Greil Marcus

Quotes

• “Every youth movement presents itself as a loan to the future, and tries to call in its lien in advance, but when there is no future all loans are canceled.”

• “The moments of perfect pleasure in Johnson’s songs, and the beauty of those songs, remind one that it is not the simple presence of evil that is unbearable; what is unbearable is the impossibility of reconciling the facts of evil with the beauty of the world.”

• “Van Morrison remains a singer who can be compared to no other in the history of modern popular music.”

• “While it’s well known that as one gets older, one tends to find changes in the world at large unsettling, confusing, fucking irritating, a rebuke to one’s very existence, it’s generally not a good idea to make a career out of saying so.”

Books by Greil Marcus in order

Books by Greil Marcus in the order they were published, from Mystery Train (1975) to What Nails It (2024).

1. 1Mystery TrainMystery Train1975
2. 2Lipstick TracesLipstick Traces1989
3. 3Dead ElvisDead Elvis1991
4. 4Ranters & Crowd PleasersRanters & Crowd Pleasers1993
5. 5Invisible RepublicInvisible Republic1997
6. 6Double TroubleDouble Trouble2001
7. 7The Old, Weird AmericaThe Old, Weird America2001
8. 8The Folk YearsThe Folk Years2002
9. 9The Manchurian CandidateThe Manchurian Candidate2002
10. 10Like A Rolling StoneLike A Rolling Stone2005
11. 11The Shape of Things to ComeThe Shape of Things to Come2006
12. 12A New Literary History of AmericaA New Literary History of America2009
13. 13Bob Dylan by Greil MarcusBob Dylan by Greil Marcus2010
14. 14The DoorsThe Doors2011
15. 15When That Rough God Goes RidingWhen That Rough God Goes Riding2011
16. 16Listening to Van MorrisonListening to Van Morrison2012
17. 17History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten SongsHistory of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs2014
18. 18Folk MusicFolk Music2022
19. 19More Real Life RockMore Real Life Rock2022
20. 20What Nails ItWhat Nails It2024

Lists with books by Greil Marcus

• Books like A New Literary History of America