Patriotism In America, As I

I Want Another Idea, Another Project, But You Can't Make Them Up. They Show Up.

I Was The First Records Editor At Rolling Stone, And There Were No Rules. There Was Nothing To Fall Back On As To How Do You Write About This Kind Of Music, So People Were Trying Absolutely Everything With A Great Sense Of Freedom And Experimentation And Success And Failure, And A Feeling Of, “my God, People Are Actually Paying Attention To This. Let’s Pretend They Aren’t Because We Don’t Want To Be Intimidated By What Somebody Might Think Of What We’re Saying.

I Learned That When Something Just Has To Be Said To Move The Discussion Along, Or Broaden It Or Deepen It, If I Can Just Keep My Mouth Shut For Five Minutes A Student Will Say It. So For Me A Lot Of Teaching Is About Keeping My Mouth Shut.

No Failure In America, Whether Of Love Or Money, Is Ever Simple; It Is Always A Kind Of Betrayal, Of A Mass Of Shadowy, Shared Hopes.

Punk To Me Was A Form Of Free Speech. It Was A Moment When Suddenly All Kinds Of Strange Voices That No Reasonable Person Could Ever Have Expected To Hear In Public Were Being Heard All Over The Place.