Editing Lester Bangs (section)

==Music==
Bangs was also a musician. In 1976, he and [[Peter Laughner]] recorded an acoustic improvisation in the ''Creem'' office. The recording included covers/parodies of songs like "[[Sister Ray]]" and "[[Pale Blue Eyes]]", both by [[the Velvet Underground]].

In 1977, Bangs recorded, as a solo artist, a 7" vinyl single named "Let It Blurt/Live", mixed by [[John Cale]] and released in 1979.

In 1977, at the New York City nightclub [[CBGB]], Bangs and guitarist [[Mickey Leigh]], [[Joey Ramone]]'s brother, decided to form a band named "Birdland". Although they both had their roots in jazz, the two wanted to create an old-school rock-and-roll group. Leigh brought in his post-punk band, The Rattlers (David Merrill on bass; Matty Quick on drums). On April Fool's Day 1979, the band snuck into [[Electric Lady Studios]] for an impromptu late-night recording session; the studio was under renovation but Merrill was helping and had the key. Birdland broke up within two months of the recording. The cassette tape from the session became the master, mixed by [[Ed Stasium]] and released by Leigh in 1986 as ''"Birdland" with Lester Bangs''. In a review of the album, [[Robert Christgau]] gave it a B-plus and said, "musically he always had the instincts, and words were no problem."<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=B&bk=80|chapter=B|access-date=August 17, 2020|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|year=1990|isbn=0-679-73015-X|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>

In 1980, Bangs traveled to [[Austin, Texas]], where he met a surf/punk rock group, The Delinquents. In early December of the same year, they recorded an album as "Lester Bangs and the Delinquents", titled ''Jook Savages on the Brazos'', released the following year.

In 1990, [[the Mekons]] released the EP ''F.U.N. 90'' with Bangs's declamation in the song "One Horse Town".