Publisher Description

It was a musical revolution that happened in the midst of Reagan's 80s: a small but sprawling network of bands, labels, fanzines, radio stations and other subversives who re-shaped and re-energized American rock music with punk rock's revolutionary do-it-yourself credo. The music that resulted was deeply personal, always challenging and immensely influential. This book traces the arc of the American indie underground in the 1980s, from obscure beginnings to the point a decade later when the mainstream sat up and took notice. Beginning with the pioneering and notorious punk band, Black Flag, the story continues with the Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Husker Du, the Replacements, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Dinosaur Jr, Fugazi, Mudhoney and Beat Happening, among others. Without major label support, these bands depended on resourcefulness, creativity and an all-powerful sense of community.

Notes

The story of the American post-punk indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. who paved the way for the grunge phenomenon.

Back Cover

Our Band Could Be Your Life 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 is already being recognized as an indie rock classic in its own right. Among the Bands Profiled in Our Band Could be your Life * Mission of Burma * The Minutemen * Black Flag * Husker Du * Minor Threat * The Replacements * Butthole Surfers * Sonic Youth * Big Black * Fugazi * Mudhoney * Beat Happening * Dinosaur Jr.

Author Biography

Jeanne Whitmee began her career as an actress, but she is now a full-time writer with over thirty published novels.

Review

"Azerrad has done so much interviewing that the material will be fresh even for those whose lives these bands were." - Village Voice "A timely reminder that Cobain and company were merely a key regiment in the motley al-rock army. OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE narrates, down to the homemade posters and tour van repairs, how these bands gradually built up an audience large enough to make record labels and critics take notice." - Time.Com

Promotional

The story of post-punk indie rock in America, and the bands whose do-it-yourself ethic paved the way for the grunge phenomenon of the 1990s.

Review Quote

Azerrad has done so much interviewing that the material will be fresh even for those whose lives these bands were. - Village Voice

Promotional "Headline"

The definitive chronicle of underground music in the 1980s tells the stories of Black Flag, Sonic Youth, The Replacements, and other seminal bands whose DIY revolution changed American music forever.

Details