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By now, most anyone who could possibly care at all has long since heard about Jann Wenner\u2019s latest imbroglio. The Rolling Stone<\/i> founder\u2019s misogynist, sexist and racist perspectives \u2013 shared voluntarily, mind you \u2013 now threaten to undo the good that his magazine (with which he\u2019s no longer associated) has done over the years. It certainly hasn\u2019t helped his reputation, nor perhaps that of music journalism in general.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s a palliative to Wenner\u2019s nonsense. It comes in the form of a sort of memoir by another figure whose up-close-and-personal experiences around and within the music industry cover roughly the same era. Beginning in the late \u201860s, Harold Bronson was a music journalist. He was a friend and acquaintance of an extensive array of names in the music world, both well-known and otherwise. In the second phase of his career (the phases overlap a bit) he was a prime mover at Rhino Records, first a store and eventually (and more famously) a label. Bronson’s new book, titled Time Has <\/i>C<\/i>ome <\/i>T<\/i>oday<\/i>, gives readers a close-up look at those years from his perspective.<\/p>\n
Bronson\u2019s approach isn\u2019t typical: he draws from his diary entries, and (as he explains in his preface) he has resisted any temptation to amend his remarks or revise his opinions, even when they might not have aged well. That\u2019s a commendable goal, and as readers will discover as they dig into the highly readable entries \u2013 more than 400 pages of \u2018em, in fact \u2013 Bronson sticks to that commitment.<\/p>\n
The results are revelatory. Allowing for the fact that Time Has Come Today<\/i> reflects the opinions and observations of one individual, it shines a light on many of the personalities of that era. And while some of what Bronson reveals isn\u2019t earth-shaking (Mike Nesmith could be prickly and aloof, for example), there\u2019s a kind of metaphorical meat put on the bones of some of music\u2019s best-known characters.<\/p>\n
I hesitate to give too much away in that regard, because Bronson\u2019s writing does a fine job itself of opening up that world to modern-day readers. There\u2019s less in Time Has Come Today<\/i> about the inner workings of Rhino-the-label, and that will probably suit most readers in any event. Some surprising characters show up in the book, too: people outside the rock world whose names one might not expect to find in a book such as this. Those are fun, too, as Bronson treats the material with just the right tone: a healthy admixture of genuine enthusiasm and wry skepticism. Because he\u2019s presenting his thoughts in real-time style \u2013 how he felt about Emitt Rhodes<\/a> in 1971, for example \u2013 he doesn\u2019t have a seen-it-all, worldly-wise tone. As the saying goes, he\u2019ll take you there. And Time Has Come Today<\/i> is a trip well worth taking. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n Postscript<\/strong>: Here’s a playlist curated by Trouser Press’ Ira Robbins, designed to complement Bronson’s text.<\/em><\/p>\n