his vocals with a truly annoying aggression which, I suppose, is the only way to do it when all you seem to care about is being a star so that you can get laid every night." And what's so wrong with that?!
