Customer Reviews

Accidental Revolution: The Story of Grunge

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This may be the worst book about popular music that I have ever read. Anderson's near total lack of knowledge about the Seattle musical environment of the late 1980s and early 1990s is stunning, and it is a wonder that any publisher would allow this drivel to see the light of day. It is very clear that little or no original research was done for the writing of "Accidental Revolution."

Additionaly, the author utilizes the kind of smarmy, communications-major, writing style that many sanctimonious-yet-ignorant blabbermouths use to mask the fact that they do not have any insights. Sorry Anderson, cheesy "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" one-liners don't make you sound like an insider; they make you sound like a wannabe.

As far as specific content is concerned, the most egregious part of this book is the "great grunge discography" which includes albums from the Gin Blossoms, Buffalo Tom, Live, and (cough-cough) Everclear! It does not include anything from the Melvins, Skin Yard, or TAD. Need I say more?

This book has no new information, original insights, or even interesting comments to make. It could have been written without hearing any music at all, using only published reviews. The author claims that what really happened doesn't matter 'only how it is remembered' so why bother with the truth?
Anyone who thinks Spin magazine is hip ought to try reading this book.

The author is intent on telling readers what grunge "means," instead of actually writing an engaging history of the grunge years...that Chuck Klosterman blurb on the cover should tip everyone off...

Will anyone associated with Spin since 2001 ever write a decent book?

...however, even a BAD college paper would site sources. Anderson sites NO ONE. How he managed to avoid plagiarism is beyond me.

This book is OBVIOUSLY written by someone who was NO WHERE NEAR the scene when it happened and has not researched enough primary sources (like ACTUAL PEOPLE/Interviews). Yes, Anderson gives the book a view through a "pop culture lens" and proves that he knows very little about the people and the actual feel of what was going on with the "Seattle Sound" during the early 90's.

As a musical historian myself, one who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I find this book embarrassingly poorly researched and full of inaccuracies and flaws. This is NOT "The Story of Grunge" as the book's tittle claims. Anyone who has read the booklets that come with cds from the bands he mentions from this era, and has seen the movies 'Hype!' and 'Singles', could paste together a similar "Story" of what they think grunges' history is. (I'm not kidding about that.)

To really understand how ridiculous and inaccurate this book is, one only needs to see his "Great Grunge Discography" chapter. The Gin Blossoms? Live? Reality Bites Soundtrack!!?? THE VERVE PIPE!!??(NO EXCUSE for that last one!) This guy peppers his list with a few safe Seattle Legends, even the Deep Six Compilation, but doesn't include bands like TAD, The Wipers, Skin Yard, and The Melvins to name just a few. That is proof enough that he is NOT a reliable source.

And, anyone who refers to The Fastbacks and L7 as "...also rans" and Coffin Break as an "unknown" CLEARLY has NO CLUE what they're talking about, LET ALONE what was going on in the grunge movement or its' history.

For a WELL-RESEARCHED book, written by someone who was THERE, see: "LOSER: The Real Seattle Music Story" By: Clark Humphrey, or "Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground from 1981-1991" By: Michael Azzerad. The first is SUPER detailed and explains the history of what happened in the Pacific Northwest and HOW it happened perfectly; and the other provides insights to many different bands of the times, INCLUDING Mudhoney and their history with Sup Pop and the tie-in of BEAT HAPPENING (also, HUGELY important to the history of grunge).

Also, see the documentary- TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears it covers TAD and their rise and fall along with the History of Sup Pop and grunge.

What is this? Did Anderson actually conduct a single interview with any of the participants from the grunge scene, or did he compose his book from previously published material and his own recollections? Of the 30 or so books about music that I've read, this is the worst. It's not so much a grunge history as it is a boring, pointless college paper of some kind, complete with "summary" paragraphs at the end of each chapter.

By the way, if you were unclear that grunge is a combination of punk and metal, Anderson will remind you about 157 times during the course of the book.

Anderson takes a difficult, somewhat unconventional approach in "Accidental Revolution," one which none of my fellow customer-reviewers enjoyed, it seems.
He rates the grunge canon through a pop culture lens, arguing that this is the legacy of the bands, and whether or not its exactly how things were at the time, it's how history will remember them. This can be an extremely tough premise to accept, but if you're able to, the book winds up being a very enjoyable, brisk read. Anderson's voice is sharp and fun, if somewhat snarky; he covers a lot of musical ground in a short space; and he doesn't shy away from calling BS if he sees it, which I think might have turned other readers off.
I'm not going to dispute the criticisms others have levied at the author. He didn't include any interview material in this book. He totally does remind you ad nauseum that grunge is a fusion of punk and metal. Including Live in his "grunge discography" is somewhat ridiculous (though I suppose he's trying to draw some parallel here between the late 80s / early 90s Seattle scene and the alt-rock boom that followed). He also uses heady academic jargon like "macrolevel" a touch too much.
But academic is a good word for this - "Accidental Revolution" is not some conventional rock bio/history giving you the indepth dirt on Tad, The Melvins, Andrew Wood, etc. If that's how the book is being marketed, it's a mistake on the publisher's part. This instead places grunge's heavy hitters in context by giving the Seattle scene an extended critical-essay treatment. This isn't about probing interviews and stunning revelations, its about reconsidering bands you are already familiar with.
If you know that going into it and can hang with it for a couple hundred pages, you'll come out enjoying the ride, flaws and all.

Terrible book. I agree with previous reviewers who didn't like this book. Seems to be written by someone who portrays himself as a local insider, but clearly isn't. Book is full of inaccuracies and falsehoods. I couldn't even get all the way through it.