Our Band Could Be Your Life : c/d?

(That said the absolute last thing American rock journalism needs at the moment is this kind of nostalgia.)

Funny thing is, I get a better sense of perspective (relating the historical to modern times) from Mojo & Uncut than from US music mags (where the historical seems to covertly dictate what will pass), even though it's quite obvious that the UK magazines are deeply entrenched in a scene (what's it called nowadays, Alt.Country?) whose basic, frills-free MO is rehashing the past.

Any band into the Voidoids, Germs, Ornette Coleman, AND steely dan and blue oyster cult....

Hmmmm, I think... ur, Mr. MacDonald was a bit over-praising of the book.

It was a fun book, and having been immersed in all of the bands above, I could see how joyous and emotional it would be to finish reading this book. Looking back though, there was an axe being ground, it seemed... namely Johnny Lydon. And I think the networking between the American bands and other folks from England, Canada, etc. was a bit underplayed.. but I forgive the latter only in that underplaying certain elements of a theme is perfectly fine and often necessary for the purpose of writing a book.

Fucking corndogs.

It was intersting b/c within a six week period I read this, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life and Fargo Rock City, offering three completely different POVs of the 80s. One problem w/ Azerrad's book is that he writes like the scene he covered was more important and better than the others -- as if the concerns of white suburban punkers are parmount.

I liked the bits Klosterman put into FRC about speaking to Azerrad, re Azerrad saying that Black Flag fans were smarter & more independant thinkers than Motley Crue fans -- I took Klosterman's view on that one.

Jody Beth is OTM with her comment. There's some awful hyperbole in there -- something about Husker Du's "Eight Miles High" cover being the most powerful piece of rock music ever recorded, for instance.

I have other nitpicks. The limitations imposed by the "documenting indie bands while they were indie" format precluded coverage of some interesting bands who did great work on major labels (let's say the Pixies and Flaming Lips for starters).

On the whole though, it's a worthwhile read if you buy at all into the worth of el indie roquero. The Butthole anecdotes, as mentioned above, are great, and the drama-filled Dino J chapter is hilarious.

Did Klosterman say that he felt the reverse was true or that there was the usual range of smart and dumb in any particular fanbase? I can't remember offhand, and I hope it was the latter than the former (if the former, he's replicating and reversing Azerrad's errors).

My "review": http://www.citypages.com/databank/22/1083/article9800.asp

Oh, and "Eight Miles High" really is the most powerful piece of rock music ever recorded.

There are two books out about the development of hardcore: one called American Hardcore and another called Dance of Days (about D.C. punk). I've read neither.

I think it's pretty terrific.

As recorded by the Du? Not to my ears.

It was indeed the latter.

I have the Carducci book but never have been able to make heads or tails of it.

Carducci's not that great a writer himself, and the whole thing is undercut by his personal taste for heaviosity leading him to write off all things pop, but it's still a must-read if you can find it.

definetely something to read but i won't be able to track it down.

i just finished my review of "obcbyl" and i'm mailing it off to tom!

Naw, it just means that Evergreen students are too lazy to get jobs and they have to sell off their books to keep themselves in Annie's organic macaroni and cheese. :-)

Damn!!!

''julio, i'm sure you'll agree with many of carducci's points; it's just that his whole aesthetic does violence to my own.''

then surely it doesn't mean it's one of the worst does it? The more i disagree with the points a book is trying to make then it must be OK.

Its a bit pandering but its well written.

Matos cross-post!

All of the above (though, in all fairness, I've never met them). I don't like their music. I don't like their sensibility. I don't like their little precious aesthetic. I don't like their album covers. etc. etc. etc. I'm not saying they should be taken out back and shot in the back of the head (....although,....), but just that it's just not my bag.

This doesn't really feel like a valid criticism to me. Yes, there are uncomfortable cut-off points when bands make the major-label leap, but Azzerad notes this in his introduction and explains his reasoning soundly: this book is intended as a case study on the genesis of the American indie underground in its many forms, not a book that tackles indie guilt, or the phenomenon of "sell-out". These topics have been covered well elsewhere, and I think to bring them in here would damage the book's brevity, which is undoubtedly one of its strengths.

If he was to expand the book's range, I'd rather see him tackling bands like the Meat Puppets (whom I love, but know very little about), rather than covering all seven million REM albums, or trawling through Husker Du's diminishing returns. Surely that's ground already well-trod?

Did anyone see that Azzerad panel at CMJ a couple years ago where he spoke about this book and Richard Harte announced the Mission of Burma was playing a show in NYC? I almost crapped my pants right there in the room.

Anyway, I don't remember much else about that panel. But I do remember that Azerrad did in fact explain his reasoning behind quitting each chapter once a band jumped to a major and (I'm paraphrasing) he said that a) once on a major the bands in general did less important work and b) what held the thing together as a book was this indie network bubbling up around the same time all over the country. I think the book wasn't just about the bands, and what the bands did, but about time/place in American rock music.

There's no real reason the book needs to spend more time, or equal time, on the major label careers. That's not what the book is about.

As Scott posted, the book is about the burgeoning indie rock scene in America right around the time that the college club circuit was developing. The crux of the book is not an in-depth history of each band, it's more an overview of how the scene developed and probably more importantly, how the major labels ultimately turned made it a farm system in the 90s.

I had always avoided Beat Happening until I read the book, and upon reading it I promptly bought the box set on eBay. I promptly sold it right back.

The descriptions of J, Lou and Murph fighting are hilarious.

Is this book actually a decade old? Weird. It seems like it was published much more recently.

Yeah, I'd been meaning to read it...for ten years!

Worth the price, just for the Butthole Surfers chapter. That shit made me laugh out loud.

that was the best chapter by far!

obv

Yes, just for the story involving Nick Cave and Alex Chilton. Def. Classic.

the Timothy Leary sex story was classic too

this book is sum fucken faget bullshit imo

― cankles

I NEED MILK! MY BODY NEEDS MILK!

Also, Murph (i think) trying to kill Lou while still asleep