Accidental Revolution: The Story of Grunge

by Kyle Anderson

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hole and Alice in Chains are the names that come to mind when we talk about grunge. But never before has there been a complete history of grunge with razor-sharp critical analysis—until now.

Grunge, a style of music that wed classic rock riffs with punk ethos, was the musical movement that defined the 90's and left an indelible mark on the music scene at large. But how did this musical phenomenon emerge from the Seattle underground to become a universal beacon of despair for millions of restless kids around the globe, and why did it resonate with so many disenchanted outsiders?

Kyle Anderson answers these questions and more, examining the connection between grunge and punk, how Kurt Cobain's disdain for Axl Rose propelled Nirvana to instant success, the singer who officially killed off grunge with his trite lyrics and pseudo-grunge attitude and the band the ripped off Pearl Jam, made millions of dollars by selling out to the media and went on to become the most hated band ever.

Accidental Revolution is an essential guide to the triumphs and defeats of a musical revolution and its unforgettable icons.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Rock N Roll

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

This is Kyle^^Anderson, where ^=space.

About the Author:
Kyle Anderson is an assistant editor at Spin magazine. He lives in Brookyn, New York.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Just think about 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' for a second. Everybody knows that opening jangly guitar riff, but when the does the song really explode? When [Dave] Grohl's drum fill comes in and drags the bass along with it. The second Grohl hit that snare the first time, 80's metal was officially dead and 'grunge,' for better or for worse, would change the rock landscape forever." -- page 223

If it's not taken as some sort of 'definitive history' and instead as just one informed man's opinion (he was an editor at SPIN magazine) on the flowering and then death knell of the early/mid-90's musical genre called 'grunge,' then Accidental Revolution was a reasonably entertaining book. Not surprisingly those Seattle area groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains get the majority of the fanfare and page time largely for their national success - though less remembered but still notable acts like Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone, who never quite broke out beyond the Pacific Northwest borders, get appropriate attention as well - but often the author sadistically socks it to the groups he considers imitators or wannabes, and that quickly got tiresome. I mean, I am a fan of Stone Temple Pilots and think they made enjoyable 90's rock music, so I don't get his continual vitriol because I also never got the impression that STP was trying to ride anyone's coattails.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

it's like a bad college research paper...however, even a BAD college paper would cite sources. Anderson cites NO ONE. How he managed to avoid plagiarism is beyond me.

This book is OBVIOUSLY written by someone who was NO WHERE NEAR the scene when it happened and has not researched enough primary sources (like ACTUAL PEOPLE/Interviews). Yes, Anderson gives the book a view through a "pop culture lens" and proves that he knows very little about the people and the actual feel of what was going on with the "Seattle Sound" during the early 90's.

As a musical historian myself, one who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I find this book embarrassingly poorly researched and full of inaccuracies and flaws. This is NOT "The Story of Grunge" as the book's tittle claims. Anyone who has read the booklets that come with cds from the bands he mentions from this era, and has seen the movies 'Hype!' and 'Singles', could paste together a similar "Story" of what they think grunges' history is. (I'm not kidding about that.)

To really understand how ridiculous and inaccurate this book is, one only needs to see his "Great Grunge Discography" chapter. The Gin Blossoms? Live? Reality Bites Soundtrack!!?? THE VERVE PIPE!!??(NO EXCUSE for that last one!) This guy peppers his list with a few safe Seattle Legends, even the Deep Six Compilation, but doesn't include bands like TAD, The Wipers, Skin Yard, and The Melvins to name just a few. That is proof enough that he is NOT a reliable source.

And, anyone who refers to The Fastbacks and L7 as "...also rans" and Coffin Break as an "unknown" CLEARLY has NO CLUE what they're talking about, LET ALONE what was going on in the grunge movement or its' history.

For a WELL-RESEARCHED book, written by someone who was THERE, see: "LOSER: The Real Seattle Music Story" By: Clark Humphrey, or "Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground from 1981-1991" By: Michael Azzerad. The first is SUPER detailed and explains the history of what happened in the Pacific Northwest and HOW it happened perfectly; and the other provides insights to many different bands of the times, INCLUDING Mudhoney and their history with Sup Pop and the tie-in of BEAT HAPPENING (also, HUGELY important to the history of grunge).

Also, see the documentary- TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears it covers TAD and their rise and fall along with the History of Sup Pop and grunge.

[Lisa Kuhn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a huge disappointment. The author uses too much hyperbole, but then he contradicts himself in the next sentence. He writes about the scene as though he were there. Was he? No! He is my age, and I was only in 6th grade when Kurt Cobain died. Ug. Oh, and crime of crimes, he doesn't cite ANY references! Wtf?! I was really enjoying hating this book until he started talking about the candlelight vigil that Courtney Love held for Kurt right after he died. The idiotic and heartless author makes fun of the kids attending because their moms dropped them off in minivans. Oh, so I guess middle class grief doesn't count? Piss off, dude. I stopped reading at that point.

[Jeff Wilder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining in spots. But it too often comes off as something written by a disgruntled hair metal fan. That plus the author's tendency to generalize a lot without really thinking or doing any real research (listing certain post grunge bands as grunge) gives the book a myopic feel. It would be like getting someone who detests the likes of Warrant and WInger to write an objective book about hair metal or someone who destests rap to write a book about it.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining, but doesn't cite any sources. It's basically just the author's musical opinions masquerading as a history.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I bothered to finish this.

[Dan O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me why I loved this music so much when I was 12-14, but also reminds me why I so rarely ever revisit it now that I'm almost 30. Grunge is the perfect music for a time in one's life, but then, never again.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing I didn't really already know, but I had to read it anyway. I guess there was some stuff on Soundgarden and Alice in Chains I hadn't read before, and he makes fun of all the rip-off bands, claiming that it's possible that Bush was an art project to try and make the fakest band of all time a commercial success.

[Antoine Tremblay · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is simply the biggest piece of trash I have read this year. Apart from the incoherent name dropping (Gin Blossoms is grunge ?), very bad writing and false information, this excuse of a book gives delusional interpretations of so many aspects of the genre that it cannot be taken as a serious thing. There is plenty of great books about artists and the era that grunge defines. Avoid this one.

[Rachel]

Good lead up to the break out of grunge. The author had the opinion that once grunge became mainstream, the best music had already been released. For anyone who grea up with this music, its great nostalgia.

[Kaitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to learn about the 90s grunge scene but while reading this book it felt more like a Nirvana biography than the actual scene back in the 90s because Nirvana was on almost every page and only pearl jam and soundgarden would pop here and there

[J.L. III · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but some of it's comparisons are a bit off to me, between this band and that band. Also, it lacks any real depth -- for those, go with the Prato or Yarm books.

That being said, if you want a quick overview of things, this isn't a bad place to start.

[Larry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dude this book is pretty lame but it didn't stop me reading it cover to cover, analysis of grunge and its place in history... fuck you dude...it's place in history is Mudhoney on my turntable.

[katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

kyle anderson is awesome.

[April Raine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in an easy to read editorial style, it's a fun introduction to grunge and pop culture as a serious point of discussion.