Reader Sara writes in:
Dear Stereogum,
I used to date an indie rock nazi who made me feel sort of stupid for not knowing everything about rock, post rock, punk etc. It’s been several years and my broken heart is way over it, but now I want to know it all for myself. Are there a few titles you could recommend to me about music history?
Sorry Sara, we only read Alex Kapranos cookbooks. But I bet the readers have some suggestions…
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I Need More by Iggy Pop
Lester Bang readers
not really about music but:
Philosophy of Andy Warhol
I Need More by Iggy Pop
Lester Bang readers
not really about music but:
Philosophy of Andy Warhol
Currently reading “Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From The American Indie Underground” by Michael Azerrad, picked this up because a friend suggested it, features bands like Black Flag, Beat Happening, Fugazi, Husker Du and more.
I just finished John Harris’ “The Last Party: Britpop, Blair And The Demise Of English Rock”, it’s a good read if you’re into that kind of music, covers Suede, Oasis, Blur, Elastica.
Next on my list to read is “Rip It Up And Start Again Postpunk 78-84″. I was also trying to get a copy of The Creation Records Story but it seems only available in UK.
For punk, from start to (arguably) finish, _Please Kill Me_ is a must. It’s the collected interviews of all the heavy hitters and the more behind-the-scenes players, including Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Johnny Thunders, the MC5, the NY Dolls, etc.
hey Scott – a few good suggestions that I’ve learned a lot from…
From the Velvets to the Voidoids – Clinton Heylin
the early history of American punk
Rip It Up and Start Again – Simon Reynolds
post punk 1978-1984
and my favorite music book – which has nothing to do with punk rock – Rap Attack by David Toop, which is a great look at everything that shaped hip hop, from blues, soul, r+b to social and cultural conditions.
I second the suggestion of Michael Azerrad’s “Our Band Could Be Your Life”
And may I also recommend Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain’s “Please Kill Me” — it’s a great book on the origins of punk.
The Rock Snob’s Dictionary : An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge (Paperback)
by David Kamp, Steven Daly
Generally don’t trust books for information about music before 2000 – its changing so much that books just can’t keep up. Even though the internet can be trusted for nothing else, music info and the such is probably best found on the net.
http://www.musictimes.com.au
if you want to overweight your brain, i’d suggest greil marcus’ “Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century,” which somehow links french radicals of the early 20th century to the sex pistols. it also waxes poetic about the mekons’ “the building” in a way that makes it seem like the most important song of the past 50 years.
Nick Kent – The Dark Stuff.
Will not give you information of everything, but will give you some good and hair raising rock and punk tales.
Just to clarify something said earlier, here, Rip It Up was released in the U.S. about a month ago.
Lipstick Traces, Greil Marcus.
Deep Blues, Robert Palmer
Visions of Jazz, Gary Giddins
allmusic.com
it’s blasphemous to discuss music books and not mentiom “HAMMER OF THE GODS”
That’s where you need to start.
Don’t laugh – the Spin Guide to Alternative Rock (published in 1994 or so) is a pretty good one-stop for information on key punk/indie acts (hip hop, dance, and a few other genres are covered as well). Rather than take the completist discography approach (a la the Trouser Press guide), the entries in this one sum up each artist in a readable style and pick the high points (and a few low ones) out of albums. The book’s aimed at a general audience rather than subcultural types, and written as such, and it holds up quite well for that ten years later. The kicker is that it’s out of print, but if you see a copy, buy or borrow.
(yes, it was a Spin publication, but I’m telling you, it’s terrific. Even credentialed music types like Simon Reynolds and Byron Coley penned some entries for it).
I’d skip Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus or at least put it on hold until you have your bearings. That book is pretty intense…I’d go with Please Kill Me and England’s Dreaming.
Please Kill Me
We Got the Neutron Bomb : The Untold Story of L.A. Punk
The Rock Snob Dictionary
The latter is really most important for your purposes, because you can glean all the bullshit that completists are so proud of themselves for knowing, and then delve deeper into anything that actually strikes you as interesting. Also, it’s hilarious.
I very much second The Spin Alternative Record Guide (i believe that’s actually what it’s called). You will quickly become familiar with all of the major alternative bands from 1960s-1994. Also, Please Kill Me is great read, although it is less emcompassing as a music history.
i’ll “third” ‘Our Band Could Be Your Life’ – the chapter on the Butthole Surfers is worth the price of admission alone!
as for Greil Marcus’ stuff, i’d recommend “Mystery Train” and “In The Fascist Bathroom” (at least that’s what it’s called in the UK – i think it’s called something else in the US). “The Sex Revolts” by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press is a good one, too!
OMG… I think I might be an indie rock nazi
I *loved* Unknown Legends of Rock n Roll by (I think) Richie Untenberger (sp?). Lots of stuff that is/was obscure–I think it was written before Nick Drake and Love had resurgences.
Seconded on the Azerrad and the Hammer of the Gods. I remember reading a pretty good anthology of late 60s Rolling Stone writing that was pretty fun, although I think it is out of print now. Actually, it was riddled with hippies, but had good stuff on The Grateful dead etc
Go broke buying all the 33 1/3 books.
What, no mention of the Trouser Press guides?
Oh, and Lester Bangs! Can’t forget Lester!
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung
If you buy Rip it Up and Start Again I recommend ordering the British version from Amazon UK. It is 200 pages longer than the American version with extra chapters & photographs.
I’d also add to the list the Trouser Press Guides and concur with Our Band Could Be Your Life, Lipstick Traces and In The Fascist Bathroom.
The Nick Tosches Reader is a good intro to his stuff, then make absolutely sure to read his phenomenal “Dino,” a bio of Dean Martin.
Almost forgot – From the Velvets to the Voidoids by Clinton Heylin.
I love my “Mojo Reader- The Ultimate Music Companion” and also “Kill Your Idols” because it is fun. But neither of those have to do specifically with what you asked for.
I agree with pretty much what everyone else suggested. If you’re cheap or smart, go to your local library and check out all the relevant books in the music section… the more you read, the more you’ll know. (and the more you’ll grow, haha).
Also, I would recommend (if you can) trying to read some magazine articles (NME, Spin, Rolling Stone… basically all the magazines you should avoid in their current incarnations) that were published while the music was still fresh. It will give you a different perspective, and you’ll get some good interviews and thus you can hear it straight from the band as they are making the music.
And always the best way to get a real knowledge of the music is to just LISTEN to it… novel idea, I know.
“as for Greil Marcus’ stuff, i’d recommend “Mystery Train” and “In The Fascist Bathroom” (at least that’s what it’s called in the UK – i think it’s called something else in the US).”
I have a copy called Ranters and Crowd Pleasers purchased when it first came out here, but I think the U.S. editions are now called “In the Fascist Bathroom,” as well.
For punk/indie rock 101, you won’t do better than:
- the aforementioned Marcus book
- Please Kill Me
- Rip It Up and Start Again
- Our Band Could Be Your Life.
They’re all well-written and are very music-oriented.
England’s Dreaming is a little more politicized, a little less about the music, and the focus is pretty confined to just a few British bands.
Lipstrick Traces is fascinating, but you’ll learn a lot more about Situationists than rock bands.
wow i scrolled all the way down here reading the comments and thinking to myself – why doesn’t someone say “just listen to the music”? and there it is. finally.
what, no mention of the motley crue biography or “fargo rock city”? pfft.
i’ll fifteenth “our band could be your life” also. each band is broken up nicely in chapters so you can read about a couple of bands, read something else, then come back. it can be a little dry and unnecessarily wordy, but chock full of useful information. er, as useful as knowing about this stuff can be i guess.
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung is not an easy read…it takes a lot of patience and a strong affinity for Bangs in order to make it cover to cover. In addition, his musings on ? & and Mysterians , The Count 5, etc are entertaining but I dont suggest this book to someone in the early stages of research.
all of the above and
Uptight:The Velvet Underground Story by somebody??
and Positively 4th Street by David Hadju
and yeah, just LISTEN to the music
!!!!!
plus, the internet … the po person’s encylopedia of all things and no things
i took a musicology course in college which required these two books. you will learn a shitload…
The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock n Roll (Gillett)
Flowers in the Dustbin: James Miller
buy them immediately
“Also, I would recommend (if you can) trying to read some magazine articles (NME, Spin, Rolling Stone… basically all the magazines you should avoid in their current incarnations) that were published while the music was still fresh.”
Great suggestion! There was a time when Rolling Stone was the Pitchfork of the music world, and they published some great reviews, interviews, and articles before the MTV generation came around. I cannot remember the exact name of the book, but there is a collection of Rolling Stone articles in book form – the best of the first 20-25 years of Rolling Stone, I forget which one. Definitely worth your time.
I just finished reading “rip it up and start again” by simon reynolds, it was absolutely great. like reading an encyclopedia for post-punk, the most holy of rock snob genre’s (that and krautrock maybe). it starts right from where please kill me (another excellent one) ends. i am only listening to PiL’s metal box and flowers of romance because of rip it up…
I forgot about Flowers in the Dustbin, but I also recommend it. Also for another academic but short read I would recommend Subculture: The Meaning of Style by Dick Hebdige. It traces the roots of punk, mod & skin styles mostly in the UK and I found it very interesting.
Avoid all Rolling Stone and Spin record guides.
Read Trouser Press and All Music guides.
Robert Christgau’s 70′s and 80′s guides are good.
His 90′s one is not
Please Kill Me is good.
England’s Dreaming is good.
Velvets to Voidoids is good.
Love the Velvets.
Laugh at Lou Reed.
Listen to Dub Housing by Pere Ubu!
Who am i to judge?
Read it all.
Listen to everything.
Have fun.
What about “NOTHING FEELS GOOD” by Andy Greenwald?
My reccomendation would be to read Please Kill Me, Our Band Could Be Your Life, and Englands Dreaming as a start. Those will give you a really good background on A LOT! Then you can pick and choose whatever else and have a good grasp of the history.
Since someone reccomended David Toop’s Rap Attack I have to say his two books Haunted Weather and Ocean of Sound have had more of an effect on the way I hear music and sound than any other book. But those books aren’t really what you’re looking for.
Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out is fantastic. Not so much indie-related, but a great overview of rock n’ roll.
spin archives/spin subscription!
spin archives/spin subscription!
Reading books about the stooges, MC5, Velvet Underground etc. is the biggest fucking waste of time I’ve ever heard. While they’ve produced some good tracks/albums there’s no need to read so much into the lives of a bunch of disgruntled suburban kids moving to NYC circa 1970 to do heroin and revive garage rock.
A Whore Like All the Rest and The Aesthetics of Rock (Meltzer, Richard)
Doom Patrols, the chapter entitled “Bilinda Butcher” (Shaviro, Steven)
Songwriters On Songwriting (Zollo, Paul)
33 1/3 Series
Pinball (Kosinski, Jerzy)
Great Jones Street (Delillo, Don)
Take 5 (Mano, Keith)
Sound on Sound (Sorrentino, Christopher)
Waiting for the Sun (Hoskyns, Barney)
Actual Air (Berman, David)
Awopbobaloobop Awopbamboom (Cohn, Nik)
Wikipedia! You’d be surprised how many band bios you can find there.
These two books cover punk in the early 80s:
American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush
All Ages: Reflections on Straight Edge by Beth Lahickey
You might also find some good titles by Amazoning some books people have recommended here and following the thread of related titles. Then, see if your local library carries any of these.
Read anything by Kant; he forecasted modernism, and everything today is influenced by that.
Every book I like has already been mentioned but a book I really enjoyed that covers every notable genre and underground legend would have to be: The Secret History of Rock: The Most Influential Bands You’ve Never Heard by Roni Sarig. It covers all those obscure bands you’ve heard mentioned in reviews but have never heard yourself. It gives you an idea about what all these influential bands sound like and whether you’d be into checking them out too. I have to give props to any book that mentions the fabulously underrated proto-postpunk band ESG!!
These are absolutely essential reads.
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
What’s that? You want books about music snobbery? Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you said Oprah’s Book Club. My mistake. Moving along.
“The Sound and the Fury” (no not that The Sound and the Fury) Great collection of articles from the past 40 years. Its pretty incredible to read about how people first percieved Bowie as Ziggy Stardust AT THE TIME or that fuckin’ Ringo was looked at as the leader of the Beatles when they first came over. Old articles are great for the perspective of the time and how much it has changed over the years, and in some cases, stayed the same. Oh yeah, don’t forget pull your head out of your ass then get a clue. The internet is full of information, use it.
All the greats have been mentioned: The Spin Alternative Guide, Trouser Press, Chuck Klosterman and Our Band Could Be Your Life. One I got as a gift that ended up being quite enjoyable is Rolling Stone’s ‘Alt Rock A Rama’. Despite the lame title it’s a compendium of lists and stories with some really funny and informative content. Chris Mars of Replacements has a few worthwhile contributions including a list of the dumbest stuff The ‘Mats ever did. It’s hit-or-miss but much more hit than miss.
It is out of print but can easily be found rather cheaply.
I’ll second “Nothing Feels Good” if you’re looking for some info on the background of emo, what it was originally (stuff like Rites of Spring), and how it’s become known today.
ditto on wikipedia
Trouser Press Guides are great. And you can check out online. http://www.trouserpress.com
I might have missed it, but didn’t see anyone mention “Get in the Van”, H. Rollins’ definitive diary of what it was like on the road and off, a day by day description of what punk life really was…the blood, the gore, the poverty, the heart, the guts. Say what you want about Henry or the book, but it’s literally one of the most honest accounts about a period of our culture that I’ve ever read.