Letters to the Editor
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Why is American Rock Criticism so Overhyped?
Excuse me? You asked "...witty, insightful Gina Arnold, whose books, "Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana" and "Kiss This: Punk in the Present Tense," traced the history of the alternative-rock movement of the '80s and early '90s" for her take on the meaning and context of a touchstone of 1967? Politically,you note "it doesn't seem like a defining album for the generation of Mario Savio (sorry, WHO?) or Huey Newton"; AND "Musically speaking, "Sgt. Pepper" sounds much less contemporary than other albums from 1967 by people like Jimi Hendrix, the Doors or the Velvet Underground". Real typical of British culture then or now (or Canadian, eh?). Not that any of those three have anything at all in common with one another!
How typically, arrogantly, American. And in any case, what does "comtemporary" have to do it, and what exactly does contemporary mean? Isn't all music (all art) a product of its time? Although with respect to the historic validity of the album perhaps you should check your facts; check out the "ripped from the headlines" basis (in the UK) for "She's Leaving Home" for example (Google Melanie Coe if you don't know).