“ 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… Michael Azerrad
“ 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 physi… Michael Azerrad
“ You’re advertising the fact that there’s a community here—it’s not just this industry that’s manufacturing bands, it’s a happening scene where people are feeding off each other. Michael Azerrad
“ Still, the gross-out footage is what really embodied the band’s aesthetic. Listen, man, one has no choice but to laugh in the face of terror, Haynes explained. I think probably most airline pilots, wh… Michael Azerrad
“ We don’t have to convince the world that we’re suffering to convince them that we’re artists, Hart said, jabbing at Black Flag’s angst-ridden style. There are those that choose to take that course. Th… Michael Azerrad
“ When I peeked out the window into the yard, there was Kurt with some kind of contraption on his head that resembled a tin-foil hat, sneaking around the yard followed by a half a dozen laughing toddler… Michael Azerrad
“ Says Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo. People got this idea that ultimately what mattered was the quality of what you were doing and how much importance you gave to it, regardless of how widespread it became… Michael Azerrad
“ MacKaye never told anyone to get off the stage. Sometimes this encouraged a rapid and irreversible descent into chaos, but usually it just meant a steady stream of stage divers and kids who just wante… Michael Azerrad
“ Says Ginn. I never considered it rough. I considered it not having money, but I always think, if you’re asleep on a floor, how can you tell the difference anyway—you’re asleep. Michael Azerrad
“ We never had a manager. We never had a booking agent. We never had a lawyer. We booked our own tours, paid our own bills, made our own mistakes and never had anybody shield us from either the truth or… Michael Azerrad
“ Rock'n'roll is a teenage sport, meant to be played by teenagers of all ages--they could be 15, 25 or 35. It all boils down to whether they've got the love in their hearts, that beautiful teenage spiri… Michael Azerrad
“ The cover of Land Speed Record is a photo of the coffins of the first eight soldiers killed in Vietnam; like many punks, the members of Hüsker Dü actually agreed with Sixties counterculture values but… Michael Azerrad
“ Leary and Haynes published a fanzine called Strange V.D., which featured the most horrendous medical photographs they could find accompained by captions describing fictitious diseases like taco leg an… Michael Azerrad
“ In retrospect, Hart believes that taking on so many responsibilities may have hurt the band in the long run. The DIY thing, I don’t know, it’s like we handicapped ourselves in a lot of situations to m… Michael Azerrad
“ Artistically (and in many other ways), the band was liberated by the fact that they’d never sign to a major label. In a way, we were cheating because we didn’t have that light at the end of the tunnel… Michael Azerrad
“ They developed this influence and this clout and they shared it. It’s a very inclusive movement. Michael Azerrad
“ Los Angeles wasn’t a sun-splashed utopia anymore—it was an alienated, smog-choked sprawl rife with racial and class tensions, recession, and stifling boredom. Michael Azerrad
“ People have misconstrued the pessimism and anger in our songs, Mould protested. We’re really the opposite of all that; we’re not callous, insensitive people. But we’re frustrated by the fact that most… Michael Azerrad
“ I’m not religious about God, Boon agreed, I’m religious about Man. We believe in average guys, said Watt. What happens is, the system makes them all fuckheads. And I want to try to snap them out of th… Michael Azerrad
“ To me, it was just a matter of, if you want to do something, the only thing that’s going to keep you from doing it is giving up, Leary says. Because we were proof of that. If you just don’t quit, you… Michael Azerrad
