At the turn of the millennium, “Der Dean” opined on the trials and tribulations of fellow rock critics Lester Bangs, Nick Tosches, and Richard Meltzer

“I guess she was per­fect for him — they could beat each other up every night and nobody’d mind. They had real fights.”

“Debbie Blondie herself has the Shangri-Las/Crys­tals girl group sound down to a perfect snotty whine, but unlike Patti Smith, she never comes across as snotty or pretentious.”

“I suggested the ‘Joey’ song to Bob,” says Jacques Levy. “You know, Bob has always had a thing about outlaws.”