Miskatonic University PressFlipping through the first edition of Against Method by Paul Feyerabend that’s in the collection of the library where I work, I came across this page. I was happy to see a mention of Hans Richter, whose book Dada: Art and Anti-Art is a classic. “Miss Koertge” is Noretta Koertge. But what about the handwritten text? That’s not the usual annotation we see, where some student disagrees with the text or makes a note to themself of a key point to make in an essay (“IMPORTANT”).
No, it’s a quote from the lyrics of “Boys Cry Tough,” a song by Bad Company on their 1990 album Holy Water.
Bobby’s going out tonight, looking for trouble
Everybody likes to fight sometimes
Boys love to fight, boys are [taught?]!
Life is [rough? naught?]
Well, the first two lines are from the song; the third isn’t and I’m not completely sure what was written; the fourth is perhaps close to “life gets rough” from the song.
Who was it who was reading anarchist philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend and then struck so profoundly by the lyrics of a song by a past-its-prime English rock band that they were moved to write some lines in a library book? What a night that must have been.