Goldberg considers his relationship with Kurt Cobain "the most important of my professional career." The first time he saw Nirvana, he was overwhelmed by Cobain's "mystical and powerful connection with the audience. . . . After years of increasing cynicism about what rock and roll had turned into, I felt the naive excitement of a teenager."
Cobain was a moody individual, with "a sweetness and gentility," but on one occasion he seemed particularly depressed. When asked why, he replied, "I'm awake, aren't I?"
His suicide deeply affected Goldberg, as did the death of Warren Zevon. When David Letterman asked Zevon if he had anything to say about facing death, he responded, "Just to enjoy every sandwich." Goldberg wanted to title a posthumous tribute album "Werewolves of London," but Zevon's son insisted on "Enjoy Every Sandwich."
"Bumping Into Geniuses" is sprinkled with revealing tidbits: Paul McCartney tells poet Allen Ginsberg, "You know, I read 'Howl' before John did." Having just met his idol Elvis Presley, Robert Plant sings "Treat me like a fool," and Presley sings back, "Treat me mean and cruel."
Patti Smith meets Goldberg for the first time at the Scribner Book Store on Fifth Avenue in New York, where she has a day job as a clerk. When she asks him, "What book do you want me to steal for you?" he requests the "I Ching" and in turn gives her a copy of Dylan's unreleased basement tapes.
Gene Simmons concedes, "We are still not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but there are three thousand licensed Kiss products, a Kiss toothbrush that plays 'I Want to Rock and Roll All Night' when you put it in your mouth, and everything from Kiss caskets to Kiss condoms. There are no Radiohead condoms."
Goldberg learned that "it was the artist's job to be creative and my role was to be their advocate." Here, he traces his path from cluelessness -- thinking that Billboard magazine "had something to do with ads displayed on highways" -- to sophistication.
Reading "Bumping Into Geniuses" is like having a laminated backstage pass to the music business, intertwined with a juicy slice of countercultural history.
Paul Krassner is the author of "Who's to Say What's Obscene: Comedy, Culture and Politics in America Today," to be published next spring.
