All Ears

I'm now over half-way through my re-reading of Dennis Coopers "George Miles Cycle" and interrupted this to read his All Ears. Cultural Criticism, Essays and Obituaries, published by Soft Skull Press and comprising work previously published in Artforum, Artscribe, Detour, George, Interview and largely Spin. The book includes interviews with Keanu Reeves and Leonardo DiCaprio (before that were really famous), Bob Mould and Stephen Malkmus, and features on Courtney Love, Nan Goldin, the impact of the AIDS epidemic on young homeless LA street-kids, the rave scene, William Burroughs, the UCLA Fine Arts programme, and heroin in contemporary music.
This is an intriguing and delightful collection, well-presented aside from a few minor proof-reading omissions (and for not stating where the original pieces were published - but maybe I'm just pedantic about that sort of thing). Cooper captures a great deal of trust from his interviewees and subjects and in return offers some of himself, producing honest and revealing work that is both passionate and informative.