What could be less “rock” then just accepting that which is handed to you by your elders as the gospel truth? According the contributors of “Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders the Classics,” nothing.

“Kill Your Idols” is a collection of essays compiled and edited by Jim DeRogatis, author of the Lester Band biography “Let It Blurt.” DeRogatis explains in the Foreword, “If we want to be high-minded about it, we can call it a spirited assault on a pantheon that has been foisted upon us, or as defiant rejection of the hegemonic view of rock history espoused by the critics who preceded us. If we want to use the vernacular, let’s just say it’s a loud, angry, but hopefully amusing —- you.”

In order to publicize his call to arms, DeRogatis brought together the best music journalists of generations X and Y, and gave them a chance to completely rip apart a classic album that they felt was highly over-rated. Each essay is not only searing and well written, but in most cases, the writers make excellent points.

The collection opens with DeRogatis’ own assault on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.” While initially DeRogatis lashes out, saying that the album “sucks dog royally,” eventually he lapses into an intelligent consideration of why this beloved Beatles album should be reconsidered as a top ten classic. He accuses it of being overly simplistic, of cashing in on an image while abandoning the defiant notions of a generation. Anyone who has sat down and really examined “Sgt. Pepper’s” might be inclined to agree.

Also especially amusing is journalist Fred Mills’ attack of Neil Young’s “Harvest.” Mills not only accuses Young of cursing the world with “simpering singer-songwriters obsessed with the D-chord and first-person pronouns,” but he refers to Young’s lyrics as narcissistic and blames Young for ruining a brief period of his life with his awful album. This is rock journalism at its best: personal, critical and highly insulting.

Other albums that are ripped a metaphorical new one include such beloved classics as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” U2’s “The Joshua Tree,” Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” and Radiohead’s “OK Computer.” No matter what the reader’s personal opinion of any of these bands may be, “Kill Your Idols” does what it sets out to do. It incites conversations, it challenges the social statute, and will inevitably piss off a lot of people.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of “Kill Your Idols” is the writer’s biographies in the back of the book. Every contributor lists their top ten favorite albums of all time, and almost every list contains an album that is torn to shreds by another writer. This just goes to prove, music journalists don’t know everything (just don’t tell them that.)