Hello my most beloved Westerberds. Looky what came to me today. God, it’s days like this that I love being an Amazon Prime member. I haven’t started it yet. I hope to start and finish it sometime this weekend. However, I can’t read it right now because that would force me to stop looking at page 30:
That’s me! That’s me!
Can you believe it? I can’t. I still want to pee my pants with delight. So if a sucker like me can get it, I’m curious to know if any of y’all are in.
What page are you?
whoa! it’s you! 🙂 that’s so cool!
i still have to order this book. it’s right after “Get a (goddamn) job” on my list of things to do.
plowing through my copy. I was really surprised at the craft and detail of the actual book. I was expectig it to be the typical cheap publication of a band with a paper cover and crappy stock. Its a beautiful book. Amazing insights and photos. The westerberg 8th grade baseball team picyure is worth the price alone lol.
wow jodi! im so jealous! my copy is supposed to come in next week. i dont know how im get any homework done
I’ve just started reading it (after looking at my name for 8 hours) and I am impressed with the way Walsh has managed to craft a sort of narrative using the quotes from other people.
I was up until 2:30 this morning reading.
Congrats Jodi, that’s pretty fantastic.
So how did your quote get into the Walsh book? (Did he ask for fans to submit memories or experiences? I guess I must have missed that if so.)
Anyway, I guess I should really get around to ordering this book–I don’t suppose I’ll be able to find it at the giant bookstore chain down the way.
I busted through the whole thing in about 8 hours, but then again, I’m not famous like Jodi!!!! 😉
Okay, off to read it again!
I’ll be curious at to what folks’ reactions are. Anybody?
one other thing: do we need a pic of westerberg as an eighth grader?
Of course we do. Dont be ridiculous.
haha ok man
i just got the book, and some promotional underwear from dewey cox (“walk hard”). it reminds me of “please kill me” except “please kill me” was salacious. i can only handle so much ‘mats love/obsession for one day. stopped at page 39.
What is Please Kill Me? this isn’t the first time I’ve seen the comparison and I’m curious.
Wow jodi! That is so awesome! My copy should be getting here tomorrow and I am SOOOO pumped to read it!
oh , well please kill me is by legs mcneil and its a thick book where he takes stories/commentary from others. it’s the same sort of style i think as the walsh book. please kill me is great for a fan of the dolls, ramones, etc. it chronicles the beginning of punk w/ the stooges, all the way till the death of the joey or johnny (i think).
Does please kill me have an 8th grade pic of joey ramone?
Got my copy yesterday & am about half finished.
Page 30 was cool & all, but I’m pretty sure I’ve read that story before. What caught my eye was page 270. Jodi Chromey: Mpls writer…Dosen’t get much cooler than that.
I don’t think there is an 8th grade picture of Joey but the book is a good read. It manages to paint a picture of that scene where you are both grossed out yet wished you’d been there. Sorta like some hotels in Chicago.
did the entire band decline to be interviewed for this book, or just part of the band?
Walsh explains it all in the acknowledgments at the end.
I see the influence of Please Kill Me in the book, but it really reminds me of We Got The Neutron Bomb, a book about LA punk.
I really have enjoyed this book. My only criticism of it is that I would have like some traditional narrative because a lot of the book dealt with listener/fans reaction to the band on a very personal level. That’s great, but after awhile it got a little repetitive and I wanted a little more Guralnick style background.
But, I hope that encourages others to write their own Mats book. And I hope this will be the beginning of a bunch of books about Amerindie bands, such as Husker Du and X. I’m frustrated by the lack of those books. There seems to be a blindspot in music history as to a lot of what preceded grunge, which I think was far more interesting than the hype of 90’s bands.
Phil have you read Azzerad’s “Our Band Could Be Your Life”?
Our Band Could Be Your life is an amazing read. Love that book. Best borrowed title ever.
Jodi,
Sure have! Not bad, but I would like to see those relatively brief overviews expanded to book size for us indie-holics. Plus, no mention of X at all…even when they were on Slash. And Beat Happening is a band I have never quite “got”. But what the hell, to each their own. But I’m an ex-music critic snot from Chapel Hill and their are plenty of bands I wish had more coverage…like The db’s! We need a book on them!
Phil, get on it. It sounds like you’re more than qualified to write a book. Get going bucko, time’s a wastin’.
Eh, got my own band thing going. Sadly waaaay too Mats & Husker influenced! http://www.myspace.com/thevenables Doesn’t everyone have a band and/or myspace page? 😉
I had actually thought about a Husker book awhile back. There was a woman in the UK that was supposedly going to do one and she stopped. I emailed her once about that and she said Bob Mould had not been real keen on cooperating. I’m certainly not going to question Bob’s reasons why, but if he’s not into it, I’m not sure how much could be done without his cooperation. But it’s something I occasionally revisit. Although, I do wonder if Grant would cooperate.
I bet Grant would. I took a Rock and Roll class last summer and he was a guest lecturer. he had lots to say about the Huskers. I think he’d cooperate just to make sure his voice was heard.
Rock & Roll class? Things sure are different these days!!!
Well, maybe I’ll think about it again. It’d be a whole lotta research and travel to the Twin Cities. Not that I wouldn’t mind that, but I see it costing $$!! 🙁 Something I sadly lack, but I have thought about moving to MPLS on more than one occasion, but it’s so damn cold there and I’m from Virginia. We don’t know what snow is!!!
It was a 3 or 4 session class hosted by Chris Osgood of the Suicide Commandos at the Minneapolis Public Library. It wasn’t a college thing or high school thing or anything like that.
Come on up to Minnesota, the snow isn’t that bad.
Wow! The Commandos, huh? I have a prized LP of them. Did you ever listen to the Magnolias? They did a great version of Complicated Fun!
I saw them open for Nova Mob at the 9:30 way back when. They did a great version of Last Train To Clarksville.
Tell you what, you get me a place, a job, and air fare and I’ll get right on it!! 😉
Either that or we co-write the Husker book and I stick you with the research. See how magnanimous I can be! 😉
Well for those of us on the east coast, it’s time to get ready to go to our lame day jobs. Nighty nite all!
That Mags version of Complicated Fun was in a Target commercial a year or two back.
page 170: i love the story of casey getting confused w/ “Tim” being the actual name of the record and scratching the name out, replacing it with his own. so funny!
page 35: Mark Anderson is quoted but not identified in the back. I’m pretty sure he was a drummer in a lot of bands and is now a high school English teacher.
Jodi, very cool!
Phil, you know that Bob Mould is residing in the DC area now, don’t you? He occasionally dj’s at the 9:30 Club. He may be a prickly sort, but if you were interested in writing that book, DC might be a place to start until you could afford to get out to Mpls.
Jodi, I heard about page 30 but when I got All Over But the Shouting for Christmas it was the most read page in the book. your famous! congratulations.