Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground

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.