Happy Birthday to Me
Ronnie Barnett & Kim Shattuck, Off Ramp, Seattle, August 3, 1993
Photo: Yours truly (my 24th birthday)
Welcome to the website for the podcast and book, Don’t Call It Nothing: The Lost History of ‘90s Roots, Rap & Rock ‘n’ Roll. If you haven’t heard of this book it’s because I just completed the initial draft. But, the premise of both the book and this podcast is that the ‘90s was FAR more than grunge drudgery, facile Britpop, and the abomination that was rap-rock. In fact, while the ‘60s and ‘70s may have had higher high, the 1990s the highest floor of any decade in rock ’n’ roll. There were flourishing scenes all over the country, great music was being made with little resources, and there was room for both men and women at the table. It frankly pisses me off that the best music not only isn’t taken seriously, it’s barely acknowledged as having existed. As I write in the book:
The '90s rock 'n' roll underground that I was a part of as fan, writer, DJ, and music director should be celebrated as an American success story. A vibrant, grassroots ecosystem -- much of which was maintained in a pre-cellphone, pre-internet world -- financially supported artists who deliberately existed outside of the mainstream purview. It was college radio, independent record stores, small clubs, zines, flyers on telephone poles, and word of mouth. I'm not saying we were planting a fucking flag on Mount Suribachi, but those of us who participated in the '90s underground should take pride in our efforts. It was easy to be a Nirvana fan, or Oasis fan, or Radiohead fan. You simply had to exist. It took effort to dig deeper, to get into the weeds where you could discover idiosyncratic, recombinant forces of nature like The Muffs (pictured above), Geraldine Fibbers, Blue Mountain, Neckbones, and Gourds.
--Don’t Call It Nothing: The Lost History of ‘90s Roots, Rap & Rock ‘n’ Roll
Until the book is actually released into the wild, I’m gonna use this podcast to read excerpts and discuss various albums to give you some flavors. Eventually I’ll conduct interviews and build onto the foundation. First thing I wanna do is spend a little time digging into the origin of the book, maybe take a couple of tangents, and then we’ll see where we’re at. Please stick around for the ride. It’s gonna be fun.
