Everybody Loves Our Town: A History of Grunge

This is the definitive story of 'Grunge', so if that's your thing then this comes highly recommended. It is told purely through interviews with the people who counted at that time, members of Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam etc. and a whole host of others, producers, critics, managers etc. This could so easily been a mess of snippets of interviews crammed together but Mark Yarm has pieced them together expertly and it flows easily into one flowing story of all that went on during that time. It's a harrowing read at times for obvious reasons, and kind of bittersweet as it was written in 2011 so some of the interviewees have passed since, but there's also a great wit to it also that often takes the edge off. It's in depth, informative, amusing, sad, interesting all in equal measures. It'll probably make you appreciate even more the music and the people who were part of it, the main players, the smaller players, the almost-weres and everyone in between. Nothing is missed here and it's great from start to finish. This could so easily have been a mess but it couldn't be more the opposite. If you're a fan then you need to read this, it's your duty!

If you are (or were) a fan of `grunge', the chances are that you will recognise the title of this book from the Mudhoney song `Overblown'. `Everyboy loves us' - it begins - `Everybody loves our town/...it's so overblown' sang Mark Arm, aptly describing the media circus surrounding Seattle and the `grunge' phenomenon. Everybody looked at Seattle as the next Mecca of rock, but how did it actually happen? What was it like from the inside? That is exactly what former music journalist Mark Yarm set out to do with with this project: to make sense of grunge by asking the bands, the roadies, the soundmen, the girlfriends and the hangers on: what happened? He did so by compiling an oral history, entirely told by `witness accounts' rather than by his own authorial voice. The result is a compelling read, which will captivate you right from the first chapter - on how The U-Men once set fire to the stage - right until the end, when the grunge supernova implodes, leaving a string of casualties along the way. This collection of interviews, loosely grouped by band but expertly interwoven in chronological order, offers an almost seamless narrative which has the page-turning quality of the best fiction. Yarm pieced ELOT together from both existing and new material; by doing so, he succeeded in creating an incredibly comprehensive `bible' of grunge, with cross referencing questions and answers and whose protagonists often give their own version of events only described a few paragraphs before. The result is often very amusing, with discordant opinions on what really happened and all people in question offering their own contradicting version. Predictably, anecdotes involving Courtney Love seem to invariably be cause for disagreement. There are a lot of books about `grunge' out there but ELOT stands out because it lets its protagonists do the talking, instead of attempting to draw the kind of pseudo-sociological conclusions so beloved by popular culture writers. If you never had the chance to experience the early 1990s Seattle scene in person, this book is going to be the next best thing.

The structure of the book can be at times confusing, its build op by section of interviews and often goes back and forward. It has some hilarious stories and also a lot of people not agreeing on what happened in a situation which makes you think, what is true and what is not, but absolutely a great read and gives a more personal insight into the lives of the people who was a part of the scene

Great oral history of a unique period in music

Amazing book. In some ways it’s like sitting with the historical music figures. The transcripted dialogue and stories were very good to read, some very funny stories and followed the history of grunge. Definitely recommend for anyone interested in the Grunge era and the music in general. I have been adding all the bands mentioned into Amazon music to listen to that I had not really heard of before beside the main 4.

I was in my twenties as I hit the 90s and when the Seattle Sound (Grunge) came on the scene I was in love with it and the live performances of the bands that I was lucky enough to see from there. However I dont think you have to necessarily be a fan of that sound to be entertained by the book. So well done... short stories and quotes by all who lived or passed thru Seattle at its peak... people in the industry and of course the epic bands. Reading it I cracked up laughing a lot and found out quite a bit I didn't know about my favourites. Very entertaining read indeed.

Really insightful history of the Seattle scene of the late 80's and early 90's. I was initially put off by the format, which is all interview quotes instead of prose, but the book is well structured and keeps the story going. The focus is definitely on the characters and their adventures rather than an in depth analysis of the music. Includes lesser-known bands as well as the usual suspects.

Everybody Loves Our Town is an oral history of the rise of Seattle as a musical hot spot. The book is loaded with snippets of interviews from anyone who was anyone from the early 80’s to the mid 90’s. Not all interviewees will be recognized, as some were struggling artist who never made it and others merely friends of those who took to the stage. The snippets are pieced together in a manageable fashion which give the book a smooth flow, well as smooth as it can get from compiling such a task. I found the book to be a great reference source, as I could easily research the names of those I was unfamiliar with to get a better look behind the scenes. All of the big names are found in these pages, along with bands you never knew existed. This book manages to show how interconnected these bands actually were. Most of these bands knew one another and were supportive of each other. The book is an interesting read for those who enjoyed the music or those wanting a closer look at was going on in Seattle during the big music boom.

Per chi come me ha vissuto in pieno quegli anni, e per chi sente di appartenere in qualche modo a quell'epoca, questo è un libro straordinario. Come già detto da altri, il libro è una narrazione corale, dove ognuno racconta la sua parte, e contribuisce in maniera unica a costruire una vera visione d'insieme di un mondo perduto. Assolutamente lodevole la scelta di Mark Yarm di includere tutte le band, i produttori, i musicisti e i protagonisti della scena di Seattle, anche perchè molte delle band in questione non sono diventate ultra famose come i Nirvana o i Soundgarden ma hanno contribuito in ugual misura, se non addirittura in misura maggiore, alla nascita del Grunge, o Seattle sound come preferisco chiamarlo. Oggi è facile riempirsi la bocca della parola rock, ma leggere questo libro è una conferma di quanto è vuota oggi questa parola. Ho potuto rivivere, almeno con la fantasia, quel modo di sentirsi realmente liberi e uniti. Gli strani, i diversi, potevano sentire di appartenere a qualcosa di più grande e riconoscersi a vicenda come i bimbi sperduti di Peter Pan. Si ride e si piange leggendo questo libro e ci si sente inevitabilmente attratti da quel vortice di innocenza, di euforia, creatività, di rabbia, ma anche di dannazione e di tristezza, di alienazione e di depressione. ​Insomma, il rock non è una moda, non è un modo di vestirsi. Non è solo la musica che si ascolta. E' un modo di essere, di sentirsi e di vivere.

O autor faz um um excelente trabalho costurando as conversas cronologicamente. Parece que os entrevistados estão todos juntos, conversando, confirmando ou confrontando fatos de uma maneira muito natural e fazendo uma leitura muito fluída.

Mark Yarm reune a todas esas personas que vivieron en sus propias carnes todo el nacimiento y desarrollo de la escena grunge de Seattle. A través de un repaso por los testimonios y entrevistas de estas personalidades se hace una revisión sobre un movimiento que influyó en la historia de la música más allá del género grunge. Un libro muy interesante y completo a un precio que no tiene nada que envidiar o otros tantos del mismo estilo.

Thrilling read. There's some pretty wild stories in here, and you get a lot of insight into the early beginnings, mass marketing stage, and eventual implosion of a major music movement. Also, sometimes the interviewers contradict each others' stories, which keeps things interesting. Highly recommend this read.