It's Only Rock and Roll

by Eidus, Janice; Kastan, John

• ISBN13: 9781567920895
• ISBN10: 1567920896
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-11-01
• Publisher: David R Godine Pub

Summary

This Is The First Anthology of fiction ever published that deals exclusively with the intoxicating urgency, iconic power, and even disturbing underside of rock music, arguably the most influential art form of the past fifty years. In pieces that range from the wildly comic to the achingly poignant, from surreal tales of excess to small moments of human joy and pathos, these 22 stories -- by some of the most exciting American writers currently at work -- celebrate the many sides of rock and roll and its remarkable cultural impact.

Among the many gems here are Lee K. Abbott's wild portrait of a delusional, megalomaniacal rock star on his comeback; T. Coraghessan Boyle's wryly comic depiction of a recently deceased guitarist trying to find his way to "rock and roll heaven"; Kathleen Warnock's wistful tale of a schoolteacher in the 1980s who meets the real Elvis; Janice Eidus's hip romance between a fifties doo-wop singer and his high-school sweetheart; Lucinda Ebersole's fine riff on Kafka's Metamorphosis, in which a "nineties guy" named Sammy wakes up one morni

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	ix
Janice Eidus
GLORY DAYS	3	(74)
The Day I Met Buddy Holly	3	(16)
Kim Herzinger
Final Vinyl Days	19	(15)
Jill McCorkle
Bobby's Girl	34	(7)
Rochelle Ratner
Elvis in Wonderland	41	(12)
Kathleen Warnock
Vito Loves Geraldine	53	(24)
Janice Eidus
KEEPIN' THE FAITH	77	(52)
Shrine	77	(11)
Jodi Bloom
Never Mind	88	(24)
Madison Smartt Bell
Belgrade, New York	112	(9)
Ava Chin
`Til There Was You	121	(8)
Kim Addonizio
YOU'VE REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME	129	(56)
Rock & Roll Heaven	129	(5)
T. Coraghessan Boyle
Sticks	134	(20)
Lewis Shiner
Over the Line	154	(18)
Linda Gray Sexton
A Hunk of Burning Love	172	(13)
Francois Camoin
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE	185	(48)
The Unfinished Business of Childhood	185	(17)
Lee K. Abbott
Madonna	202	(6)
Harold Jaffe
Kama Quyntifonic	208	(9)
Lance Olsen
Ursus Major	217	(16)
Roberta Smoodin
ROCK AND ROLL IS HERE TO STAY	233	(54)
Bigger Than Jesus	233	(5)
Lucinda Ebersole
Brazzaville Teenager	238	(8)
Bruce Jay Friedman
In Winter the Snow Never Stops	246	(10)
Michael Covino
Like a Lead Balloon	256	(12)
Kevin Downs
Bluestown	268	(19)
Geoffrey Becker
PERMISSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	287	(2)
CONTRIBUTORS' NOTES	289