Ben E P reviewed Renegade by Mark E. Smith
Review of 'Renegade' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
Ghostwritten stream-of-consciousness diatribes and a few chapters of prose poetry with ellipses galore in this very entertaining volume by Mark E. Smith. What can I say? It's not a history of The Fall, it's not an autobiography or memoir in the classic sense... I guess it's closest to books like Please Kill Me or Mike Watt's Spiels of a Minuteman. It's got a lot of entertaining stories, a general outline of the impetus behind a few of The Fall's projects, some personal philosophy, and a bit of lyrical content. It's re-affirming, in that MES elucidates his notoriously cantankerous temperament throughout. This isn't to say that I agree with his outlook on politics, sports, or music every step of the way, nor do I advise the reader to take his point of view when narrating scenes from The Fall's past at face value, per se. But it's interesting to gain some …
Ghostwritten stream-of-consciousness diatribes and a few chapters of prose poetry with ellipses galore in this very entertaining volume by Mark E. Smith. What can I say? It's not a history of The Fall, it's not an autobiography or memoir in the classic sense... I guess it's closest to books like Please Kill Me or Mike Watt's Spiels of a Minuteman. It's got a lot of entertaining stories, a general outline of the impetus behind a few of The Fall's projects, some personal philosophy, and a bit of lyrical content. It's re-affirming, in that MES elucidates his notoriously cantankerous temperament throughout. This isn't to say that I agree with his outlook on politics, sports, or music every step of the way, nor do I advise the reader to take his point of view when narrating scenes from The Fall's past at face value, per se. But it's interesting to gain some insight on this divisive cultural figure besides that which can be gleaned from his band's recorded output. Not my favorite music book, but a fun, easy read for Fall fans.