Milk It: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s [Paperback]

Jim DeRogatis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2003

Taking its title with suitable slacker irony from a song on Nirvana's In Utero, Milk It! is an anthology of pieces written in the heat of the moment-an urgent and diverse overview that mirrors the chaotic rush of the postmodern sounds it covers. Headnotes and connective material-the "stories behind the stories"-provide running commentary on the music business, rock criticism, a troubled generation, and an attempt to put the fast-moving alternative-rock era in perspective from the safe distance of the comparatively bland new millennium. Compiled by a critic who shared the Generation X outlook, attitude, and biting sense of humor with the musicians that he covered-Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, and many others-Milk It! is the first serious attempt to chart the alternative music scene. Compelling, amusing, and provocative, Milk It! captures the excitement of an era, and reckons with its enduring influence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A stinging indictment against the corporatization of rock." -- Harp December 2003/January 2004

"A wild, firsthand, in-depth look at the entire alternative music scene of the 90s...Interesting, enlightening, and highly enjoyable." -- Razor January 2004

"An entertaining read." -- Boulder Camera 11/14/03

"Concise, probing profiles and reviews...DeRogatis is one of the most candid, passionate, skilled, and entertaining music scribes working today." -- Austin Chronicle 12/05/03

"This book is even better than I expected it to be-and that's saying something." -- Jersey Beat Spring 2003

"Variously entertaining, exasperating and, when discussing Sinead O'Connor, even sensitive." -- Blender September, 2003

"When DeRogatis sinks his teeth into a subject, he tears into it with gusto, making for genuinely enjoyable reading." -- Omaha Reader 03/11/04

"[DeRogatis is rock criticism's] most dedicated journeyman and unapologetic gadfly." -- Chicago Reader 10/17/03

About the Author

Jim DeRogatis is pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, the co-host of WXRT-FM's "Sound Opinions," and the ASCAP/Deems Taylor award-winning author of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic. A frequent contributor to Spin, Guitar World, Modern Drummer, and other magazines, DeRogatis lives in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (October 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306812711
• ISBN-13: 978-0306812712
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,467,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have Book (If you love music), June 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Milk It: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s (Paperback)

In this world of criticism, there are two ways to go. You can either offer an objective take on the work you are criticizing or you can conform to the wishes of your editor and offer up a puff piece. Some critics will go for the puff piece. Lester Bangs never did. And neither has Jim Derogatis,

Derogatis, music critic for the Chicago Sun Times and frequent contributor to many music/entertainment related periodicals, is one of the most honest and objective music writers out there today. And he's one of the most entertaining as well as Milk It: Collected Musing On The Alternative Music Explosion Of The 90s proves. The 410-page book, a collection of his pieces from that era, positions Derogatis as the heir to Bangs throne.

Derogatis divides the book into 14 different sections. Each section is devoted to a particular band (Nirvana, REM) or a particular topic (Britpop, Women In Rock). The sections consist of various reviews, interviews and other essays. In other words, it's a rummage sale of recycled material. But as far as single author collections of works of criticism go, it's one of the better ones out there.

As I said earlier, Derogatis doesn't hesitate to call it as he sees it. There are two articles of Courtney Love quotes contained here. Unaltered quotes that portray Ms. Love as interesting and rather psychotic. The Smashing Pumpkins section cheers on the band for its success. But some of the portrayals of Billy Corgan are none too flattering.

In the intro to his women in rock section, Derogatis criticizes the music scene and industry observers for treating women in rock special, instead of as they would treat all other (non-female) bands. He seems to feel that this is demeaning in a way and he makes his point well for this being correct.

That's the good thing about this book, even in the case of artist he admires, Derogatis never falls victim to hero-worship. In one of the articles in the REM section, he questions the wisdom of their charging excessively high ticket prices. Although guitarist Peter Buck acknowledges that the $50 price tag was too high, bassist Mike Mills defends the high prices.

One thing that Derogatis has in common with Bangs is the fact that he too got fired from Rolling Stone. Bangs got the ax for writing negative comments on James Taylor albums. Derogatis devotes a whole section to his experience at the venerable RS, entitling the section "Hootiegate". The incident that earned Derogatis the wrath of RS publisher Jann Wenner was the release of Hootie And The Blowfish's second album. Derogatis wrote a very negative review of the album and awarded it two stars on the 4 star RS scale. The review interfered with Wenner's peace and love views of rock and roll and journalism and so it was yanked from the magazine. When Derogatis went public with the whole matter, Wenner sent him packing. The aforementioned review is included.

One area of the book that I recommend for particular study by fellow Epinioners is the section entitled "Unrepentant Hypes And Fabulous Frauds". Here he rips on easy targets like Bush (the band) and Britney of course. But he also goes after certain sacred cows. He offers up a negative review of NWA's N!ggaz4life album on the grounds of the album's miserable content of misogyny. He questions Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello about his former band's support of the Shining Path, a group of Peruvian Guerrillas that have murdered innocent people. And there is a hilarious interview with Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind. Jenkins did not like Derogatis review of his band's concert and so he takes Derogatis to task. At the end of the review, he tells Derogatis that the only thing ham-fisted is "your writing". Of course, Jenkins has managed to make himself look like a fool in the process. The skewering here is priceless.

So yes, Derogatis' work is a good example of how good music writing should be done. The only real drawback is that some of his viewpoints are a little overly simplistic. For instance, in one piece he simply dismisses the Counting Crows as a bogus Van Morrison rip-off. While that topic is worthy of debate, he doesn't really bring anything else to the issue. However, a good many of his opinions are right on the money (especially his ripping of Nickelback and Creed). His writing style is more straightforward and less gonzo than Bangs.

Milk It is an excellent book for all music fans to read as well as all those who are looking to write good music criticism. Don't miss this great book! Another terrific Amazon quick pick I love is THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez -- a great novel about the New York City music scene during the '90s

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A light but critical look at grunge, neo-punk, and hip-hop, November 16, 2003

By 

SPM "scott_maykrantz" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Milk It: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s (Paperback)

Jim DeRogatis attempts to sum up the music of the 1990s (with an emphasis on the first half of the decade) by reprinting ten years' worth of articles. The articles come from a dozen different publications.

The result is admirable but unsatisfying. He's critical of the bands, which is good. His articles on REM, for example, reveal their careful manipulation of the media. He lets Courtney Love bury herself in outbursts, he slams NWA for selling hate, and he attempts to portray Rage Against the Machine's guitarist as some sort of socialist dupe. That's the kind of entertainment journalism we need --- something skeptical, not the usual fawning over celebrities and rock stars.

The problem is, the book isn't focused. The articles should have been re-written, expanded, and combined into longer essays. Too many of them are so short, you wonder why he bothered to include them. (Maybe to make the book longer.) DeRogatis trivializes his own point of view by touching on each band too lightly. This book is worth reading but not worth buying. I'd gladly read a sequel, a complete review of music in the 1990s, written from scratch. Hopefully, he'll make this flawed but interesting book an introduction to a better one.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly boring, November 12, 2005

By 

Gregory T. Lytle "critical critic" (Toledo, Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Milk It: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s (Paperback)

'Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosions of the '90s' is both trite and unwarranted. For a man who seemingly wants to be so controversial, why does he devote the bulk of his attacks on bands that even mainstream audiences do not pay attention to anymore? Was bashing Hootie and the Blowfish and Third Eye Blind ever controversial? Even among non-music critics, taking Britney Spears and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to task are fabulous wastes of time.
Worse is when he reveals his puzzling ignorance of musicians and bands, here stating that Blind Melon were like "the Grateful Allman Brothers" and there suggesting that Nine Inch Nails were part of the electronica scene that was hyped circa 96/97. If you're like me, you'll find yourself mystified by the bands included in here (has anybody ever given a sh*t about Redd Kross?!) and frustrated with who he leaves out (sure, the book is hopelessly biased toward the first 5 years of the decade, but how do you call yourself a critic of the 90s and not include a single article that does more than mention Pavement, Radiohead, and Beck in passing?)
If you need more reason to dislike Jim DeRogatis, I recommend 'Turn On Your Mind!: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock.' Just like 'Milk It!', it's an ill-informed tome of idiocy. (See the part where he insults the Grateful Dead! Oooo!) Not only that, it somehow manages to make psychedelic rock boring and comes off as one giant handjob to P.M. Dawn, surely one of the stupidest and most forgettable bands of the 90s.
Jim DeRogatis is a man who badly wants to matter, idolizing Lester Bangs and Wire enough to write a book about the former and start a cover band of the latter. The problem? He's not a good writer, he picks easy targets, and his controversial opinions are (though I shudder to use the term) retarded. Further proof? He likes Sinead O' Connor and dismisses Guided By Voices as being like NRBQ(!).