They say the pen is mightier than the sword. But is it mightier than the guitar?

A lot of music writers are actually frustrated musicians forced to make a living as observers of the thing they love rather than active participants, wishing they could transform into the rock stars that other pen jockeys write about. Some end up crossing the velvet rope: Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Morrissey of The Smiths, and Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys all started as writers for music magazines before achieving fame and fortune. Others remain frustrated, but keep on trying. Here’s one who wasn’t around for long, but never gave up.

Peter Laughner was a mainstay of the Cleveland underground scene in the 70’s. He maintained a day job writing for Creem magazine (the younger, more outrageous cousin to Rolling Stone) and other publications, while simultaneously playing in early incarnations of influential alternative bands Pere Ubu and Rocket From The Tombs. He also formed many short-lived, unsuccessful bands and recorded demos both with these groups and solo, occasionally in studios (when he could find the time and money), but more often at home on a tape recorder. Although he got close, no record label ever signed him.

Unfortunately, young Laughner lived the alcohol and drug-fueled, doomed punk lifestyle he often wrote about and didn’t survive the 70’s. But his music did, revealing a sensitive and acutely observant poet of the streets who should have gotten a chance at a wider audience. Why he didn’t will remain a mystery.

The indie label Tim/Kerr compiled an album of Laughner’s songs (dating from approximately 1973-1977) which they released in the early 90’s. The quality varied depending on where and how the tracks were recorded. The Dylanesque “Baudelaire” — Baudelaire being the 19th century French symbolist poet who wrote The Flowers Of Evil — sounds like a possible studio take, or maybe a decent 4-track setup. But I’m also going to throw in (for free!) the Lou Reedesque “In The Bar,” which you’ll likely have to turn up since it sounds like it was recorded on a cheap cassette player on the other side of the room: