Images of Ikonn

Instant Classic

Revisado: 05-19-24

Excellent all around. Kathleen is real and raw, yet thoughtful and empathetic, giving the reader insight into her life and the riot grrrl scene, yet critiquing both herself and the scene with the kind of maturity and insight that comes with experience and age. Easily joins Carrie Brownstein’s Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Kim Gordon’s Girl in a Band, Alice Bag’s Violence Girl, and Viv Albertine’s Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys among my favorite feminist punk/grunge/alternative/indie memoirs.

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Deep dive into the history of a seminal alternative/punk/indie label.

Revisado: 05-25-23

Outstanding, detailed history of the label that released many landmark 1980s albums by amazing bands such as Minutemen, Husker Du, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, the Meat Puppets, and Black Flag. So detailed in fact that I’d need several relistens to catch everything Ruland covers.

Fortunately it’s so excellent that it’s going into my select company of music/punk/alternative audiobooks I listen to on a loop, which includes the likes of Michael Azzerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life, Kim Gordon’s Girl in a Band, and Carrie Brownstein’s Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl.

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Fascinating technical detail/snapshot of the era.

Revisado: 03-13-22

Not really for those wanting a dishy look at the band and their interpersonal dramas (which are largely muted or glossed over here), but definitely recommended for technical-minded readers with a love for the analog recording technology of the time. Much less interesting when the author insists on treating it as a sort of autobiography of himself during the recording process. While occasionally it serves to set the time and place, Callait incorrectly assumes we’ll be engrossed in the quotidian details of his personal and love lives…he’s just not enough of a raconteur or storyteller to keep us engaged in these parts. Would that he’d had a stronger editorial hand to limit these mostly-pointless personal excursions, would have made for a tighter, more focused, and better book.

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Some good anecdotes but awful performances.

Revisado: 08-05-21

A worthwhile subject, with occasionally good anecdotes, but the vocal performances are atrocious for the most part. Two of the readers affect horrible, condescending southern accents that ruined the book for me, and when not affecting poor accents they attempt to come off like jovial raconteurs which rings quite false and is totally off-putting. This is a great subject and well worth exploring and documenting considering the number of players interviewed and profiled. Would that competent readers had been chosen.

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Warm and Inviting Reading by Dave Stewart

Revisado: 08-03-21

Love the story surrounding Eurythmics and the creative partnership between Dave and Annie. Dave has a lovely and soothing voice, perfect for the material. Sadly, once the duo strike it big, the book devolves into a whirlwind of celebrity name drops and never really recovers, (to be fair, this is a story of near-overnight success so a wild spin through 40 years’ of celebrities and eras can be expected), though there are plenty of funny, touching stories and anecdotes that make it worth slogging through the checklist of names. Pleasant listening for a rainy weekend, perhaps.

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