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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE

Michael Azerrad

Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991

This is the never-before-told story of the musical revolution that happened right under the nose of the Reagan Eighties...
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.
Available products
Book

Published 2001-07-01 by Little Brown

Book

Published 2001-07-01 by Little Brown

Comments

A substantial, elegantly rendered assessment of the indie rock era. . . . A well-done, thoroughly detailed look at the stories behind the music that captures both the heart and the eccentricity of outsider rock’s golden age.

Azerrad’s focus on the bands’ collective sense of independence — their re- fusal to knuckle under to commercial considerations — is laserlike, and his descriptions of the music are occasionally sublime.

“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.