“Critics and musicians have placed him in that inviolable musical trinity with Ellington and Armstrong, and still he remains the most elusive of our native-born geniuses”

“The convention this year felt more like a party than ever before, a big, busy party that doesn't really go anywhere”

“A government-run Post Office was provided for at the beginning of the nation's history because of Ben Franklin's influence. Presumably at one point or another the goddamn thing worked”

“There was always a sense of American mythology about the Dolls, and those of us who spent three years of our lives working with them had to believe they were more than just another rock ‘n’ roll group”

“Disasters — explosions, plane crashes, ship sinkings, major fires­ — we’ve had aplenty, but never a mor­tal blow.”

At the end of 'Mystery Train' by Greil Marcus, we appreciate that we have only begun to hear what the most popular music of our time is telling us.

“A great artist, a great rocker, a great purveyor of schlock, a great heartthrob, a great bore, a great symbol of potency, a great ham, a great nice person, and, yes, a great American”

“They thought Gonzo was crazy,” says Steadman. “He was accused of trying to rape one of the maids and of shooting pigeons with a Magnum .44”

“We don’t have to bow our heads in shame because this is the best album of 1975. It would have been the best album of 1967, too”

“Belushi is a satirist not because he's mean or neurotic, he says, but because he likes to make people laugh”