Author: Mondo Bizarre Magazine

Monday 5th, instead of my Amazing Songs & Other Delights there will be a repetition of Set A Light – Lester Bangs Special, 3-4pm (gmt+1) on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com (or on the app).

Set A Light is a Rui Pimenta, aka my radio husband, ideato be conceive and taken to task by the two of us. For a million reasons called life, for now, there’s still only this Lester Bangs Special. I think this show deserves to be re-listened to, at least, a million times

People connected to music who are aware of Lester and his work, often say “We need a new Lester Bangs”,  or “Lester Bangs would be necessary” and I think to myself “Yes, but proverbial but, I would like to see how it would play out.” Lester was larger than life, rulesless, didn’t give two flying figs. I agree music writing needs  no one, but a few Lesters. I also think it may be a tumbling of the music world as we currently know it, a music world mostly forgotten that music writing isn’t always loveliness.

I created the radio programme as a soundtrack to accompanying dialogues from Cameron Crowne’s film Almost famous in which Bangs is which Lester Bangs is magnificently played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Along with existing songs, I came up with typewriter noises, superimposed on This Are a Few Of My Favourite Things played by John Coltrane, a small piece of my favourite youtube found version of John Cage 4’33” before Black Sabbath’s Planet Caravan, turning both into a single song and more.

Lester Bangs wrote for Creem, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and other publications. The show captures Lester uniqueness and rawness. You can read my original text for the programme here.

Tracklist:
01 – Almost Famous – Introducing Mr. Lester Bangs
02 – Lester Bangs – Let It Blurt
03 – Almost Famous – if you like Lou Lester Bangs to William Miller
04 – Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side
05 – Almost Famous – do you take drugs Lester Bangs to William Miller
06 – John Coltrane – This Are A Few of My Favourite Things & Typewriter
07 – Almost Famous -an assignment Lester Bangs to William Miller
08 – Silence (from John Cage’s 4’33) & Black Sabbath (Planet Caravan)
09 – Almost Famous – honest Lester Bangs to William Miller
10 – Teenage Jesus And The Jerks – I Woke Up Dreaming – (from the No New Work LP, 1978, compiled and produced by Brian Eno)
11 – Lester Bangs – About Music
12 – Roxy Music – Just Like You
13 – Birdland with Lester Bangs – Textbook Case
14 – Lester Bangs – on Beatles Nostalgia (1981)
15 – John Lennon – Gimme Some Truth
16 – Lester Bangs and The Delinquents – I Just Want to Be a Movie Star
17 – Almost Famous – women Lester Bangs to William Miller
18 – Blondie – Little Girl Lies (Live at El Mocambo, Toronto, August 3rd, 1978 – FM Radio Broadcast)
19 – Count Five – Psychotic Reaction
20 – The J. Geils Band – So Sharp
21 – Almost Famous – unmerciful Lester Bangs to William Miller
22 – MC5 – Borderline (live at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom)
23 – Almost Famous – starry eyes Lester Bangs to William Miller
24 – R.E.M. – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
25 – Scott B. Sympathy – Lester Bangs Stereo Ghost
26 – Almost Famous – the day it ceases to the dumb it’s the day it ceases to be real Lester Bangs to William Miller

Set A Light – Lester Bangs Special is available on mixcloud: Yé Yé mixcloud  | Mondo Bizarre Magazine mixcloud