What do you think?
Rate this book
Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock 1990-2001
From 1990 to 2001, while the popular radio waves were consumed with the buzz of grunge and alternative rock, Winnipeg managed to craft a unique scene that moved in its own direction. At once informed by their predecessors and stubbornly determined to create the art that they wanted to see made, bands like Kittens, Propagandhi, and the Weakerthans built on this foundation and ultimately found success beyond the Perimeter Highway, but always remained true to the values and underground spirit that first allowed them to crawl up from the muddy banks of the Red River.
Wild and uninhibited, it’s a sound and a time that has captivated Sheldon Birnie since his first forays into the turgid waters of the city’s underground. Now firmly entrenched in the city, Birnie has gone to painstaking lengths to document one of the most important decades in Winnipeg’s musical history. Through detailed research and extensive interviews, Missing Like Teeth paints a vivid picture of the Heart of the Continent and the characters that inhabited its tiny stages from 1990 to 2001.
“I feel like we’re really connected by our basements in a way here that doesn’t exist in other places,” says The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson in Missing Like Teeth. “And a real uniqueness due to isolation. The physical isolation of Winnipeg will never be entirely overcome.”
Wild and uninhibited, it’s a sound and a time that has captivated Sheldon Birnie since his first forays into the turgid waters of the city’s underground. Now firmly entrenched in the city, Birnie has gone to painstaking lengths to document one of the most important decades in Winnipeg’s musical history. Through detailed research and extensive interviews, Missing Like Teeth paints a vivid picture of the Heart of the Continent and the characters that inhabited its tiny stages from 1990 to 2001.
“I feel like we’re really connected by our basements in a way here that doesn’t exist in other places,” says The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson in Missing Like Teeth. “And a real uniqueness due to isolation. The physical isolation of Winnipeg will never be entirely overcome.”
- GenresMusic
Unknown Binding
First published October 24, 2015
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Read
July 9, 2021very fun and interesting, hilarious band names, great stories, cool Weakerthans backstories!
November 9, 2015
This book should have been called "I saw [band] at [venue] in [year]".
I was expecting something along the lines of " This Band Could Be Your Life", but instead got a stark reminder of how what defines someone in the Winnipeg punk scene isn't so much how much you participate, but how effective you are at namedropping bands you're seen.
Instead of a comprehensive history of the scene, with descriptions of the musical and social climate in the city at the time, the key venues and how/why they were supportive, important bands and how they formed and how successful they were both inside and outside of the city, we get a cherrypicked few "key" players reminiscing in that annoying Winnipeg style -- namedropping with a heavy subtext of "I was there and into this before you or anyone else".
If I didn't grow up in Winnipeg in the '90s, and know many of the people interviewed in this book, I would probably be bewildered on almost every page. I can't imagine a reader who picked this book up to learn something about indie music in Winnipeg in the '90s would actually take anything from this. Even knowing what most of these bands sound like, I found myself thinking: "as a reader, why do I CARE that some random scenester saw Immortal Possession at Corefest in 1993?", even though I can make that exact same claim. As an outsider, I suspect that inner dialogue would also be peppered with "why is that band important? Why were they a band? What were their influences and intention as musicians? Did they play more shows after 'Core Fest'? Did they become more widely popular? Did the members go on to other projects?" Consistently NONE of these questions are addressed in this book, at least not in any sufficient way for a book with the word "history" in the title.
Ultimately, I could only recommend this book as much as I could recommend hanging out with people you don't know while they reminisce about places and events you weren't a part of, so basically not at all.
If you want to learn about indie music in Winnipeg in the '90s, this is most definitely not the book for you.
I was expecting something along the lines of " This Band Could Be Your Life", but instead got a stark reminder of how what defines someone in the Winnipeg punk scene isn't so much how much you participate, but how effective you are at namedropping bands you're seen.
Instead of a comprehensive history of the scene, with descriptions of the musical and social climate in the city at the time, the key venues and how/why they were supportive, important bands and how they formed and how successful they were both inside and outside of the city, we get a cherrypicked few "key" players reminiscing in that annoying Winnipeg style -- namedropping with a heavy subtext of "I was there and into this before you or anyone else".
If I didn't grow up in Winnipeg in the '90s, and know many of the people interviewed in this book, I would probably be bewildered on almost every page. I can't imagine a reader who picked this book up to learn something about indie music in Winnipeg in the '90s would actually take anything from this. Even knowing what most of these bands sound like, I found myself thinking: "as a reader, why do I CARE that some random scenester saw Immortal Possession at Corefest in 1993?", even though I can make that exact same claim. As an outsider, I suspect that inner dialogue would also be peppered with "why is that band important? Why were they a band? What were their influences and intention as musicians? Did they play more shows after 'Core Fest'? Did they become more widely popular? Did the members go on to other projects?" Consistently NONE of these questions are addressed in this book, at least not in any sufficient way for a book with the word "history" in the title.
Ultimately, I could only recommend this book as much as I could recommend hanging out with people you don't know while they reminisce about places and events you weren't a part of, so basically not at all.
If you want to learn about indie music in Winnipeg in the '90s, this is most definitely not the book for you.
January 1, 2023
I wasn't there for any of it, and besides the Weakerthans and Propaghandi and I didn't previously know any of these bands I think (although I immediately looked up and loved Kittens), and this was still such a delight. Both about the specifics of this scene and the way it made me think of the smaller examples of scenes I've been around for. Some dynamics are pretty universal (leftist infighing... maybe most of all).
January 10, 2022
It was good to read about bands that I've only heard named-dropped previously, and it was interesting to see that a lot of the bands that are lionized in the Winnipeg music scene really were just a bunch of dude-bros hanging out with their friends. Nothing wrong with it - it's how most bands are formed and it's certainly still the same now.
Side project - someone should go back through the book and see how many interviews start with 'I was there' or 'I was at that show'.
Side project - someone should go back through the book and see how many interviews start with 'I was there' or 'I was at that show'.
June 6, 2020
It was so fun to read this book. I loved learning all the interesting back-stories of great bands like Propagandhi and The Weakerthans among others. Although I was not a part of this scene in the 90s, getting absorbed into the stories makes you feel like you were there, recounting with old friends. Great book!
December 9, 2022
Great account of the Winnipeg punk/metal/alternatice scene during the time covered in the book. However I am biased because I'm in it.
January 20, 2017
The underground rock scene in Winnipeg from 1990 to 2001 was vibrant and full of life. This one decade had an unnatural amount of music that was so good. However, Winnipeg has always had a vibrant musical scene. Bernie really captures the essence of that decade and for anyone who was listening to music and going out to hear live music in Winnipeg then this book reflects those days. Impressive and well documented, a real reflection of those days.
November 27, 2020
By far one of the best books I have ever read in my life.Brought back so many good memories.Winnipeg Hardcore!!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews