Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 By Michael Azerrad. (Little, Brown & Company. $25.95)
Eric Weisbard, The New York Times, 12 August 2001
WHEN JOEY Ramone died this past April, the flood of appreciations must have surprised casual music fans. The Ramones, quintessential 1970's punks, had never sold out stadiums or dominated the charts. Yet, as each eulogist felt compelled to insist, those they did reach were forever transformed. A divide opened up, different from the usual battles of bands (Beatles versus Stones) or styles (hard rock versus disco). Indie rock, as it came to be called, was a fervent subculture fated to remain outside the promised land.
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