Chuck Eddy is one of the most entertaining, idiosyncratic, influential, and prolific music critics of the past three decades. His byline has appeared everywhere from the Village Voice and Rolling Stone to Creem, Spin, and Vibe. Eddy is a consistently incisive journalist, unafraid to explore and defend genres that other critics look down on or ignore. His interviews with subjects ranging from the Beastie Boys, the Pet Shop Boys, Robert Plant, and Teena Marie to the Flaming Lips, AC/DC, and Eminem's grandmother are unforgettable. His review of a 1985 Aerosmith album reportedly inspired the producer Rick Rubin to pair the rockers with Run DMC. In the eighties, Eddy was one of the first critics to widely cover indie rock, and he has since brought his signature hyper-caffeinated, hyper-hyphenated style to bear on heavy metal, hip-hop, country-you name it. Rock and Roll Always Forgets features the best, most provocative reviews, interviews, columns, and essays written by this singular critic. Essential reading for music scholars and fans, it may well be the definitive time-capsule comment on pop music at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Acknowledgements xvForeword / Chuck Klosterman xiIntroduction 11. Predicting the FutureOver and Out 9Rhymed Funk Hits Area 10Skin Yard, Skin Yard 12Drug Crazed Teens: Flaming Lips 14Music That Passes the Acid Test 15New Kids in the `90s: A Decade in the Life 18Radiohead, The Bends 19Walking into Spiderwebs: The Ultimate Band List 20Talking World War III Blues 232. Alternative to WhatBombast in the Blood: Bad Religion 29Conscience of Some Conservatives: The Ramones 32Punk's First Family Grow Old Together: The Ramones 35Howls from the Heartland: The Untamed Midwest 42An Indie Rises Above: SST Records 48Slime is Money (Bastard) 52Big Black Give You a Headache 56Nirvana, ¿all Apologies¿ 62Wrong is Right: Marilyn Manson 64Live: Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, 18 February 1997 68City of Dreams: Rock in Mexico 69Chumbawamba at the Piss Factory 76Mr. and Mrs. Used To Be: The White Stripes Find a Little Place to Fight `em Off 793. Umlauts from HeckFive Great Beats-Per-Minute 89Seduce, Seduce 92Agnostic Front, Beyond Possession, Dr. Know, Helstar, Raw Power 94Top 40 That Radio Won`t Touch: Metallica 98Welcome Home (Sanitarium): Metallica Seek Psychiatric Help 104Mentors, Up The Dose 106Robert Plant, Technobilly 108Def Leppard's Magic and Loss 116AC/DC`s Aged Currencies 124White Wizzard Escape Each Other 1374. To the Beat Y`allMantronix: Strange Loops 143Spoonie Gee: Unreformed 144Just-Ice: Rap With Teeth 147Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1989: N.W.A. 149Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1992: Arrested Development 149Sir Mix-A-Lot: Chief Boot Knocka 149From Taco Bell to Pachalbel: Coolio 150Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1997: Erykah Badu and B-Rock & The Bizz 152Timbaland, Magoo, and Ma$e, As the World Turns 153Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 2001: Jay-Z 157Licks: Bone Crusher, Turk, Crunk & Disorderly 158Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 2003 1605. Race-MixingEmmett Miller: The Minstrel Man from Georgia 167Mississippi Sheiks vs. Utah Saints 168Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1984 170Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1985 170Boogie Down Productions: Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop 172Yothu Yindi: Tribal Voice 175Living Colour: Biscuits EP 1753rd Bass: Cactus Love 176Teena Marie in Wonderland 178Shake Your Love: Gillette 180The Iceman Cometh Back: Vanilla Ice 183Motor Suburb Madhouse: Kid Rock and Eminem 184The Daddy Shady Show: Eminem`s Family Values 196Spaghetti Eastern: The Lordz of Brooklyn 2066. Country DiscomfortYippie Tie One On: Rural Roots and Muddy Boots 217John Cougar Mellencamp: Life Goes On 222K.T. Oslin: Greatest Hits: Songs from an Aging Sex Bomb 224The Temptations of Mindy McCready 226CMT 228Banda, Si, Por Qué No 229Big & Rich Boogaloo Down Broadway 233Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 2004: Montgomery Gentry and Chely Wright 235Please Stop Belittling Toby Keith 236Brad Paisley is Ready to Make Nice 2407. Pop MuzikCutting It as a Bay City Roller in 1989 247People Pleasers: The Village People 249Arrivedérci, Bay-BEE: Nocera and Fun Fun 251Debbie Gibson: Angel Baby 253It Was In The Cards 255Pet Shop Boys` Mad Behavior 256Gimme Back My Bullets: Will to Power Shoot for Disco Valhalla 263Michael Jackson Loves the Sound of Breaking Glass 267If It Ain`t Baroque, Don`t Fix It: Michael Jackson and Faithless 273They Know What They Really Really Want and They Know How to Get It: Spice Girls and Gina G 277Pazz & Jop Ballot Excerpt 1998 2818. Singles Again and AgainSucking in the `70s: Have A Nice Day, Volumes 1¿10 287Zager and Evans: ¿In The Year 2525¿ 289Radio `86: Dead Air 292Radio On reviews 298Ten Cents a Watusi 304Singles Again: Tangled Up in Blue 309Singles Again: Paranoia Jumps Deep 313Singles Jukebox reviews 316The Year of Too Much Consensus 322The End? 325Index 329