Milk It!

DeRogatis you may remember as the author of the exceptional Let it Blurt, a book that sought to demystify and clarify canonized rock journalist Lester Bangs’ short yet passionate life. Here, DeRogatis examines the course charted by underground rock bands in the ’90s. DeRogatis spends time with Courtney Love (he was the first journalist to hear Kurt Cobain’s unreleased demos), Steve Albini and Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, to mention only a minuscule number of his subjects. DeRogatis’ gestures are proof positive that being honest will not endear one to the rock stars. When reviewing Siamese Dream, he identified some lyrics as “sophomoric”—to which the thoughtful Corgan countered by barring him from shows and responding by fax, “I’m very sorry for you that you are fat and that your career choice (Wire cover band) didn’t work out. …”