Goldman rebuttal

[tjs]

Hi y'all,

I was surfing the internet and found this fascinating review of the Goldman book by a psychologist. I thought others might be interested.

http://www.ulmus.net/ace/aceworks/presley.cfm

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Thank you tjs, Its nice to read a critical analysis of what someone thinks of that oaf Goldman.

I would go one stage further, Goldman clearly has no love for the subject matter he is investigating (Elvis) and that is unprofessional! he knows that this will make him a bucket load of money (As did his character assasination of Lennon) The book should have had fiction embossed upon the front.

JJ

[Cryogenic]

Your timing is uncanny!!!!

Or perhaps it's mine...

I literally JUST quoted from this page all of five minutes ago on another message board about another topic. What am I talking about? Well, obviously, I am familiar with the hyperlinked document and one phrase contained within it really stuck in my mind. That phrase? "Elaborate constructions of tinsel and mud". I think that's possibly the most brilliant piece of prose I've ever read off the internet. Yes... EVER. It applies to so much junk that's out there - not just Elvis! - and I indeed put it to use in such a way (in reference to the writings contained within magazines like Rolling Stone, actually).

Yes... it is a very great article. The lack of scholarly rebuttals to Goldman's opus is disheartening; it's like everyone but pee-ed off Elvis fans AGREE with him! In turn, that implies that Goldman's account is probing and accurate - it is, of course, neither. Thank goodness for these diamonds in the rough! I did actually encounter another illuminating article about Goldman and his filfth on my travels - if only I could remember where it was! This other article talked about the enormous marketing campaign that accompanied the book and quoted facts and figures. It was obvious from that as to how Goldman achieved the enormous veneration that he did. It's an absolute MUST READ if I can find it for you!

It's kinda sad to think of it, but really, human nature is a lot like Obi Wan described it in Attack of the Clones. When he was talking of Palpatine, he said that he was so successful because he was able to play on "the passions and prejudices of the senators". Goldman did exactly that (if you replace "senators" with "people") - aided and abbetted by wanton greed and significant amounts of money (which again is like Palpatine and The Trade Federation) - when he wrote and published "Elvis". A sizeable portion of the populace had grown weary of Elvis' "Southern Gentlemen" image, spurred on by various amounts of healthy skepticism and not-so-healthy jealousy, I feel, and began actively lusting for something negative; "Elvis: What Happened?", a much more prudent if almost equally sensational book, created Goldman's window of opportunity and he promptly seized it for all it was worth. "Elvis" really does say more about Goldman and people's bloodlust than it does about Elvis or his profound cultural legacy.

[orwell1976]

...it's an interesting article.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Goldman is an educated man (apparently) so he rolled the dice, he wasn't concerned with the feelings of the common or garden Elvis fan, why should he be? he was aiming at the general populus. The more scandal the better, for isn't that what people want to read! To scandalise an Icon creates interest like no other (The dead cannot be liballed). The newspapers will jump on it just to sell papers, this in turn generates the publicity that Goldman wanted and hey presto you have a million seller.

Goldman understood the psychi of the masses at that time and catered for it in a way that perhaps even he underestimated, for every hard core Elvis fan is duty bound to read this rubbish (Even if bought by an unsuspecting releative) just to pillor the man everyone loves to hate.

This book, even to this day is available on various web sites labelled as the definitive Elvis biography The man has created the best fictional Elvis book of the last 24 years whether we like it or not (and we don't).

Thankfully enough time has passed (for the most part) that writers of Elvis books try to give an unbiased point of view, even if there are some elaberated mistruths sprinkled within. Any writer who wants to write an Elvis book of note needs to be able to stand scrutiny of those without rose tinted glasses and more than a general knowledge of the subject matter.

Matt

Your timing is uncanny!!!!

Or perhaps it's mine...

I literally JUST quoted from this page all of five minutes ago on another message board about another topic. What am I talking about? Well, obviously, I am familiar with the hyperlinked document and one phrase contained within it really stuck in my mind. That phrase? "Elaborate constructions of tinsel and mud". I think that's possibly the most brilliant piece of prose I've ever read off the internet. Yes... EVER. It applies to so much junk that's out there - not just Elvis! - and I indeed put it to use in such a way (in reference to the writings contained within magazines like Rolling Stone, actually).

Yes... it is a very great article. The lack of scholarly rebuttals to Goldman's opus is disheartening; it's like everyone but pee-ed off Elvis fans AGREE with him! In turn, that implies that Goldman's account is probing and accurate - it is, of course, neither. Thank goodness for these diamonds in the rough! I did actually encounter another illuminating article about Goldman and his filfth on my travels - if only I could remember where it was! This other article talked about the enormous marketing campaign that accompanied the book and quoted facts and figures. It was obvious from that as to how Goldman achieved the enormous veneration that he did. It's an absolute MUST READ if I can find it for you!

It's kinda sad to think of it, but really, human nature is a lot like Obi Wan described it in Attack of the Clones. When he was talking of Palpatine, he said that he was so successful because he was able to play on "the passions and prejudices of the senators". Goldman did exactly that (if you replace "senators" with "people") - aided and abbetted by wanton greed and significant amounts of money (which again is like Palpatine and The Trade Federation) - when he wrote and published "Elvis". A sizeable portion of the populace had grown weary of Elvis' "Southern Gentlemen" image, spurred on by various amounts of healthy skepticism and not-so-healthy jealousy, I feel, and began actively lusting for something negative; "Elvis: What Happened?", a much more prudent if almost equally sensational book, created Goldman's window of opportunity and he promptly seized it for all it was worth. "Elvis" really does say more about Goldman and people's bloodlust than it does about Elvis or his profound cultural legacy.