Michael Atchison

Native son Bill Flanagan — novelist and MTV executive — discusses big books, musical longevity, Irish Catholicism, and Behind the Music . By MICHAEL ATCHISON  |  February 5, 2010 BOTH SIDES NOW “[My agent] said, ‘Everyone who writes about the ’60s writes about how fantastic it was . . . Make sure you also write about what was lost,’ ” Flanagan says.

He Gave Them Nine The quiet one, so rarely speaks Unlike both Mike and Kim His jump shot had been lost for weeks ‘Til he found it in the gym When the hour was turning late And the game was on the line The Tigers needed more than eight So he simply gave them nine

It is 1984. I am 16 years old. And for reasons that shall now cause me to fall into the passive voice, the new issue of "Playboy" magazine has found its way into my hands. Despite an awareness of the carnal wonders that wait inside the pages, and despite feeling the potent hormonal urges common to most adolescent boys, I – a burgeoning music obsessive – do  as I always do on such occasions. I open straight to the record reviews.