There's a whole apparatus for indie bands now, but back in the eighties it was just getting built. The early people really took it on the chin. Michael Azerrad More Quotes by Michael Azerrad More Quotes From Michael Azerrad To begin with, the key principle of American indie rock wasn't a circumscribed musical style; it was the punk ethos of DIY, or do-it-yourself. The equation was simple: If punk was rebellious and DIY was rebellious, then doing it yourself was punk. 'Punk was about more than just starting a band,' former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt once said, 'it was about starting a label, it was about touring, it was about taking control. It was like songwriting; you just do it. You want a record, you pay the pressing plant. That's what it was all about.' Michael Azerrad indie-rock ethos simple When you're writing, you're only a brain and some fingers, but drumming, you're involving all four limbs, and you're hearing stuff and you're converting your ideas into physical motions, getting physical feedback from things you are touching - it's pretty cool. It's a really a nice contrast to writing. Michael Azerrad nice writing ideas There's no law that says anybody has to do an interview. Michael Azerrad interviews law I'm not sure I ever try to make a case for the music. I mean, sometimes the music isn't even that good. I just tell the band's stories; if I describe the music, it's to explain how it moved the overall story along. Michael Azerrad band trying mean The American indie underground made music for like-minded people who thought for themselves. Thinking for yourself is intrinsically subversive. Michael Azerrad made people thinking I'll leave it to other people to evaluate the legacy of my book, but I'm very moved when musicians tell me that they've been inspired by my book. Michael Azerrad musician book people I just wanted to tell the story of a bunch of musicians who had never had their story told before. There's no preaching or theorizing. Michael Azerrad musician bunch stories Critics and fans use the music of their youth as reference points. For years, people seriously wondered who "the next Beatles" were going to be, and classic rock bands were the de facto yardstick for rock quality. Michael Azerrad rocks people years People didn't get to see how other towns interpreted the underground ethos, and so they developed their own unique versions of it. Michael Azerrad ethos unique people
