Radon

by Aaron Cometbus, Travis Fristoe

A clear and effective parody of the 33 1/3 series of books, Radon happens to focus on one of my favorite bands and albums. Touted for their "largely unsold" LP and avoidance of "the problems of fame by willful obfuscation and a premature break-up," Radon, who I have only experienced via their album and live recordings, made a massive impact on my understanding of how powerful and effective a DIY band could be, even many years after their demise. It was the album that I listened to while doing Microcosm work through the 90s courtesy of a cassette copy dubbed and mailed to us by a friendly customer. That tape inspired many long days and late nights of packing envelopes and designing books. But these matters aside, Radon also is a fabulous new body of work from Aaron Cometbus and Travis Fristoe, two hilarious and brilliantly-gifted writers, who include such fabulously telling passages as "Radon was a sign that I could have it all: a place of my own and a girlfriend I could talk to about literature, plus the same, pure, ecstatic joy as when I first heard the Ramones." Not only does this book accurately describe the authentic punk experience, it is an authentic punk experience.

Genres: Music, Essays, Nonfiction

44 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Aaron Elliott, better known as Aaron Cometbus, is a drummer, lyricist, self-described "punk anthropologist" and author of Cometbus, a seminal punk rock zine.

Reviews

[Maud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punk is right.

[Jessie McMains · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tiny book made me cry. I've only ever heard, like, two Radon songs, but that didn't stop me from feeling the book, ya know? If you're punk, you'll understand. As Travis Fristoe writes near the end of his half: "Now go form your own band and cry over old records." As a punk writer myself, I'll say: "Now go write your own book and cry over old records."

[Jak Krumholtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never heard a single Radon song before but dug this love letter to them and Gainesville's punk scene by a fave author Cometbus and also Fristoe, whom I want to check more out from, and was sorry to see he took his own life shortly after writing this. I loved him ending the essay with naming several other bands/artists the book could have been about.

[Manuel Chavarria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than most of the 33 1/3 books by a pretty significant margin, particularly in the actual prose.

Was 45 RPM a series? I swear to god it was a series. I have a distinct memory of picking up and looking at one about a The Fall single at Counterpoint/Harmony, but I can't for the life of me find a reference to any entry but this one online. There's a list of "Other titles in the 45 RPM series" in this book (The Fall is not on the list), but extensive internet searches are turning up nothing. Maybe my memory was a dream? Does anyone out there know?

[Jeff Laughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maud is right that punk is right.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written, thoughtful, punk. Perfect.

[Scott Satterwhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. RIP Travis ❤️

[10thumbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron and Travis' 2 brief essays underscoring the possibility and righteousness of punk are spot on, even if I don't understand all of what they're saying (I've been carrying this around in my bag to reread for the last week.)

Despite being late(r) to the Radon party than Travis and Aaron — I'd seen them a half-dozen times before getting a front-and-center spot at their first* last show — Radon (and their contemporaries Spoke) changed my relationship to music in ways they pick apart over these 44 pages. I've never deconstrtucted the how's and whys like Travis and Aaron do here... content instead to simply sing along to Radon's "oh wahah's".

"28" (or "Awww Geez"), the album they discuss here is great. But for my money Radon's two 7"s ("Radon" and "In Your Home") are 2 of the best recordings to come out of Gainesville.



* Radon's first last show was late Dec./early Jan. 1997. They'd go on to play 7-8 other "last shows" over the years when they'd all find themselves in Gainesville.

[Rand]

WELCOME HOME
HERESAYRIGHTONOWHERE
RADON was a BAND that sang about
KIBBLES AND BITS AND WASTING TIME
THEYRE music is essential for parsing the EXHAUSTRA of a certain geographically distinct subset of FLANGRYOUTH
who experienced FACIAL DISOBEDIENCE AND/OR had REHAB BARBIE go for RADON MITIGATION

THIS BOOK IS REAL.
THE FIRST PART IS MOSTLY SHITE AND TEH SECOND PART IS MOSTLY ALRIGHT>>>

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reflections on a pretty obscure punk band from the early 90s, this contains basically two essays, one by each of the authors, reflecting on the influence Radon has had on them over the years as well as larger issues in punk circles. Cometbus is particularly reflective on the issue of quality of music in punk and the way really quality music is sometimes overlooked for various reasons. Fristoe takes us more into the local context of Radon and how their rootedness in that time and place affects the meaning of their work.

Being as this is a band I'd never heard of, I picked this up on a whim because I generally like Cometbus' writing. I wasn't disappointed! I think these two essays compliment each other really well, with Cometbus giving us the "big picture" while Fristoe brings it back to details. I guess I have a new band to scour the Used sections for...

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is divided into two parts. The first, by Aaron Cometbus, is a little bit disappointing. He rambles a lot, which is fine by me, but sort of to no real end. He alludes to Radon, the subject of criticism here, often, but never quite really talks about them. The Radon LP is relegated to a paragraph or two here and there. While Aaron does make a good point about punks' need to criticize and appreciate their own work, not unlike the Beats did, his section felt a little flimsy to me.

However, Travis Fristoe is here to save the day. A perfect blend of personal stories, general punk philosophizing, and actual in-depth criticism of Radon's songs. Fristoe is one of my favorite authors of the zine/punk world and this meets and exceeds my expectations. Punk's right indeed.

[Mason Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun little read, very quick. A celebration of the first (and sort of only) album by Gainesville, FL punk band Radon, it's in two parts, one by Aaron Cometbus and one by Travis Fristoe. Aaron's familiar to many thanks to his always-brilliant zine Cometbus; Travis is a long-time member of Gainesville's punk scene. A slim small-sized 43 pages, you'll breeze through this quickly, but it's enjoyable and worth the time. Rather than getting into describing the music, both pieces are more about the meaning of the songs, both personally and in a larger punk-rock context, as well as some fun remembrances of Gainesville's early punk scene by Fristoe. A fun read.

[Matthew Snope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book. Especially after the disappointing 33 1/3 book on Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol 2.
I like the dual voices of Cometbus and Fristoe, I underlined a lot of great sentences, I found the writers' use of Radon as a jumping off point for bigger issues of punk, community, self, etc, excellent. Well worth the four bucks I bought this for. Now we need a 45 book on southern punk outfit Ye Olde Buttfuck!

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it! Amazingly the Fristone side blew me away, capturing some of the mysterious love I have for this cult classic. But man, still this band holds magic and speaks in codes I have yet to understand. Fall deep into this book and this band.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What is life, really, except a contest to leave the coolest suicide note?"

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is fortunate to have a book that doesn't just capture a record you love but a time and a place that you lived and witnessed.

Do it for the kids!!!

(And maybe the aging too for that matter!)

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travis Fristoe's essay: 5 stars. Cometbus: 3.