Terminated for Reasons of Taste

Chuck Eddy is an independent music journalist living in Austin, Texas. Formerly the music editor at the Village Voice and a senior editor at Billboard, he is author of Rock and Roll Always Forgets: A Quarter Century of Music Criticism, also published by Duke University Press; The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music; and Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe.

"Taking his cue from rock writer Lester Bangs and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Eddy consistently assumes the literary character of a victimized, knowledgeable, smart-ass rock writer who has just uncovered the latest hidden musical treasure." - David P. Szatmary (Library Journal) "Eddy's smarts, freakish knowledge of the obscure, and some hilarious takedowns make the collection feel like hanging out with a cool uncle who gifts you music knowledge nuggets impossible to find elsewhere." - Libby Webster (Austin Chronicle) "Terminated for Reasons of Taste reads like an eclectic Spotify mix on shuffle. . . . Eddy’s knowledgeable and clever writing makes even his most exploratory essays feel less like indulgent ‘Think Pieces’ and more like listening to a clerk at a store that sells records to a very diverse customer base: no judgment, no arrogance, just a pure love of music and some honest opinion." - Eric Rovie (PopMatters) "Can we talk for a second about what a good year Duke University Press is having with rock critic anthologies? They’ve released Greg Tate’s long-awaited FlyBoy 2: The Greg Tate Reader and this tasty slab by Austin-based, Detroit-reared critic Chuck Eddy . . . . This collection draws from such diverse outlets as the Village Voice, Creem magazine, Rhapsody.com, music message boards, and Eddy’s high school newspaper and presents all sides of the seasoned scribe: combative and thoughtful, contrary and compelling." - Joe Gross (Austin American-Statesman) "Prioritising enjoyment over critical dogma with a rigour that becomes almost ideological, Eddy scrapes off the barnacles of conventional wisdom to help the music he loves sail into uncharted realms of aesthetic scrutiny. . . . [A] selection which blends Eddy’s ‘proper’ Village Voice journalism with fanzine clippings and message board posts seamlessly enough (and with a sufficient absence of 'generational kvetching') to suggest music writing might have a future as well as a past." - Ben Thompson (Mojo) "A challenging and rewarding book for those interested in music history and criticism, and a quirky introduction to so much of what has passed for popular music over the decades. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers."- R. D. Cohen (Choice)

• Acknowledgments  xiIntroduction. Sold a Decade at a Time  11. B.C.The Best Songs of 1930  11Depression Music  13Country Rap Prehistory  15Country Songs I  17Niela Miller: Songs of Leaving  25'60s Catholic Folk Mass  27Country Songs II  28CB Jeebies  39Can't Fool Mother Nature  40Prog on the Prairie: Midwestern Bands Roll Over Beethoven  41Past Expiry Hard Rock Dollar Bin  44Sonic Taxonomy: Fake New Wave  56Inventing Indie Rock  64Urinals→No Age 672. 80sSonic Taxonomy: Unsung '80s R&B Bands  77Country Rap: The 80s  85Sonic Taxonomy: Old Old Old School Rap Albums  87Public Enemy Do the Punk Rock  96Beastie Boys: Lay It Down, Clowns  98Aerosmith, Endangered No More  105Metallica: Kill 'Em All Turns 30  110Fates Warning and Possessed Open Up and Say . . .  Ahh!  113Dead Milkmen vs. Thelonious Monster: Battle of the Lame  114Einstürzende Neubauten / Killdozer: The Graystone, Detroit, 11 June 1986  116New Wave über Alles 118Frank Chickens→M.I.A.  124Owed to the Nightingales  127Mekons Stumble toward Oblivion  130Mekons: So Good It Hurts  132Pet Shop Boys: 18 Shopping Days Left  133Billy Joel: It's Not His Fault!  135John Hiatt: Bring the Family  139John Anderson Serves the Doofus Majority  140Country Songs III 142The '80s: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back  1453. 90sTLC and Kris Kross: Women and Children First  157Cause & Effect: Trip 160The Cure: Spectrum, Philadelphia, 16 May 1992  161SOS from the Metal of Nowhere  163Motörhead Überkill  164Pankow and Treponem Pal Ring in Desert Storm  168How Nirvana Didn't Kill Hair Metal  170Sponge: From Grunge to Glam  171Radio On Reviews I 172Travis Marries a Man!  178John Mellencamp: Dance Naked  179Sawyer Brown: Café on the Corner  181Patricia Conroy: A Bad Day for Trains  182Grupo Exterminador: Dedicado a Mis Novias  183When FSK Plays, Schnitzel Happens  184Radio On Reviews II 185Alanis Morissette: Addicted to Love  1894. '00sSingles Again: Backstabs in the Material World  197Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream  202Frat Daze, Clambake, Anyways, It's Still Country Soul to Kenny Chesney  204Country Music Goes to Mexico  204September 11: Country Music's Response  204Battle of the Country Hunks  214Country Songs IV  217The Ladies of Triple A  222Anvil Won't Go Away  225Excellent Boring Metal from Germany  227The Many Ideas of Oneida  228Next Little Things  2325. '10sSingles Jukebox Reviews  248The Dirtbombs: Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey!  252Redd Kross: Researching the Blues  256Mayer Hawthorne←Robert Palmer 258Kanye West: VEVO Power Station, Austin, 20 March 2011  261Taylor Swift and Ke$ha: Not So Different 263Ke$ha: Warrior  267Strange Brew: Metal's New Blare Witch Project   269Metal's Severed Extremities  275Walking Dead: The Divided States of Metal  278Voivod: Target Earth  281Merchandise: Totale Nite  285Mumford and Sons: Babel  287The Gospel Truth  289Southern Soul Keeps On Keepin' On  293Jamey Johnson Sprawls Out  297Country Songs V  300Bro-Country Isn't as Dumb as It Looks  302Ashley Monroe and Kacey Musgraves Are What They Are  304When the Angels Stopped Watching Mindy McCready  308Conclusion. I Am the World's Forgettin' Boy  311Index  315