They all might not have originated from the book, but it does collect a lot of good shit together in one volume. Some of it spoke to me as a music fan, some as a musician. All of it pretty much solidified my love for all the bands represented.


Gibby Haynes excerpt:
"Where do they get the most pissed off?" the interviewer asked.
"Between the ears," replied Haynes

Steve Albini on why he does what he does:
"I would shoot myself in the face if I didn't have some way to blow off steam. And because I don't like sports, and because I don't like disco dancing, and because I don't take drugs, and because I don't drink, and don't beat my head into the floor, and don't have a wife to beat, I have Big Black."

J Mascis on discovering hardcore:
"I didn't listen to anything else for a while. Didn't understand how anyone else could."

Ian MacKaye on his audience:
""I walk into a club and think, this is going to be hell on earth! Then we go in, and at some point we establish a rapport, it's amazing, things start happening, the crowd is transformed, all of a sudden they look like a bunch of angels! And they don't see Minor Threat anymore, they see Fugazi, and they love it."

"I was just really interested in having people sing. Singing is an inclusive thing. It gives somebody something to do at a concert - they feel like they're a part of it... When I see people singing, it makes me feel like I'm getting something back."

Mark Arm on "Touch Me I'm Sick":
"It's a glorious 'Here we are, this is what we sound like.' And we never sounded like it again."

Heather Lewis on making a record:
"Calvin definitely was the one who felt, 'If you make a song, you record it and release it.' Whereas I was thinking, 'Can you do that? Are we allowed to to do that?'"

Love that book. I should really revisit it.

i've been trying to pick a new music book to read, this might be it.

Yup.

Excellent book.

Only read parts but isn't it "OUR Band Could Be Your Life"?

This book made me love the butthole surfers.

it wouldn't be a bad decision. and it's a pretty quick read, too.