“If you go through your life expecting moral purity from every artist you love, you’re going to have a very lonely life, aesthetically.” – Tom Bissell
Tom Bissell is an American author, journalist, and critic. He co-authored the book The Disaster Artist, which has been adapted into a movie starring James Franco, Seth Rogen, Dave Franco, and Alison Brie.
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tom discuss Metallica and thrash metal (5:25); violence in music and video games (23:30); how one’s relationship to one’s own writing transforms over time (28:10); the shallowness of cultural criticism in social-media (33:55); the dubious concept of “authenticity” as applied to food, music, and travel (42:00); co-writingThe Disaster Artist with actor Greg Sestero, and making sense of The Room (58:50); and finding joy and contentment within the creative process (1:06:00).
Articles, books and movies:
- The Geto Boys, by Rolf Potts
- Slayer’s Reign in Blood, by D.X. Ferris
- Some Kind of Monster (documentary film about Metallica)
- The Defiant Ones (documentary about Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre)
- Straight Outta Compton (movie about N.W.A)
- “My Holy Land Vacation,” by Tom Bissell
- “Euphorias of Perrier: The Case Against Robert D. Kaplan,” by Tom Bissell
- “One Man’s Odyssey into ‘Eat, Pray, Love’,” by Rolf Potts
- Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture, by David Kushner
- Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads, by Paul Theroux
- “The Mystical High Church of Luck,” by Rolf Potts (about Las Vegas)
- “Humor Doesn’t Translate Internationally,” by Rolf Potts (about The Asylum)
Bands, songs, and albums mentioned
- Metallica (thrash-metal band)
- Anthrax (thrash-metal band)
- Slayer (thrash-metal band)
- Testament (thrash-metal band)
- The Exploited (punk band)
- Public Enemy (rap group)
- NWA (rap group)
- “Angel of Death” (song, by Slayer)
- “Wake up Dead” (song, by Megadeth)
- “Indians” (song, by Anthrax)
- “Creeping Death” (song, by Metallica)
- “Disposable Heroes” (song, by Metallica)
- The Black Album (1991 album, by Metallica)
Other Links:
- Dungeons & Dragons books
- Cliff Burton (Metallica bassist)
- Chuck D (rap artist)
- James Smith (Rap-A-Lot Records founder)
- Dr. Dre (music producer)
- Rick Rubin (music producer)
- Paul Theroux (travel writer)
- Pico Iyer (travel writer)
- 33 1/3 (book series)
- Virtue signaling (concept)
Tom Bissell’s favorite Metallica albums:
- Kill ‘Em All (1983)
- Ride the Lightning (1984)
- Master of Puppets (1986)
- …And Justice to All (1988)
- St. Anger (2003)
- Death Magnetic (2008)
- Hardwired..to Self-Destruct (2016)
Other books by Tom Bissell:
- Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia (2003)
- God Lives in St. Petersburg: and Other Stories (2005)
- The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam (2007)
- Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter (2010)
- Magic Hours: Essays On Creators and Creation (2012)
- Apostle: Travels Among the Tombs of the Twelve (2016)
This episode was sponsored by the Paris Writing Workshop, an intensive one-month course in the artistic heart of Europe.
The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.
Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.
