Great Indie Discography: 2nd Edition
Book Reviews | Feb 3rd, 2007
Author: M.C. Strong
Publisher: Canongate
Genre: Music
Pages: 1088
Retail Price: 9.99
Buy on Amazon.com link
Hot damn. The complete discography, track listings, and histories of over 2,000 indie artists over three decades. The book is HUGE and packed with a tremendous amount of information.
It’s silly for me to focus on exclusions, considering the book has more pages than my dictionary and is back-breakingly heavy, but be warned that the indie bands herein are mostly 80s new wave, goth, 90s alternative, and indie bands that really typify the term (Fugazi, Sunny Day, Jets to Brazil, Superchunk, Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie, etc.). There isn’t much punk (I’m sure that would take up another 2,000 pages), no hardcore or ska, and no independent or underground hip hop, metal, or jazz, though those latter genres would be less likely anyway.
Without a doubt, this is an impressive compendium and knocks similar Billboard and Mojo “album companions” out of the water. I haven’t had time to go through it closely, so I can’t comment on errors (though I noticed a few bands weren’t fully updated), but I’m not dickish enough to be nitpicky over what must’ve been an immense undertaking, especially for just one person.
This book would be difficult to read for people curious about what’s outside the mainstream, but it’s an excellent resource for collectors and completists.
Bottom Line: More information than you could poke at with a stick!
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