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Title	:	The Boy Looked at Johnny: The Obituary of Rock and Roll
Author	:	Julie Burchill
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 95 pages
Published	:	April 1st 1987 by Faber & Faber (first published January 1st 1978)
Categories	:	Music. Punk. Nonfiction

The Boy Looked at Johnny: The Obituary of Rock and Roll

Julie Burchill

Paperback | Pages: 95 pages

Rating: 3.68 | 117 Users | 12 Reviews

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This is the ultimate rock criticism book: something in it will offend everyone with any opinion about any rock, past or present. It is intended, apparently to be the “obituary” that follows on the Sex Pistols’ promise to “destroy rock n roll.” The Pistols play a prominent role in it (the second and third chapters are titled “ Sex” and “Pistols”), but unlike most punk bios, it is far from a hagiographical account. The authors certainly don’t like Malcolm McLaren, or for that matter any of the Pistols individually (except, perhaps, grudgingly Johnny Rotten), but they aren’t entirely above celebrating them collectively. Other founding punk bands (notably the Clash, the Ramones, the Damned, and the Jam) are far less ambiguously trashed. In fact, pretty much the only bands the authors have anything nice to say about are X-Ray Spex and the Tom Robinson Band. It’s safe to say that no one today will agree 100% with their opinions (although I like X-Ray Spex and TRB, myself). Probably no one ever did, and I’m not even sure that both authors completely agreed on any of the opinions expressed in the book, either (they married and were divorced a few years after the original publication of the book).

But, if you listen to rock, especially punk rock, in order to be challenged rather than validated, and you read rock criticism to have your opinions about rock challenged rather than validated, there is much pleasure to be found in this slender volume. Burchill & Parson’s style is snarky on a level that would put bloggers and twitters to shame, and their command of English excels the level to be found on even the most clever and educated online sources. Their humor (or humour) is brilliant, and probably over the heads of most readers today. Who, for example, would catch all the references in this line: “The Great British Punk Sex Symbol (sing if you’re glad to be it, Gaye) aside, the only UK girls left are the Rezillo’s Fay Fife and Penetration’s Pauline Noname – who are both so well-integrated into their respective bands that their sex seems superfluous.”

OK, it’s a little unfair to expect kids today to be familiar with has-beens, one-hit-wonders, and never-rans from their grandparents’ generation, but for those with an interest, this is an excellent way to learn what 1977 meant to people who lived and witnessed it at the time. Burchill and Parsons were writers for the New Musical Express, which was something of a cutting-edge rock magazine at the time, and their opinions were heard (and probably hated) by the generation they criticized. If you hate punk, this may still be a great weapon to use the next time that self-righteous hipster with the balding mohawk tries to get uppity. Well worth the read, love it or hate it.

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Original Title:	The Boy Looked at Johnny: The Obituary of Rock and Roll
ISBN:	0571129927 (ISBN13: 9780571129928)
Edition Language:	English

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Ratings: 3.68 From 117 Users | 12 Reviews

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Forgot how funny this was. Still well worth a read.

Sex drugs and rock n roll, ripped apart and mocked by two journalists who saw punk happen. This book manages to insult practically every band formed throughout the 60s and 70s, with only a few exceptions, X-Ray Spex, the Tom Robinson band and (slightly) the Sex Pistols are spared from the sharp tongues of Burchill and Parsons. Instead of glorifying rock and roll, they shred the self indulgent cocaine-snorting stars to pieces. The rose tinted glasses are removed from punk too, stating, as is the

This is probably the first book about punk to be published and it's probably the best book ever written about punk. This is a mean spirited, hilarious, and brutal take down of 60s and 70s rock history. I laughed out loud a lot. My favorite discription of was of the New York Dolls as "acne blitzed lepers addicted to heroin" or that the authors keep calling Handsome Dick Manatoba, "Ugly Dickhead Manilow". Joey Ramone is described as "one of mother nature's greatest mistakes". There is a laugh on

Just re-read this after many years. After trashing virtually every band around, they end the book by telling you that the best band in the world is The TOM ROBINSON BAND! Well, I can't think of an album that they made, I do remember '2468Motorway' and 'Glad to be Gay' singles - but the band were a sort of plodding, University-scarfed novelty band with accountants hairdos. Compared to The Damned, The Clash or The Buzzcocks, they lacked pop pizazz or dynamic excitement - bit dull and worthy. The

What a great read, full of vituperation and two eighteen year olds who know how the world is and how everything apart from them is shit. The language is wonderful and it is a great reminder of a great time in music, if not in the world. Read it!

This book is obnoxious and off-puting, but it's a hilarious slice of life. The writers pull no punches in pursuing their self appointed cause; to skewer, pillory, debunk, debase and generally pull the rug out from under nearly every rock star or punk rock luminary they can think of. There are a few who escape their ire, but the real meat of the book is just slicing through all of these folks like a hot knife through wax. Of course it reads like kids with nothing to lose wrote it, and that's

Tiresome polemic; an attempt at "outrage" mostly consisting of calling people either "ugly" or "hippie". This woman was mildly notorious in the UK during the punk era for this schtick, which is equal parts schoolyard bully, Stalinist, and small-minded hatemonger.