Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone Read Free Page B

death. Early correspondence between editor and writer danced around the possibility of a story about Terry the Tramp, an Angel who’d recently died, until Hunter casually mentioned his nascent campaign for sheriff of Aspen, Colorado. “The Battle of Aspen”—both Hunter’s run for office and his account of it in the magazine—inserted Hunter into the national conversation both politically and journalistically, and was the opening battle cry to an epic, righteous, and occasionally combustible partnership between Hunter and
Rolling Stone.
    Undated letter from Hunter S. Thompson to Jann S. Wenner
    Owl Farm
    Woody Creek, Colorado
    Jann Wenner
    Rolling Stone
    Your Altamont coverage comes close to being the best journalism I can remember reading, by anybody. When I cited it to a friend who teaches at UCLA’s journalism school he said he’d never heard of
Rolling Stone
... and that sort of says it all, I think, except maybe to speculate that the trouble isn’t really with print, but with the people who control print. And that’s anold bitch, too, so fuck it. Anyway,
Rolling Stone
makes [Marshall] McLuhan suck wind. It’s a hell of a good medium by any standard, from Hemingway to the Airplane. People like [founder of the
Los Angeles Free Press
Art] Kunkin and [author-journalist Paul] Krassner never came close to what you’re doing ... so don’t fuck it up with pompous bullshit; the demise of
R.S.
would leave a nasty hole.
    Which reminds me of that shitty ignorant slur you laid on Eric Von Schmidt’s last album,
Who Knocked the Brains Out of the Sky?
It’s one of the few really original things I’ve heard in five years and “Wooden Man” ranks with the best of The Band’s stuff. Whoever wrote that sleazy rap is a waterhead with a shit ear. Dismissing Von Schmidt as a bad rock artist is like comparing Lenny Bruce to the Hells Angels & saying that Bruce didn’t make it.
    Sincerely,
    Hunter S. Thompson
    Undated letter from Jann S. Wenner to Hunter S. Thompson
    746 Brannan Street
    San Francisco 94103
    Hunter:
    Thanks for your note. Having once read your
Angels
book in galley proof forms (stole them when I worked at
Ramparts
) and having really dug it in its pre-cut form, I’ve been a fan of yours. Glad you are now a fan of ours. So, good to get your note.
    The record review section has been a problem—a lot of prep-school masturbatory reviewers getting their rocks off in the past. We’re weeding them out now, and bringing the section back under my control, so I apologize for past idiocies in that part of the paper.
    How about doing something for us? What have you been writing lately? Send it to me. Maybe we can use it, or maybe you have some ideas for some new stuff. Let me know.
    Two items for your interest: 1) We submitted Altamont (plus groupies, ups, Dylan, etc.) for a Pulitzer. I doubt it will happen, but what the hell; and 2) I found out yesterday that Terry the Tramp committed suicide—sleeping pills—he wanted to quit the Angels after Altamont, and that’s how he did it. I think we’ll be having a good story about it. Would you be interested in adding your thoughts?
    Hope Woody Creek is as beautiful as it sounds.
    Sincerely,
    Jann Wenner
    Letter from HST to JSW
    Owl Farm
    Woody Creek, Colorado
    Feb 25 ’70
    Dear Jann . . .
    Thanx for the note & good luck with the Pulitzer gig. If I had a vote you’d be in good shape ... but you’ll be dealing with a gang of crusty shitheads, so don’t let it worry you if they don’t give you a medal. And even if they do it’ll probably be for the wrong reasons.
    About writing something: Your news about
Terry the Tramp
depresses the shit out of me. When I think of all those worthless mean-souled fuckers who
should
commit suicide, it’s rotten to hear that Terry was the one who did it. I have hours of tape-talk with the bastard & I was listening to them tonight & remembering how he always knew that Angel thing was a bad trip & how he wanted to get out of it ... but