John Peel

"The greatest pleasure in pop music derives, I believe, from the manner in which its very nature resists scholarship. There have been, needless to say, many attempts at scholarly pop books but most have been either outrageous hagiographies or absurd displays of pomposity. Those that have succeeded have done so because of the excellence of the writing rather than the importance of the subject matter. Pop is a car-boot sale, a parade of trinkets, junk and handicrafts. most worthless, some capable of giving a few moments of pleasure, with a few glorious items made more glorious by their unexpected appearance in this market. Then, in an unpredictable double-bluff, the worthless can, within a few years, take on great worth and the glorious become merely laughable." (p. 329)

"I'm going to tell you about a new recording of such strength, energy and real beauty that to me it represents the first break-through into history that any musician has made." (p. 421, talking about Tubular Bells)

"Rock music, even the very best of it, is essentially ephemeral." (p. 420)

The Olivetti Chronicles: Three Decades of Life and Music. (2008)