—Kirkus Reviews
“An important document…. Until now, no one has really told the story of how these bands got to these statesman-like positions. Azerrad does a fine job doing just that, detailing each band and its ensuing scene—not just the events and happenings, but the whole mindset that made them possible.”
—Joe S. Harrington, New York Press
“Azerrad’s focus on the bands’ collective sense of independence—their refusal to knuckle under to commercial considerations—is laserlike, and his descriptions of the music are occasionally sublime.”
—Book magazine
“Our Band Could Be Your Life is an exhaustive history by one of the indie scene’s most diligent documentarians…. An invaluable guide for younger fans who don’t know the history…. Azerrad’s book reverently and unobtrusively bears witness to the time before Riot Grrrl, before Nirvana went Platinum, before hardcore punk noise played in the background of Mountain Dew commercials, before the dream broke down and had to be repaired.”
—Emily White, Newsday
“Michael Azerrad is brilliant at uncovering the real stories of these artists, the unsung heroes of the alternative movement. It’s great stuff.”
—Matt Pinfield, host of Farmclub.com
“Our Band Could Be Your Life is not only an essential musical encyclopedia for anyone who claims to enjoy indie rock, but also a great starting point for anyone interested in discovering music made for music, not music made for money.”
—Jeremy Hedges, The Pitt News
“A solid historical compendium…. Our Band Could Be Your Life is a pointed requiem and testimonial to a movement that, like a good song, burns white-hot for only so long, and then dies.”
—Chris Lenz, Privy Magazine
“An astute insider’s account of the collective accomplishment of these various bands…. Azerrad captures the thrill of being young, antiestablishment, and impassioned—the inspiring ingredients of all these bands.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Azerrad’s chronicle is so engrossing…. Azerrad not only describes the world of ’80s underground rock but derives from it an argument, identifies a common thread linking hardcore visionaries Black Flag to pre-twee naïve-rockers Beat Happening.”
—Rene Spencer Saller, St. Louis Riverfront Times
“Funny… passionate, and difficult to put down. Like any music book worth the trees that died to provide the paper, it makes you want to hear the records in question—but this one will also compel you to buy them at an independently owned store.”
—Kurt B. Reighley, Seattle Weekly
“A galvanized heart-and-soul report on the last great American rock ethic whose vision became the spirit germ for anything worth listening to since.”
—Robert Pollard, Guided by Voices
“Thirteen of the bands that inadvertently blazed the trail for the mindless commodification of alternative rock are given an exceptionally thorough and altogether rockin’ belated encore in Our Band Could Be Your Life…. Azerrad’s coup here is in getting most of the major players to talk, and it’s a substantive piece of work as history, but it’s in analytic moods… where he really shines…. A wonderful document, a scrapbook from the last time music mattered.”
—Patrick Beach, Austin American Statesman
“Amazing rock & roll stories on par with anything the Rolling Stones or Black Sabbath could spin…. Throughout dozens of interviews, Azerrad uncovers the sore boils and scars that plagued and celebrated the first wave of D.I.Y. bands.”
—Eric Weddle, Bloomington Independent
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CONTENTS
WELCOME
EPIGRAPH
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: BLACK FLAG
CHAPTER 2: THE MINUTEMEN
CHAPTER 3: MISSION OF BURMA
CHAPTER 4: MINOR THREAT
CHAPTER 5: HÜSKER DÜ
CHAPTER 6: THE REPLACEMENTS
CHAPTER 7: SONIC YOUTH
CHAPTER 8: BUTTHOLE SURFERS
CHAPTER 9: BIG BLACK
CHAPTER 10: DINOSAUR JR
CHAPTER 11: FUGAZI
CHAPTER 12: MUDHONEY
CHAPTER 13: BEAT HAPPENING
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO BY MICHAEL AZERRAD
EXTRAORDINARY PRAISE FOR MICHAEL AZERRAD’S OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE
NEWSLETTERS
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 by Michael Azerrad
Cover design by Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla; cover photograph by Jim Saah
Cover copyright © 2012 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
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First e-book edition: December 2012
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ISBN 978-0-316-24718-4
Our Band Could Be Your Life Page 65