Boomer reminiscence: I remember Lester Bangs in some review calling Nick Tosches "Nick Two-Turds Tosches." Bangs was interesting, even when he was wrong in his judgment.

My favorite magazine in the late 60's--early 70's was Fusion. Their long-form stories were perceptive and well-researched (and not as interminable as those in Rolling Stone), their reviews were insightful, and they published a Lou Reed poem every so often. Somewhat later, I picked up occasional issues of Trouser Press (how bad can a magazine named after a Bonzo Dog Band song be?). In general, the British mags were sound.

Your reflections here are a great defense of an important phenomenon (the substack article you linked to is also quite good).