Wish You Were Here: An Essential Guide to Your Favorite Music Scenes-from Punk to Indie and Everything in Between

Leslie Simon (Author), Rob Dobi (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anything you ever wanted to know about your city's indie scene (plus plenty of snark) is packed into these pages." (Alternative Press )

"In what has got to be the best guide book on punk rock. well ever, rock journalist Simon answers a slew of questions never asked about punk rock and indie scenes across the U.S.". (NeuFutur Magazine )

"Readers who are part of one of these scenes and fans of a particular genre who will be visiting one of the locales will find this a quick and useful read...an entertaining glimpse at nonmainstream music of today and the recent past." (Library Journal )

"Simon ensures there's never a dull moment...Rob Dobi's spot-on illustrations appear throughout the book as the perfect complement to her enthusiastic and hilarious voice." (Sacramento Book Review online )

"The selection of indie music-centric cities is spot-on. Simon's text is knowledgeable. the book serves as a helpful jumping-off point for readers looking to learn more." (Publishers Weekly )

"This book was really fun to read and I actually learned a lot. Wait a minute... Does giving a quote for this book mean people will know that I didn't actually already know this stuff? Lame." (Hayley Williams, Paramore )

"Wish You Were Here knows way too much about the history, minute details, and inner-workings of these 11 punk and indie scenes. I don't know how Leslie figured out all this stuff, but I'm changing my locks and checking the phone for bugs." (Tim McIlrath, "Rise Against" guitarist and lead singer )

Product Description

A snarky, fact-filled look at the people and places that made the indie/punk scene what it is today

The American underground music scene is exploding everywhere—not just in New York City and L.A. (although we've got those cities covered too!):

In Washington, D.C. . . . Ian MacKaye and Fugazi inspired the straightedge culture, which had kids everywhere drawing black X's on their hands in magic marker.

In Omaha, Nebraska . . . A young Conor Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, started writing and performing gut-wrenching love songs at the tender age of thirteen.

On Long Island, New York . . . Taking Back Sunday and Brand New battled for emo supremacy and the fragile hearts of a million teenage girls.

From the coauthor of the cult-worthy Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture comes Wish You Were Here—a combination travel guide and tortured history covering everything from what constitutes proper rock critic etiquette in Minneapolis to why pop-punk bands in Chicago have so much suburban angst, to how freegans in the Bay Area can feed themselves on a budget that would make frugal Rachael Ray's face blush.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: It Books; 1 Original edition (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006157371X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061573712
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #714,207 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An 11-city soundscape exploration, July 19, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

If mainstream music has your ear splitting, jump off that main music road that you've been on for so long and embark on a bumpy out-of-the-way journey to an 11-city soundscape exploration with Leslie Simon as your expert and entertaining guide with her book //Wish You Were Here: An Essential Guide To Your Favorite Music Scenes--From Punk To Indie And Everything In Between//. And just as you might have suspected, there's so much percolating underneath the Billboard Top 100.

From the co-author of the cult 2007 hit //Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide To Emo Culture// comes a snarky, fact-filled look at people and places who made indie music history. In the follow-up book //Wish You Were Here//, Simon perfectly captures the excitement, absurdity, and obsessive passion of rock history, most of which will make you say, "Hmmm ...""

In this travel-guide-meets-tongue-in-cheek-history, Simon painstakingly traces the eleven noteworthy local scenes in the development of indie rock as we know it. From the birth of "straight edge" culture in Washington, D.C. clubs to the renaissance of NYC hipster chick thanks to the Strokes' 2001 debut album, this book covers every riveting detail in indie music lore, with info like: which albums you need to complete your Suburban Florida music collection (Hot Water Music is a no-brainer); how to play the part of the Intellectual Indie Scenester in Seattle (make sure the Shins are on your iPod, for one thing); the most influential label in Minneapolis (Twin/Tone Records, if you must know); and, where to satiate your late night food cravings on Long Island (one word: diners).

Whether poking fun at Twin Cities rock critics and their obsession with free record label swag, or offering a hilarious rundown of best--and worst--Los Angeles-based bands featuring celebrities, Simon ensures there's never a dull moment in //Wish You Were Here//. Rob Dobi's spot-on illustrations appear throughout the book as the perfect complement to her enthusiastic and hilarious voice.

And so, as they say, when foraying somewhere outside of the usual realm, wish you were here ...

Reviewed by
Dominique James

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good info on current pop music, June 12, 2009

By	Luann Cogliser "Books4us" (CT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There's a dearth of acceptable material on current pop and alternative music for use in a high school library (language, photos, etc; this is a book we can promote with minimal reservations.