Searching for "A Year in the Life of Rock and Roll" by Jim Greer

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Hi all,

Sometime in the 1990's, Spin Magazine published a series of essays by Jim Greer. The series was entitled "A Year In The Life of Rock and Roll." Greer's reporting task was absurd-- what does it even MEAN to spend a year in the life of rock and roll?-- but he tackled it with aplomb, and his columns were always funny and evocative. Later, he went on to play bass in Guided by Voices.

Lately I've been Googling around trying to find copies of the "Year in the Life" essays, or at least figure out what back issues of Spin they're in. Haven't had much luck on Google though. Does anybody here know how I can get ahold of Jim Greer? Or where I could get copies of this series?

cheers,

― mutabaruka (mutabaruka), Sunday, 12 March 2006 04:37 (twenty years ago)

Didn't he recently publish a book on his time in GBV?

Wasn't it Greer who had Captain Beefheart ask him in an interview, "Do you mind if I smoke?" He answered, "Why should I mind? We're on the phone."

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 12 March 2006 07:56 (twenty years ago)

I remember that series; wasn't too fond of it at the time. That GBV book is horribly cutesy. I think Greer is now a screenwriter along w/his Spin confrere Mark Blackwell.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:05 (twenty years ago)

also if I'm remembering correctly, that series came about right after they did a special issue (mid-1991 I think) about "searching for the heart of rock and roll," in which the Gooch sent the staff writers to far-flung-but-not-really places to search it out. kind of a mess as I recall but fairly interesting too.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:08 (twenty years ago)

he did write a book about guided by voices... i'm not quite obsessed enough with "a year in the life of rock and roll" to track it down though. perhaps memory has glazed over its rough edges, but i remember really liking that series. it turned me on to nabokov... nothing else in spin has ever done that.

it's weird that it's so hard to track down a series of essays published in a big music magazine. i don't really know how to proceed-- i've emailed spin but gotten no response. i guess if i could figure out what issues the series ran in, then i could try to buy them online... but how do i figure out what issues they were?

it turns out google doesn't know everything.

― mutabaruka (mutabaruka), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:35 (twenty years ago)

there's a reference at the end of that Spin alternative guide to a compendium of essays called Exit Flagger that was due to come out, but I guess it never did.

― Zwan (miccio), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 00:04 (twenty years ago)

jcruelty, in what city do you live?

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 00:39 (twenty years ago)

san francisco

― mutabaruka (mutabaruka), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 02:24 (twenty years ago)

Maybe the public library has copies of the mag from that period? Worth asking, at least.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:27 (twenty years ago)

Maybe Mike Daddino has it in parents' basement.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:33 (twenty years ago)

I kinda remember Paul Westerberg was on the cover of the first issue of that series.

― Mike Dixn (Mike Dixon), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:34 (twenty years ago)

Does Lexis-Nexis cover SPIN? It might be worth a shot.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:56 (twenty years ago)

oh man, i remember this series. i have the photo of greer dressed up in a shark costume [while following the parrotheads] taped up inside the closet of my childhood bedroom. every time i go home and see that, i start cracking up.

i checked the music index online and international index to music periodicals -- found quite a bit of greer's work. ill see what i can dig up for you.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:24 (twenty years ago)

OK, just found that the series started in november of 1993. ran in approx. 12 parts.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:26 (twenty years ago)

on the downside, it seems that IIMP only goes back to volume 11 and the articles are in vol. 9. BUMMER.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:29 (twenty years ago)

here's the full citation of part one, so hopefully you can run with this:

TITLE: A year in the life of rock'n'roll, part one.

AUTHOR(s): J. Greer.
PERIODICAL: SPIN
VOLUME: 9
DATE: Nov 1993
PAGE(s): 104-6+
LANGUAGE: English
PERIODICAL CLASSIFICATION: Popular Music
PERIODICAL COUNTRY: United States

SUBJECTS:
GREER, JIM p.104-6+ il
POPULAR MUSIC United States [Illinois, Chicago] p.104-6+ il
POPULAR MUSIC United States [Ohio, Cleveland] p.104-6+ il
POPULAR MUSIC United States [Ohio, Dayton] p.104-6+ il

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:32 (twenty years ago)

thanks so much for the info. i will follow up at the local library. if i get them i'll repost them... copyright be damned...

― mutabaruka (mutabaruka), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 07:58 (twenty years ago)

if not your local library, then check with your nearest university library.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 16:50 (twenty years ago)

Maybe Mike Daddino has it in parents' basement.

Moi? My Spin collection only covers the eighties with any comprehsiveness, though I should check for a stray '90's issue the next time I'm home.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 17:47 (twenty years ago)

A friend of mine has the issues with Parts 9 and 10 from this series -- when I borrow them I'll scan them for you.

― Mark (MarkR), Saturday, 18 March 2006 19:48 (twenty years ago)

that would be great, much obliged.

― mutabaruka (mutabaruka), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 06:29 (twenty years ago)

OK, so I'm visiting my mom's this weekend so if y'all keep this thread alive on Saturday I'll probably remember to find my old Spins.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Thursday, 23 March 2006 01:52 (twenty years ago)

stayin alive... stayin aliva...

― mutabaruka (mutabaruka), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:25 (twenty years ago)

Well, I'm here sooner than I expected, so I'm going to check the basement right now.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 24 March 2006 12:45 (twenty years ago)

Nah, my Spin collection stops dead cold in 1991. Sorry.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 24 March 2006 13:07 (twenty years ago)

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