Top Michael Azerrad Quotes - Quotesmemo.com

Michael Azerrad Biography

Michael Azerrad is an American author, music journalist, editor, and musician. A graduate of Columbia University, he has written for publications such as Spin, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. Azerrad's 1993 biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana was named by Q as one of the 50 greatest rock books ever written. His 2001 book Our Band Could Be Your Life, a collection of profiles on prominent indie rock bands, received similar critical acclaim.

Read about Michael Azerrad in Wikipedia

Random Authors

Michael Azerrad Quotes

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. '

Ethos, Indie Rock, Minutemen, Musical, Record, Simple

You didn't have to be a huge rock star; you just had to do well enough to continue doing what you wanted to do. It wasn't about hitting the jackpot, it was about sustainability.

Continue, Hitting, Rock, Rocks, Star, Stars

For Nirvana, putting out their first major-label record was like getting into a new car. But the runaway success was like suddenly discovering that the car was a Ferrari and the accelerator pedal was Krazy Glued to the floorboard.

Car, Ferrari, Labels, Like, Runaway

There's no law that says anybody has to do an interview.

Interview, Interviews, Law, Says

The online musical universe has become Balkanized, with many sites focusing on minute niches. That works well for reaching very specific demographics, which is wonderful for advertising, but it flies in the face of the common wisdom that people's tastes have become more diverse as music of any description has become a mouse-click away.

Description, Musical, People, Reaching, Wisdom, Wonderful

Now that the generation that grew up on '80s indie-rock has attained influential positions in the culture, that music is the new yardstick. And that will shift yet again some day.

Attained, Culture, Generations, Indie Rock, Positions, Rocks

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.

Book, Legacy, Moved, Musician, People, Tell

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.

Apparatus, Band, Chins, Eighties, People, Took

I would roll out of bed and immediately start working, and keep working until it was so late at night that I couldn't stay awake anymore. Then I'd go to sleep and wake up the next morning and do the same thing all over again. I did that every day for three years.

Morning, Night, Sleep, Stay, Working, Years

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.

Fingers, Hearing, Ideas, Nice, Writing

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.

Bunch, Musician, Stories, Story, Tell, Told

I'm always very careful to make the distinction between music criticism and music journalism. A lot of people don't. But criticism doesn't require reporting. You can write criticism at home in your underwear. On the other hand, journalism takes legwork - you have to get out there and see things and talk to people.

Hands, Home, People, Reporting, Underwear, Writing

Naturally, no one knows more about music than musicians. They talk about their own work all the time, but they rarely get to talk about other people's music.

Knows, Music, Musician, Musicians, People, Talk

There's no glamour in Nirvana, no glamour at all, in fact.

Fact, Facts, Glamour, Nirvana

Just as not all popular albums are wonderful, not all wonderful albums are popular.

Albums, Popular, Wonderful

The American indie underground made music for like-minded people who thought for themselves. Thinking for yourself is intrinsically subversive.

American, Intrinsically, Made, People, Thinking, Underground

I really believe in the power of music - and I mean literally the power of musical tones - to rearrange the way you can think.

Believe, Mean, Music, Think, Thinking

Bon Jovi's trick is to use heavy-metal chords and still sound absolutely safe. Rock & roll used to be rebellion disguised as commercialism; now so much of it is commercialism disguised as rebellion.

Commercialism, Rocks, Roll, Sound, Use

People shared everything: information, equipment, their floors, whatever. There was strength in unity.

Everything, Floors, Information, People, Unity

I have this theory, bands with enigmatic lyrics attract crazies.

Attract, Band, Bands, Enigmatic, Lyrics, Theory

1