Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.14 (907 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0316787531 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 528 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-05-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Our Band Could Be Your Life (Bringing Underground Music Above Ground( NittyGritty17 Our Band Could Be Your Life is a very throrugh book with about 590 pages to read. If you are of the age group of the 'Indie' records, you will identify and like reading about the known groups. If you missed the generation and always wondered what it was all about, you'll learn about what these groups went through just for getting their music heard. I was impressed with their desire to make their own songs, have a friend make the labels and distribute their records the old fashion way, locally. All this with boyhood angst, they. Great for beginners or veterans ! The best thing about "Our Band Could Be Your Life" is how well it works as both an introduction to indie/punk/DIY to those who are unfamiliar with the music, and how well it will adds, reinforces, and strengthens the knowledge of those familiar with this type of music. Most of these bands are quite different from each other in terms of sound but they all share a similar story of rising from nothing to become unique and important bands in the world of independent rock music. "Our Band" is an easy and well paced read and spends . Nicholas Carr said A very insightful look into the birth of Alternative Rock. Prior to reading this book, I wasn't extremely familiar with the majority of the bands within it. I had followed Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Big Black, and Husker Du extensively because of their popularity and acclaim within my circles of friends, but I had never known anything about Black Flag's sordid history, Beat Happening's metamorphosis from a noisy garage band to a crisp-sounding Twee band, Muhoney's exploration of studio sound and songwriting approach, or The Replacement's interest in the past and the future and how that f
This is the never-before-told story of the musical revolution that happened right under the nose of the Reagan Eighties--when a small but sprawling network of bands, labels, fanzines, radio stations, and other subversives reenergized American rock with punk rock's do-it-yourself credo and created music that was deeply personal, often brilliant, always challenging, and immensely influential. This sweeping chronicle of music, politics, drugs, fear, loathing, and faith has been recognized as an indie rock classic in its own right. Among the bands profiled: Mission of Burma, Butthole Surfers, The Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Big Black, Hüsker Dü, Fugazi, Minor Threat, Mudhoney, The Replacements, Beat Happening, and Dinosaur Jr.
Yet these bands formed the nucleus of a new youth movement. Azerrad ably demonstrates that the "new" sound actually sprang from almost 15 years of innovation by hundreds of bands who remained "below the radar of the corporate behemoths." Linked under the loose rubric "indie rock," bands like Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Minor Threat and the Replacements languished in the musical minor leagues because they were too experimental for commercial radio, made unfortunate career decisions or eschewed mainstream success. But this thick slice of nostalgia, replete with colorful anecdotes that demystify even deliberately mystifying artists, primarily targets die-hard supporters of seminal 1980s indie bands, underground-club