Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991

This is an incredibly well-written account of America's underground punk/hardcore/indie scene from 1981 - 1991. A true page-turner with lots of deeply researched history and ample quotations from members of the movement. The part about The Minutemen's D. Boon dying in a van crash literally made me cry. Many other parts made me laugh out loud. Highly recommended reading and an essential history of this special time.

Interesting and well-developed back stories for every band

I picked up a copy of this book, almost expecting it to be like medicine: here are bands that I should have been more familiar with during my teen years in the eighties, so I'd better buckle down and learn about them. As it turned out, I was hooked from the first chapter about the shenanigans of Black Flag. This is a very entertaining read, not only for the standard stories of punk rock misbehavior (the Butthole Surfers chapter alone is worth the cost of the book), but also because the reader can't help but be struck by the dedication and sacrifices made by these artists. Their work ethic was astounding, and the rewards few and far between. Every spoiled college student, every armchair punk who sniffs about their once-favorite band selling out should be have this book carved into their sunken chests. Azerrad does a great job of combining entertaining storytelling with insightful analysis. Each band profiled had a different personality (or several), but they all show up in each other's stories, and the reader is afforded a view of the larger picture that is often lacking in individual bands' stories. As you read, you understand why he chose the bands he did, though there are a few more I would like to have seen profiled, as they are mentioned so often in the book as influences, e.g.: Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and Meat Puppets. I finished this book right around the time the Video Music Awards were on MTV, and I'm ready to start an underground band now. We need another revolution! Any volunteers?

I have actually read this book twice! I never listened to (but was aware of) some the bands covered here. It made me go back explore some great music that I had originally missed out on! Many thanks.

I don't know what all the complaints are about. Azerrad has written a solid account of the punk/underground music scene in 1980s America, and it is authentic, because he was partaking of the scene at the time. I still snicker when I recall big-media coverage of the breaking "alternative" scene in 1991-92, and slick magazine hacks writing clueless articles about supposedly groundbreaking bands like Nirvana (who played loud and screamed, like <sarcasm>no one had ever done before</sarcasm>). Azerrad isn't about that, he clearly knows and loves the music of the bands he's chosen to profile, and as far as I'm concerned, having seen several of these bands perform in cramped clubs in the Decade of Reagan, he is accurate. And we get the warts too: his profile of Sonic Youth is not particularly flattering from a personal standpoint. So if you weren't around to see giants like Husker Du and Minutemen at the time and want to know how amazing they were, or if you want to revive your memories of those exciting years (when, to quote the Germs, "what we did was secret...SECRET!"), get this book. At the very least, this book is largely responsible for the revival of the careers of Mission of Burma and Dinosaur Jr, so it gets five stars just for that. On the con side: why no discography??

great writer, great bands, and amazingly fun to read, I have read his record reviews before, ( and they too, are outstanding) , but this book is written very well, and tells the stories behind some extremely important , legendary, bands. A must have book, for any music fan, of anything outside of the mainstream

Well its bizarre there is no Bad Brains chapter although he does reference their importance several times in the book (mostly in the Minor Threat chapter) although I disagree with some of the posts that the book was severely lacking - I mean it is what it is..The Black Flag chapter at least for me was pretty much everything out of "Get in the Van" and I think he even mentioned direct Rollins quotes from there several times..I have read tons of books on this era and lived it but none the less I thought the book was a fun read. People shouldn't review rock books like its Sartre or some such ..it was a fun book to read and we are all fans so ..Jack Rabid read it..Babes in Toyland read it ..Steve read it - come on whats the big deal??

Well researched and well told history of the 80’s indie music scene, from LA (SST) to DC (Dischord) to NY/Boston (Homestead) to the Midwest (Twin tone) to Seattle (Sub Pop / K). I listened to all of these bands nonstop in the late 80’s and played them on the college radio station I dj’ed for. Reading this book more than 30 years later brought back great memories. Even better, playing the albums on Spotify while reading the book was a real treat, and probably not something one could easily do until the last few years.

O livro chegou muito amassado, era um presente e agora nem sei como entregar. Uma pena, porque é uma ótima obra.

Die Nirvana-Bio von Michael Azerrad gefiel mir ganz gut, wobei ich sie nicht herausragend fand. Auf das hier besprochene Buch wurde ich durch einen Freund aus GB aufmerksam, der begeistert davon ist. Da zudem Sonic Youth, Mudhoney und Dinosaur Jr. gerade mal wieder in aller Munde sind (und in gewisser Weise kreativer und wichtiger denn je :o) und da sie alle ein Kapitel in diesem Buch bekamen, und weil es ein paar Bands gibt, die ich mag, über die ich aber eher wenig wusste bisher (Black Flag, Hüsker Dü) schaffte ich es mir an. Auf durchschnittlich 50 Seiten pro Band stellt der Autor diese vor und zeichnet den Weg nach, den sie von Anfang an gegangen sind, wobei der Focus meist wirklich auf den Anfangstagen liegt. So ist mitzubekommen, wie es um Staub fressen, endlose Kilometer im Van zu Gigs zurück legen, tagelang nichts zu Essen haben, Unbekannte treffen, die später mal berühmte Musiker sein werden, verprügelt werden von verpeilten Fans, Ärger mit der Staatsgewalt und vieles mehr geht. Der Autor hat offensichtlich viele Interviews mit allen Beteiligten geführt und hat eine Schreibweise, die sehr unterhaltend ist. Immer wenn ich mal kurz 5 Seiten lesen wollte habe ich häufig das ganze Kapitel über eine Band gelesen und zwar auch bei Bands, die ich bisher so gut wie gar nicht kannte, wie The Minutemen. Zeitlich verortet sind die Stories Ende der Achtziger bis Anfang der Neunziger Jahre, und folgende Bands werden portraitiert: Mission of Burma The Minutemen Black Flag Hüsker Dü Minor Threat The Replacements Butthole Surfers Sonic Youth Big Black Fugazi Mudhoney Beat Happening Dinosaur Jr

This is one of those books that you can name drop in discerning company and there’s going to at one person who’ll have had read and also thinks it’s great. A really fun read and not one of those books that you’ll give away once you’re done. Definitely part of my permanent book collection.

Es un documento muy completo acerca del boom del Gunge. Todo ello con declaraciones de la gente e l mundillo musical de Seattle de la época.

Libro scritto bene e approfondisce alla perfezione una decade di musica rimasta all epoca perlopiù ignorata in Italia e che ha portato al fenomeno dei Nirvana, e quindi di quanto noi consideriamo la quintessenza degli anni 90 non sia altro che la punta dell' iceberg di un fenomeno underground, strettamente americano e totalmente anni 80.