Our Band Could Be Your Life
Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991
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By:
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Michael Azerrad
About this listen
This is the never-before-told story of the musical revolution that happened right under the nose of the Reagan '80s - 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 has been recognized as an indie rock classic in its own right.
Among the bands profiled: Mission of Burma, Butthole Surfers, The Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Big Black, Hüsker Dü, Fugazi, Minor Threat, Mudhoney, The Replacements, Beat Happening, and Dinosaur, Jr.
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- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Matt Pinfield is the ultimate music fan. He's the guy who knows every song, artist, and musical riff ever recorded, down to the most obscure band's B-side single on its vinyl-only EP import. As a child, music helped Pinfield make sense of the world. Later he would approach his music idols after concerts and explain why he loved their music. As an adult, rock music inspired his career, fueled relationships, and, at times, became a life raft.
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great listen
- By nilda v. on 08-28-20
By: Matt Pinfield, and others
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Walk This Way
- Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever
- By: Geoff Edgers
- Narrated by: Geoff Edgers
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Washington Post staff writer Geoff Edgers takes a deep dive into the story behind "Walk This Way", Aerosmith and Run-DMC's legendary, groundbreaking mashup that forever changed music.
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A MUST LISTEN/READ
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By: Geoff Edgers
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Cool Town
- How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture
- By: Grace Elizabeth Hale
- Narrated by: Emily Cauldwell
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
In 1979, the self-titled debut album by the B-52s burst onto the Billboard charts, capturing the imagination of fans and music critics worldwide. The fact that the group had formed in the sleepy southern college town of Athens, Georgia, only increased the fascination. Soon, more Athens bands followed the B-52s into the vanguard of the new American music that would come to be known as "alternative", including R.E.M., who catapulted over the course of the 1980s to the top of the musical mainstream.
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I feel like I was there when it happened
- By Joseph Suciu on 01-11-23
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The Never-Ending Present
- The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip
- By: Michael Barclay
- Narrated by: George Stroumboulopoulos
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From our talent-rich neighbor to the north comes this biography of one of the most successful Canadian rock bands, The Tragically Hip, which announced a year-long tour after sharing the news of lead singer Gord Downie’s inoperable cancer. Now available to US listeners, The Never-Ending Present details what led up to the memorable night when music fans all over the world watched Downie’s heroic final performance.
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Hometown Heroes
- By Tommy Garou on 12-13-18
By: Michael Barclay
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Chairman at the Board
- Recording the Soundtrack of a Generation
- By: Bill Schnee
- Narrated by: Bill Schnee
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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With over 125 gold and platinum records, and two Grammys for Steely Dan's Aja and Gaucho, Schnee has been called a living legend - recognized and respected in the industry as the consummate music man with an incomparable career that he lovingly shares with listeners in humorous detail.
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Worst narration ever!
- By Anonymous User on 01-26-23
By: Bill Schnee
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Fornication
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story
- By: Jeff Apter
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite an epic reputation for exhibitionism, drug taking, and drunkenness, through it all the Chili Peppers have continued to produce records that shock, challenge, and intrigue their fans. Jeff Apter tells the complete Red Hot Chili Peppers story, from their first meeting at a Los Angeles high school to the creation of such career-defining albums as BloodSugarSexMagik, Californication and By The Way.
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Cabron
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-19
By: Jeff Apter
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Down the Highway
- The Life of Bob Dylan
- By: Howard Sounes
- Narrated by: Peter Markinker
- Length: 20 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Down the Highway is an essential biography for Bob Dylan fans and all music enthusiasts, delivering the full, fascinating story of the life and work of this great artist. Author Howard Sounes interviewed more than 250 key people in Dylan’s circle, and gained access to previously unseen documents, to create a fresh and compelling book that takes the reader on a journey from Dylan’s childhood in a Minnesota mining town, through his rise to fame in the 1960s, to his current status as the senior figure in popular music.
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I'm a little late to the party
- By BrassHat on 06-05-17
By: Howard Sounes
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Goodnight, L.A.
- Untold Tales from Inside Classic Rock’s Legendary Recording Studios
- By: Kent Hartman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
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From behind the walls of a handful of well-hidden, unlikely recording studios in the Los Angeles area, legends-in-waiting created masterpiece albums. It was a time of astonishing creativity and unprecedented fame and fortune. It was also a time of unfettered excess that threatened to unravel everything along the way. With access that only a longtime music business insider can provide, Kent Hartman packs Goodnight, L.A. with never-before-told stories about the most prolific time and iconic place in rock 'n' roll history.
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great stories and insight into a miraculous time
- By RWM on 05-27-22
By: Kent Hartman
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Everybody Wants Some
- The Van Halen Saga
- By: Ian Christe
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
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How did a pair of little Dutch boys trained in classical music grow up to become the nucleus of the most popular heavy metal band of all time? What's the secret behind Eddie Van Halen's incredible fast and furious guitar solos? What makes David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar so wacky? And, are all those stories about groupies, booze bashes, and contract riders true? The naked truth is laid bare in Everybody Wants Some - the real-life story of a rock 'n' roll fantasy come true.
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Good details of albums and post-1984 career
- By IndyMATT on 12-30-18
By: Ian Christe
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Small Town Talk
- Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock
- By: Barney Hoskyns
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
When musicians in the New York folk scene of the 1960s grew tired of city life, they decided to "get it together in the country". They headed for Woodstock - not to the site of the infamous music festival of 1969 but to the Catskills, to Bearsville, to Woodstock proper. Counterculture revolutionaries like Janis Joplin, Richie Havens, and Paul Butterfield got "back to the land", turning the once sleepy hollow into a funky Shangri-La.
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Captured the era - too many mistakes
- By Frank Canino on 04-17-16
By: Barney Hoskyns
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The Gospel According to Luke
- By: Steve Lukather
- Narrated by: Steve Lukather
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
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In this incisive memoir, Steve Lukather tells the complete Toto story. He also lifts the lid on what went on behind the closed studio doors, shedding light on the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, and Aretha Franklin. Lukather’s extraordinary tale also encompasses the dark side of stardom and the American Dream. Frank, engaging, and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir.
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Wow Best Rock Biography Ever
- By Hercules on 09-29-18
By: Steve Lukather
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Light & Shade
- Conversations with Jimmy Page
- By: Brad Tolinski
- Narrated by: Robert Fass, John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
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More than 30 years after disbanding in 1980, Led Zeppelin continues to be celebrated for its artistic achievements, broad musical influence, and commercial success. The band's notorious exploits have been chronicled in bestselling books; yet none of the individual members of the band has penned a memoir nor cooperated to any degree with the press or a biographer.
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Production History, FY!
- By Amy Peacock on 02-21-17
By: Brad Tolinski
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Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth, fashion icon, and role model for a generation of women, now tells her story - a memoir of life as an artist, of music, marriage, motherhood, independence, and as one of the first women of rock and roll, written with the lyricism and haunting beauty of Patti Smith's Just Kids.
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What listeners say about Our Band Could Be Your Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Patrick Boberg
- 06-25-19
Essential
This book blasted open a door I had only ducked my head through. The audiobook adds a layer of accessibility that makes it all that much more powerful. I can't to relisten. The chapters on The Butthole Surfers, Big Black, The Minutemen, and The Replacements are life-changing.
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- PDW
- 02-05-21
Interesting, Well Researched Production
This book chronicled the csreers of several American punk bands. There were 13 bands and different musical artists narrated for each band. This kept the story interesting. I only have two complaints: the chapter on Fugazi was 10% too long and it ignored all women punk bands during the era. This could have easily rectified by including a chapter on Babes in Toyland. Otherwise, this was an excellent audiobook. The production was great and the narration was captivating.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-17-24
Love this Book
Ok if you are into music,especially college radio, this is a great book.
If you grew up with punk post punk power pop from the late 70’s early 80’s this book will make you stop listening so you can catch up bye listening to the bands on a streaming service (or brake out your vinyl).
So much fun and inspirational for Just Grind it out for the love of it.
Thank you to all the folks that make this book possible.
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- Brian Fullford
- 01-20-20
For those who love music. Period.
More of my friends were into punk, well, early punk, than I was. It’s a shame because seeing The Minutemen open for REM at Jacksonville’s Swisher Gymnasium should’ve been a bigger deal. Not being a fan of play fast, and frankly not being exposed to many ideas outside of white middle class, I gravitated towards more accessible mischief via whatever Rush, Iron Maiden, or the party life of some hair metal band. Sure there were moments of 7 Seconds and Minor Threat (thank you Tom) but I generally failed to enjoy the musical style which meant I missed the message.
The truth is that Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was my gateway back into the “punk” scene. Once there, I rediscovered Husker Du, The Replacements, and Fugazi, all groups MTV and local alternative radio had given me.
Apart from some bleeping of words during the Black Flag chapter, Azerrad’s book is a beautiful walk through a complicated ethos, that ends with questions similar to what feminism encountered in its many waves. The question of who is the subject and what is the medium is dutifully told as you hear the stories is those who adhere to the original ethics of non corporate, and those who wanted a career that needed corporate.
The greater appreciation of community, and the lamenting of that loss in the closing chapter, calls the listener to ask whether the DIY ethos that allows for everything to be done on a computer is a positive or a negative. Still, I can’t help but appreciate the virtue or vice (your call) of commercial success that allows for access to the music by those who would have never heard it otherwise. I’m not sure it’s Michaels job to answer that and thankfully he doesn’t try.
I walk away from this book grateful for the courage of early punk rock and even more excited to see Jawbox in two weeks (very happy they are mentioned in the book). You don’t have to love or even like punk rock to enjoy this book. Hell, you may find a band you hook into that you’d never considered (I’m looking at you Big Black).
As a child of the 80’s, I appreciate the reflections on what this genre meant to music and culture. I plan on using it for my work to teach philosophy in prisons.
In closing I’ll highlight the bestie of the book: the varying voices who chronicle these bands. It’s nice to have someone influenced by the music get a chance to tell the stories.
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- Briboflavin
- 06-12-19
Serious as a heart attack!
This is one of my favorite books, so it's a real treat to finally have it in my Audible library. As we move closer to total global corporate domination, it's never felt more relevant or refreshing to delve into the worlds of these creative misfits following their passion, doing it all on their own, and making shit up as they go along. The bands covered (Black Flag, The Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Husker Du, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Dinosaur Jr, Fugazi, Mudhoney, and Beat Happening each get a chapter) range from capital-G *Great* (Fugazi, 'Mats) to capital I *Influential* (Surfers, Mudhoney), and many are deserving of full-length chronicles in their own right. Until then, Azerrad's book remains an indispensable inside look at some of the best bands that most people have never heard of. (It would have been super cool if snippets of each band's music could have been included in their respective chapters, but I suppose that would have been a copyright nightmare.) You'll fall in love with D. Boon and Mike Watt, become enamored of Ian MacKaye's uncompromising attitude, and have a hard time deciding whether you hate J. Mascis or Lou Barlow more. Mostly, though, you'll be inspired to rediscover some tremendous music and appreciate it all over again with a better understanding of the lives and circumstances from which it emerged.
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- Rachael Flores
- 10-13-23
An absolute classic
I’ve read this book several times. Love being able to listen to it while doing chores or working out.
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- dylan2k
- 04-07-20
I thought I knew all this stuff!
This invaluable resource wil shed light on the aspects of indie that you never even cvonsidered - or at least I didn't. Some of the history is rather ugly, some is good enough to be justification for the behaviors I always was like "WTF?" I Listened rabidly and am going to now read other histories by Mr Azerrad. Highly recommended.
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- David W.
- 08-05-19
Loved it
I loved this book when it came out, and found that love hasn't faded over the years.
If you grew up with, are a fan of, or have any interest in the American underground/indie music scene of the 70's/80's/90's, definitely check this out.
One chapter per band, stopping when the bands broke up, or signed to a major - which as a fan of nerd-level details, I initially thought wouldn't be enough. However, I feel these abbreviated bios really capture the spirit of these bands that I'd gotten from their music over the decades, which many of the bloated bios don't do.
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- Jeff Koeppen
- 12-22-19
Comprehenisve History of Some 1980s Indie Bands
When I found out about Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life I knew I would find interesting and I thought I would enjoy it, and it exceeded my expectations! This long book (21 hours on Audible) devotes almost two hours each to a deep dive in to the history of thirteen punk / indie rock bands. The author did his homework. This book is full of great quotes and interviews, and by the time each chapter is over you feel like you know each band member. I have very different opinions (better and worse) about quite a few musicians after listening to this.
I knew a lot of these bands through college radio (Radio K - University of Minnesota) and Twin Cities alternative radio stations in the mid to late 1980s and really haven't listened to them much since, with the exception of Sonic Youth, The Replacements, and Hüsker Dü. The Hüskers were one of my favorite bands and Bob Mould remains my favorite musician to this day (Azerrad also co-wrote Bob's autobiography See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody). I've seen Bob live countless times in Minneapolis and twice in Chicago, and met him a few times at events. But some of these bands I wasn't a huge fan of back in the day, and haven't heard at all since the 80s or 90s. It was fun going back and listening to their albums again.
Each chapter is narrated by a musician or author who was inspired by that particular band. The bands an narrators are:
Black Flag - Corey Taylor (singer, Slipknot)
The Minutemen - Jeff Tweedy (singer, Wilco)
Mission of Burma - Jonathan Franzen (author, The Corrections)
Minor Threat - Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!)
Hüsker Dü - Colin Meloy (singer, The Decemberists)
The Replacements - Jon Wurster (drummer; Superchunk, The Mountain Goats, Bob Mould)
Sonic Youth - Merrill Garbus (singer, Tune-Yards)
Butthole Surfers - Fred Armisen (drummer, comedian)
Big Black - Dave Longstreth (singer, The Dirty Projectors)
Dinosaur Jr. - Sharon Van Etten (singer/songwriter)
Fugazi - Michael Azerrad (author)
Mudhoney - Phil Elverum (singer, Mount Eerie)
Beat Happening - Stephin Merritt (singer, Magnetic Fields)
If you were / are a fan of any of the aforementioned bands or are interested in the punk / indie rock scene of the 1980s I would highly recommend this book to you. Rock on!
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- Moti
- 08-02-22
Loved the storytelling, hated the censorship
I've read the printed version of this book several years ago. Michael Azerrad can definitely tell a story and I always enjoy He's work, and since a lot of my favorite bands are in this book and I still listen to this music decades later, I figured why not listen to the stories one more time and have a little trip down nostalgia lane.
I've read the reviews and people mentioned beeping over swear words, but the last review( at the current time when I'm writing this review), said i'ts no longer an issue, so I've got the Audiobook.
I guess maybe he skipped the episode I've listened to, or maybe there is one censored versions and one that is not.
Nevertheless, The Censorship rubbed me the wrong way.
Don't get me wrong. Everything else is plain great. But It's important to me that people will be aware there is still an issue.
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