Michael Azerrad - Our Band Could Be Your Life C/D?

I think this is a great book. I don't think Azerrad was ingrained in any of the scenes he talkes about, but he obviously knows his stuff. The Big Black chapter told me quite a lot of titbits I didn't know about them, which is saying something. The intent, I think, is that it's supposed to be a talking point of sorts rather than having you agree with everything in it. I don't think nearly everything Black Flag released from My War onwards was shit, like he appears to, and I'd question Dinosaur Jr's inclusion as a scene-defining band (not sure who should have been in it instead though... Youth Of Today, or does that venture too far outside his idea of 'American indie'? Dunno...). But I'm glad someone wrote a book like this.

It's entertaining, informative, and well written. Is it the greatest book ever written? Of course not, but it more than delivers on it's promises and offers some insight into what for many of us who are fans of this type of music have not been able to get anywhere else.

In summation, I recommend this book highly.

Azerrad really bugs me. This book has some great info tho

Could be doing with reading this again as I have not read it in years. The Minutemen chapter is heartbreaking though.

My favorite is the Butthole Surfers chapter and the bit about the medical procedure film they would run backwards at their shows!!

Jon Rans, the proprietor of the tiny club in Muncie, Indiana called the No Bar that Big Black crow about in this book died unexpectedly last week. Obscure information, I realize but still, he brought many great bands to that tiny burg in the mid-80,s. "Sound of Impact" was recorded there.

what bugs you about azzerad? this book is great. [not sure if i've read a great deal else by him, tho i did own the nirvana bio in high school].

John Robb's Death To trad Rock is almost a UK equivalent. Worth checking out if you get the chance.

Could certainly do with more books along th esame lines, I'd love an Australian equivalent since that was an area with a large amount of interesting bands that I'm not fully familiar with. Either that or a Vernon Joynson type book on that era & possibly further.

New Zealand too, or has that already got anything written/released about it?

I like em but I don't think Minor Threat should have been in it, or at least not when Fugazi's already there and Meat Puppets (a sonically much more interesting band IMO) aren't.

Dunno, I find his attempts to relate every band back to the 'scene' or the 'community' a touch strained when so many had nothing in common with each other or weren't aware of what was happening beyond their own touring schedule (Minutemen's lack of info about REM for example). More palatable in a oral history than a book about 12 seperate bands.

or 13 even

Lack of Meat Puppets is sort of in keeping with their out of step-ness, even with the out of step bands considered in the book. But yeah it would have been interesting to read about them.

Another problem is the Mudhoney chapter - it's as much about everything going around Mudhoney than it is about them.

No problem with trying to spell out what was happening in terms of actually getting the records out, but surely then why divide it up band by band? It's supposed to be their story?

The whole 'move to a major label = general decline and became less interesting' is well worn complaint but a necessary one, again it's supposed to be about the bands and their music first and foremost surely. Interesting if you were to dip into the next decade and look at Shudder To Think or Jawbox's best records and how they were released.

bcuz Mudhoney might be the least interesting band?

Scott Woods interviewed Azerrad on rockcritics.com a number of years ago:

http://rockcriticsarchives.com/interviews/michaelazerrad/michaelazerrad_woods.html

I think the problem is they were a flagship band on an 'important' label and it would be hard to miss out on late 80s Pacific NW