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In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!
Shop nowOur Band Could Be Your Life
Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991
Length
21 hours 6 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Phil Elverum, Stephin Merritt, Jon Wurster, Corey Taylor, Merrill Garbus, Michael Azerrad, Colin Meloy, Fred Armisen, Laura Jane Grace, Dave Longstreth, Jeff Tweedy, Jonathan Franzen & Sharon Van Etten
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Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“This is my absolute favorite music book - in-depth looks at indie rock bands all across the country during the late 1970s and 1980s showcasing the diversity of music on the margins throughout that decade. Punk aggression, twee affectations, jangly power pop, and college radio bands are all linked in their rejection of the mainstream (at least until they signed to major labels).”
— David • Avid Bookshop
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.
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 re-energized American rock with punk'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 an indie rock classic in its own right.
The bands profiled include:
- Sonic Youth
- Black Flag
- The Replacements
- Minutemen
- Husker Du
- Minor Threat
- Mission of Burma
- Butthole Surfers
- Big Black
- Fugazi
- Mudhoney
- Beat Happening
- Dinosaur Jr.
Michael Azerrad is the author of the books Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991, and Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. His writings on music and musicians have appeared in numerous magazines, including Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, Spin, and the New York Times. He lives in New York City.
Michael Azerrad is the author of the books Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991, and Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. His writings on music and musicians have appeared in numerous magazines, including Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, Spin, and the New York Times. He lives in New York City.