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Loud Fast Words: Soul Asylum Collected Lyrics
As the primary songwriter for Soul Asylum, Dave Pirner has penned hundreds of songs over the course of nearly four decades and has helped to shape the alternative-rock world through his artful lyrics and distinctive vocals. With twelve full-length studio albums under their belts, Pirner and Soul Asylum have produced songs that have captured multiple generations of music fans.
The lyrics collected here represent Pirner's life's work (to date): nearly 150 songs printed in their full form, annotated by Pirner with his own recollections and reflections on the inspiration behind each song and what they mean to him and his career. Supplemented with photographs and reproductions of his handwritten lyric pages, Say What You Will reveals the creative process and the soulful spirit behind this impressive collection of songs.
The lyrics collected here represent Pirner's life's work (to date): nearly 150 songs printed in their full form, annotated by Pirner with his own recollections and reflections on the inspiration behind each song and what they mean to him and his career. Supplemented with photographs and reproductions of his handwritten lyric pages, Say What You Will reveals the creative process and the soulful spirit behind this impressive collection of songs.
320 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 14, 2020
Zero reviews? That's a lot of pressure!
There are only a handful of musicians/bands that I still listen to today as much as I ever did when I was young, and Soul Asylum tops that list. I saw them play at an HFStival the summer before my senior year of high school and was hooked. I mention this because I'm reviewing Loud Fast Words as a fan.
This book is a collection of all the lyrics that made it to an album or recording over the course of Dave Pirner's 35+years of writing. Before each song, Pirner writes an introduction with either an explanation of the lyrics or an anecdote about what was happening when he wrote them. Some are barely a paragraph, while others are the length of a short chapter. The heft of the book gives a tangible reminder of how much work goes into music, a largely intangible art. And a lot of those lyrics (the story songs are my favorites) are what have kept me a fan for 25 years, so having them all in a fairly chronological book, like an anthology of poetry or a reference book, is a pretty cool thing to own. Ultimately, fans of Soul Asylum are going to want their own copies of this, I really loved it, and am glad I bought it instead of a t-shirt.
But...
I'd be remiss if I didn't say I was a little bummed that it wasn't more of a traditional memoir. I was hoping to get to know the history of the band and Pirner's life story more- I bet it is a great story. I guess either Pirner figures he shows enough of himself through his music and lyrics that he wants to keep the mundane details of his life private, which is understandable, or maybe he finds prose writing a boring distraction when his brain is so trained to write in verse. Maybe there is another book in the works somewhere or a thorough bio of the band in its various incantations over the years being written by someone else at this moment (I hope so!). That's not in this book, though.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that while I was reading it, I kept stopping to go to my Tidal app to look up various songs. And in doing that I was reminded WHY I've remained a fan to this day- This band has done nothing but get better over the past 25 years (and-sidebar- I don't like 80% of their catalog from before Grave Dancer's Union, but I have liked ALL of the albums since then, with my favorite two albums being their most recent two)-- better at playing music, and better at songwriting. This book kind of let's us see the progression from young punk rocker to lifetime professional musician, and it's kind of awesome.
Overall, really enjoyed the book, and am glad I picked it up at last night's concert. Made for good hangover reading. Cannot wait for the new album in the spring. Four stars.
There are only a handful of musicians/bands that I still listen to today as much as I ever did when I was young, and Soul Asylum tops that list. I saw them play at an HFStival the summer before my senior year of high school and was hooked. I mention this because I'm reviewing Loud Fast Words as a fan.
This book is a collection of all the lyrics that made it to an album or recording over the course of Dave Pirner's 35+years of writing. Before each song, Pirner writes an introduction with either an explanation of the lyrics or an anecdote about what was happening when he wrote them. Some are barely a paragraph, while others are the length of a short chapter. The heft of the book gives a tangible reminder of how much work goes into music, a largely intangible art. And a lot of those lyrics (the story songs are my favorites) are what have kept me a fan for 25 years, so having them all in a fairly chronological book, like an anthology of poetry or a reference book, is a pretty cool thing to own. Ultimately, fans of Soul Asylum are going to want their own copies of this, I really loved it, and am glad I bought it instead of a t-shirt.
But...
I'd be remiss if I didn't say I was a little bummed that it wasn't more of a traditional memoir. I was hoping to get to know the history of the band and Pirner's life story more- I bet it is a great story. I guess either Pirner figures he shows enough of himself through his music and lyrics that he wants to keep the mundane details of his life private, which is understandable, or maybe he finds prose writing a boring distraction when his brain is so trained to write in verse. Maybe there is another book in the works somewhere or a thorough bio of the band in its various incantations over the years being written by someone else at this moment (I hope so!). That's not in this book, though.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that while I was reading it, I kept stopping to go to my Tidal app to look up various songs. And in doing that I was reminded WHY I've remained a fan to this day- This band has done nothing but get better over the past 25 years (and-sidebar- I don't like 80% of their catalog from before Grave Dancer's Union, but I have liked ALL of the albums since then, with my favorite two albums being their most recent two)-- better at playing music, and better at songwriting. This book kind of let's us see the progression from young punk rocker to lifetime professional musician, and it's kind of awesome.
Overall, really enjoyed the book, and am glad I picked it up at last night's concert. Made for good hangover reading. Cannot wait for the new album in the spring. Four stars.
February 22, 2020
When I was a teenager these guys released "Grave Dancer's Union" and floored me. Then I found out that it wasn't their first record and went back into their old stuff. They quickly became one of my favorite bands, to the point where we used to play their songs on the cover bands I had as a kid.
Anyway, I'd never gotten a chance to catch them live until very recently and was fortunate enough to get this book signed by Dave Pirner. It's interesting to read his annotations about the songs, and the book itself reads mostly like a poetry collection, so it's a nice memento.
My only complaint is that I would've liked it to be a hardcover version.
Anyway, I'd never gotten a chance to catch them live until very recently and was fortunate enough to get this book signed by Dave Pirner. It's interesting to read his annotations about the songs, and the book itself reads mostly like a poetry collection, so it's a nice memento.
My only complaint is that I would've liked it to be a hardcover version.
April 13, 2025
I am usually pretty definitive in what I am reading. I love reading memoirs (celebrity or otherwise), so, technically, this book should never have been part of my reading history because it is NOT a memoir.
I am not sure what happened, but as I was browsing in a bookstore, one of my favorite things to do, and as I was heading to the cash register with a pile of books, I casually looked down at a table and this book caught my attention. Have no idea why, but I just scooped it up, along with all my other books .
When I got home, I looked at the cover, and I saw it was written by someone from Soul Asylum. I had a distant memory of Soul Asylum, very vague and to me, they had "that guy with all the hair in front of his face" (a pet peeve of mine BTW) "who sang that song about trains".
My generation had so much good music that Soul Asylum never even made my top 10. How could it? when I was enjoying Zeppelin, Supertramp, and the Eagles, to name but a few. Plus, at the time, Soul Asylum was into grunge (I do remember that), and that type of music was NOT my thing at all.
Anyway, all of this is to say that I adored this book. A lot of the lyrics are thought provoking and I found out that I really, really enjoy Stand Up and Be Strong (especially with Pirner singing it with his son) and yes, that "train" song is also really good.
I made a point of reading each page and then listening to the tune, so I have been on this book for quite a while now, and I ended up going down the rabbit hole a bit. There were other songs I really enjoyed too, so I have added Soul Asylum to my repeat playlist, even though it appears that their music has been called, grunge, alternative rock and rock....I suppose it is genius to make music that is not defined by only one music type.
I am so impressed with Pirner's creativity (yes, that guy with all the hair in front of his face), he is obviously doing (songwriting) what he was put on this planet to do.
Pirner and I have nothing in common - oh wait!, we are both the same age and we both breathe the same air, but that's about it. While I am no music expert, the depth of some of his lyrics has really touched me. The little blurb at the top of each page, discussing his mindset at the time of the writing of a particular song, gives us just a hint of what he was living or thinking or feeling at that time.
I really enjoyed reading this book and discovering (ok, granted 40 years later) some really great songs.
As I do when I finish a memoir (this is not that, but still), I do a deep dive on the author, and I did this with Dave Pirner. While Pirner is obviously funny and very intelligent, it was a bit of a letdown, to me, to see that he is also kind of a cliché musician, with the work hard and party harder mentality. Obviously, he owes me less than zero, but I was kind of dejected. Addiction is a b**** for sure, but I had hoped Pirner would have grown through it, and maybe he has, but watching some interviews or concerts can be kind of painful. Yet, at times, he is so on the ball and impresses the hell out of his audience (me included).
He is such a contradiction. It really intrigues me.
Of course, the irony here is that he could easily take this review and turn it into something powerful, a skill I have not been born with, obviously.
I am not sure what happened, but as I was browsing in a bookstore, one of my favorite things to do, and as I was heading to the cash register with a pile of books, I casually looked down at a table and this book caught my attention. Have no idea why, but I just scooped it up, along with all my other books .
When I got home, I looked at the cover, and I saw it was written by someone from Soul Asylum. I had a distant memory of Soul Asylum, very vague and to me, they had "that guy with all the hair in front of his face" (a pet peeve of mine BTW) "who sang that song about trains".
My generation had so much good music that Soul Asylum never even made my top 10. How could it? when I was enjoying Zeppelin, Supertramp, and the Eagles, to name but a few. Plus, at the time, Soul Asylum was into grunge (I do remember that), and that type of music was NOT my thing at all.
Anyway, all of this is to say that I adored this book. A lot of the lyrics are thought provoking and I found out that I really, really enjoy Stand Up and Be Strong (especially with Pirner singing it with his son) and yes, that "train" song is also really good.
I made a point of reading each page and then listening to the tune, so I have been on this book for quite a while now, and I ended up going down the rabbit hole a bit. There were other songs I really enjoyed too, so I have added Soul Asylum to my repeat playlist, even though it appears that their music has been called, grunge, alternative rock and rock....I suppose it is genius to make music that is not defined by only one music type.
I am so impressed with Pirner's creativity (yes, that guy with all the hair in front of his face), he is obviously doing (songwriting) what he was put on this planet to do.
Pirner and I have nothing in common - oh wait!, we are both the same age and we both breathe the same air, but that's about it. While I am no music expert, the depth of some of his lyrics has really touched me. The little blurb at the top of each page, discussing his mindset at the time of the writing of a particular song, gives us just a hint of what he was living or thinking or feeling at that time.
I really enjoyed reading this book and discovering (ok, granted 40 years later) some really great songs.
As I do when I finish a memoir (this is not that, but still), I do a deep dive on the author, and I did this with Dave Pirner. While Pirner is obviously funny and very intelligent, it was a bit of a letdown, to me, to see that he is also kind of a cliché musician, with the work hard and party harder mentality. Obviously, he owes me less than zero, but I was kind of dejected. Addiction is a b**** for sure, but I had hoped Pirner would have grown through it, and maybe he has, but watching some interviews or concerts can be kind of painful. Yet, at times, he is so on the ball and impresses the hell out of his audience (me included).
He is such a contradiction. It really intrigues me.
Of course, the irony here is that he could easily take this review and turn it into something powerful, a skill I have not been born with, obviously.
July 5, 2021
I've been a fan since 1988 or 1989 so I was very excited about this book. After reading it, I'm a bit disappointed. I mean, what's there is worth five stars (the lyrics cleared up some mysteries, particularly on the early albums) , but I took off a star for what's missing. The song comments are tantalizingly brief. According to an interview I read, Pirner didn't want to write a proper memoir (unfortunately IMO), but I was hoping his comments would have more depth. When a song has been part of one's life for several decades, it's kind of a bummer when the songwriter doesn't have much to say about it. He ignores some pretty big elephants, too, like Dan Murphy's departure. And in a perfect world (this didn't influence my rating), this book would also include Murphy's Soul Asylum songs and Pirner's solo album, "Faces & Names."
March 18, 2020
"If this book is considered close to poetry," writes Dave Pirner in the introduction to Loud Fast Words, "I would be okay with that." He continues:
"I suppose the idea for a song could be considered a seed. Some grow to be beautiful plants; others don't germinate at all. They are dormant seeds. No one wants to look at my collection of dormant seeds. They want to see the flower. The big, fat, fucking sunflower. But every seed needs a fair chance. What is it that allows some seeds to turn into flowers? Is it Darwinism? Is it chance? Is it ego? I have no idea. Do I think that my opinion is important? Do I give a shit what anyone thinks? I'm like a dog; I'm peeing on every tree I can find."
So...art is elusive. I reviewed Loud Fast Words for The Current.
"I suppose the idea for a song could be considered a seed. Some grow to be beautiful plants; others don't germinate at all. They are dormant seeds. No one wants to look at my collection of dormant seeds. They want to see the flower. The big, fat, fucking sunflower. But every seed needs a fair chance. What is it that allows some seeds to turn into flowers? Is it Darwinism? Is it chance? Is it ego? I have no idea. Do I think that my opinion is important? Do I give a shit what anyone thinks? I'm like a dog; I'm peeing on every tree I can find."
So...art is elusive. I reviewed Loud Fast Words for The Current.
February 28, 2020
Let me get this out there first, I’m a Soul Asylum fanatic. I also love Dave Pirner’s writing. This book shows why...to a point.
Dave’s lyrics are deep, introspective and fun. He doesn’t really enjoy looking back and that’s the only place the book falters. He attempts to describe what he was thinking and feeling when he wrote each song, but a lot of times, it’s just cagey enough to tell you something, but not much. There are songs that obviously have serious meaning behind them, and that’ll be the songs where he tells you how the song was written, not why.
I’m good with that though, this isn’t a memoir and I don’t need to know every thought he’s ever had. There are handwritten lyrics and illustrations and it’s an incredible look into the history of a severely underrated band and songwriter.
I’m personally hoping that one day he writes a novel.
Dave’s lyrics are deep, introspective and fun. He doesn’t really enjoy looking back and that’s the only place the book falters. He attempts to describe what he was thinking and feeling when he wrote each song, but a lot of times, it’s just cagey enough to tell you something, but not much. There are songs that obviously have serious meaning behind them, and that’ll be the songs where he tells you how the song was written, not why.
I’m good with that though, this isn’t a memoir and I don’t need to know every thought he’s ever had. There are handwritten lyrics and illustrations and it’s an incredible look into the history of a severely underrated band and songwriter.
I’m personally hoping that one day he writes a novel.
June 24, 2023
This was a nice look into the mind of Dave Pirner. I enjoyed seeing the progression of his song writing and of Soul Asylum. I appreciate his love for Minnesota and the Mississippi River. Next time I see Soul Asylum in concert I will have a better connection to the lyrics and meaning behind the songs.
Read
March 10, 2020As only a casual fan I liked the insight here. Wish more artists would do something like this.
July 10, 2020
Just a great read especially listening along with the music. Soul Asylum is something special. Dave's lyrics still resonate today. New album is fantastic.
January 27, 2021
I'm so happy this exists. It's wonderful getting to read Dave's incredible lyrics and get a general idea on where they came from. This is gonna be on my shelf and reference guide for years to come!
November 17, 2025
I wish more rock artists would write a book like this.
August 27, 2023
I loved this book! I listened to each song as I read the lyrics. I wonder why Soul Asylum isn’t bigger than they are. Dave Pirner is an absolute genius!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews