Word: farina
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...college students (they weren't), they could be sure that the spread they were giving him would make him a culture hero even if he wasn't destined to be one. The appearance of the article guaranteed fulfillment of their prediction. They printed big two-page photo of Farina surrounded by quotes from his book and had Joan Baez, Farina's sister-in-law, write a brief portrait of him entitled "Child of Darkness," which, to Joanic's credit, is genuinely touching. It is reprinted as an introduction to Long Time Coming and may also be found in the middle...
...only exceptions I have come across are the works of Richard Brautigan, Hall of Mirrors by Robert Stone, possibly Pynchon's Crying a Lot 49, and Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me. It is not Farina's occasional reference to Buddy Holly that makes him post-rock, but rather the impression one gets from the novel that it was written with the Stones constantly playing in the background. The book is driven by a constant mindless throb of energy...
...book's other great strength lies in the charm of the hero, Gnossos Pappadopoulis, who one automatically identifies with Farina himself. Gnossos of course is the expression of ultimate cool. He says on the second page...
...quantities of dope but never flips out; he treats girls like objects and never feels guilty; he can go to war and not be shot; he can act outrageously and never be reproached. He is the complete hip college hero, and the aura of this rubs over to Farina...
...THIS, THE exuberance and grogginess of the novel plus the songs on the first two albums, combine in the mind to form a beautiful image of Richard Farina. The Memories album, released last December, is anticlimactic, to say the least, and contributes nothing to the legend. It is a hodgepodge of unreleased cuts, live remakes of old songs, tracks Farina produced for Joan Bacz, songs sung by Mimi alone, and old singles. Only the singles, a remake of "Pack Up Your Sorrows" with electric backup and a song called "Joy Round My Brain," are as good as anything...