John Mendelsohn
Encyclopedia
John Ned Mendelsohn is an American
writer, journalist, musician and graphic designer, best known for his rock criticism in Rolling Stone. Critic Barney Hoskyns
has called him "one of the funniest writers in English".
He was born in Washington
but moved with his parents to southern California
aged six months. He lived briefly in the San Fernando Valley
, but mostly on the coast, first in Playa del Rey, and later above Pacific Coast Highway just south of Topanga Canyon Blvd. He studied at the University of California at Los Angeles, thus avoiding military service in Vietnam. He began contributing music criticism to the Los Angeles Times
and Rolling Stone while still a student. The best known of these early contributions are the negative reviews that appeared in Rolling Stone of each of the first two Led Zeppelin
albums; the review of the second album fully displayed the sarcastic wit that would become the trademark of Mendelsohn's writing style with lines such as "Jimmy Page
is the absolute number-one heaviest white blues guitarist between 5’4" and 5’8" in the world." Mendelsohn cited the British critic Nik Cohn
as a major influence on his own writing, calling him "screamingly funny" and confiding that "my own star began to rise very quickly after I perfected my imitation of him".
While continuing to contribute rock album reviews, Mendelsohn made an earnest effort to launch a music career in the early '70s. With bass player, Ralph Wm. Oswald, with whom he'd played in a succession of ragtag college groups (including recording a demo album with a nascent Sparks
), he formed a serious version of their group Christopher Milk in mid-1970. With Mendelsohn primarily serving as lyricist, the group recorded for United Artists
and Warner Bros. Records
before disbanding in 1973. Mendelsohn next resolved to become a musician and composer. He released an EP on Greg Shaw's
Bomp label, John Mendelsohn's the Pits, in 1975. Rhino released a package comprising his authorized autobiography, I, Caramba, and a compilation of song demos, Masturpieces, in 1995.
In 1984, Mendelsohn's biography of The Kinks
, Kinks Kronikles, was published. In this timeframe between stints with Rolling Stone, Mendelsohn contributed to Creem
in the mid-1980s and also wrote later in his career for Playboy
, Wired
and Mojo
. Mendelsohn worked in graphic design
and website design for several years in the late 1990s through mid-2000s.
In 2002, he relocated to the United Kingdom to reside there with his English second wife Claire, during which he composed and produced his own solo album, Sex With Twinge, and Mistress Chloe's much-praised Like a Moth to Its Flame. Over the course of the next half-decade, he composed and produced albums for Sadie Sings and Do Re Mi Fa (Cough), and wrote three published books (Dominatrix: The Making of Mistress Chloe, Waiting for Kate Bush, and Gigantic: The Pixies and Frank Black) and a great deal of unpublished fiction, not to mention several teleplays. He directed and starred in two scripted sketch comedy revues, The Ministry of Humour and Clear & Present Rangers.
Mendelsohn departed the UK late in 2007, and spent 10 months in the Midwest before buying a home in New York's Hudson Valley, where, between November 2008 and November 2009, he composed, performed, and recorded his second solo album, Sorry We're Open, released in February 2010. Now based in Beacon, New York
, Mendelsohn regularly blog
s on His Web journal, "For All in Tents and Porpoises", in which he writes his thoughts on various elements of pop culture, personal anecdotes including frank accounts of his lifelong struggles with low self-esteem
and depression
, and satirical political pieces in which he purports to have embraced conservatism
and the policies of Sarah Palin
.
Much of Mendelsohn's writing is now available for download in the form of ebooks from Amazon.com.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer, journalist, musician and graphic designer, best known for his rock criticism in Rolling Stone. Critic Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns is a British music critic and editor of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages.Hoskyns graduated from Oxford with a First Class degree in English. He began writing about music for Melody Maker and New Musical Express, quitting his job as staff writer at NME to research...
has called him "one of the funniest writers in English".
He was born in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
but moved with his parents to southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
aged six months. He lived briefly in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, but mostly on the coast, first in Playa del Rey, and later above Pacific Coast Highway just south of Topanga Canyon Blvd. He studied at the University of California at Los Angeles, thus avoiding military service in Vietnam. He began contributing music criticism to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and Rolling Stone while still a student. The best known of these early contributions are the negative reviews that appeared in Rolling Stone of each of the first two Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
albums; the review of the second album fully displayed the sarcastic wit that would become the trademark of Mendelsohn's writing style with lines such as "Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
is the absolute number-one heaviest white blues guitarist between 5’4" and 5’8" in the world." Mendelsohn cited the British critic Nik Cohn
Nik Cohn
Nik Cohn is a British rock journalist, born in London in 1946. He was brought up in Derry, in the North of Ireland, the son of historian Norman Cohn and Russian writer Vera Broido...
as a major influence on his own writing, calling him "screamingly funny" and confiding that "my own star began to rise very quickly after I perfected my imitation of him".
While continuing to contribute rock album reviews, Mendelsohn made an earnest effort to launch a music career in the early '70s. With bass player, Ralph Wm. Oswald, with whom he'd played in a succession of ragtag college groups (including recording a demo album with a nascent Sparks
Sparks
-People:*Sparks , people with Sparks as family name or given name*Sparks , a character in Enter the Matrix and The Matrix Revolutions-Places:United States*Sparks, Georgia*Sparks, Kansas*Sparks, Maryland*Sparks, Nebraska...
), he formed a serious version of their group Christopher Milk in mid-1970. With Mendelsohn primarily serving as lyricist, the group recorded for United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
before disbanding in 1973. Mendelsohn next resolved to become a musician and composer. He released an EP on Greg Shaw's
Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw was a Los Angeles-based fanzine publisher, music historian and record label owner. He grew up near San Francisco, California.It was as a young teenager that he started writing about rock and roll music...
Bomp label, John Mendelsohn's the Pits, in 1975. Rhino released a package comprising his authorized autobiography, I, Caramba, and a compilation of song demos, Masturpieces, in 1995.
In 1984, Mendelsohn's biography of The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, Kinks Kronikles, was published. In this timeframe between stints with Rolling Stone, Mendelsohn contributed to Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
in the mid-1980s and also wrote later in his career for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
and Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
. Mendelsohn worked in graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and website design for several years in the late 1990s through mid-2000s.
In 2002, he relocated to the United Kingdom to reside there with his English second wife Claire, during which he composed and produced his own solo album, Sex With Twinge, and Mistress Chloe's much-praised Like a Moth to Its Flame. Over the course of the next half-decade, he composed and produced albums for Sadie Sings and Do Re Mi Fa (Cough), and wrote three published books (Dominatrix: The Making of Mistress Chloe, Waiting for Kate Bush, and Gigantic: The Pixies and Frank Black) and a great deal of unpublished fiction, not to mention several teleplays. He directed and starred in two scripted sketch comedy revues, The Ministry of Humour and Clear & Present Rangers.
Mendelsohn departed the UK late in 2007, and spent 10 months in the Midwest before buying a home in New York's Hudson Valley, where, between November 2008 and November 2009, he composed, performed, and recorded his second solo album, Sorry We're Open, released in February 2010. Now based in Beacon, New York
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, Mendelsohn regularly blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s on His Web journal, "For All in Tents and Porpoises", in which he writes his thoughts on various elements of pop culture, personal anecdotes including frank accounts of his lifelong struggles with low self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
and depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, and satirical political pieces in which he purports to have embraced conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and the policies of Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
.
Much of Mendelsohn's writing is now available for download in the form of ebooks from Amazon.com.