I’m a sucker for the history of pop music. I’ve made the 8-hour pilgrimage to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I’ve scoured the library stacks for commentary on everything from free jazz to Brit punk to Motown. I’ve read ‘em and loved ‘em, so fire up that library card and get a little perspective.

The No Dessert For You Guide to What Should Be On Your Nightstand Tonight…

1. Our Band Could Be Your Life (Michael Azzerad) – This is the band-by-band story of the American indie underground between 1981 and 1991. It details the foundation that allowed an explosion like Nirvana to happen, laid by bands from Washington, D.C. to southern California to Portland to Texas. Azzerad’s voice is both nostalgic and unforgiving, and nothing has a sugar coating as he details the pocket punk scenes that dotted America during the Reagan administration. In today’s age of the Internet and cell phones, it’s hard to believe so many bands were able to change the way independent music was viewed with so few resources - until you read these stories and factor in pure, unabashed passion for making music.
2. Please Kill Me (Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain) – This oral history of American punk is as telling as it is disturbing to read. The stories of debauchery, disregard for authority, constant excess, sexual deviance, and the ultimate redemption found only in real rocknroll is as raw and screaming as it gets. Perspective is a powerful thing, and the realization that a relatively small band of outcasts and musical misfits completely turned popular music on its ear reads like a blueprint for social revolution.

3. Chuck Klosterman IV (Chuck Klosterman) – This is a bit of a stretch, as not every story in this collection is music-related, but many are and Klosterman’s snarky observations and wry turn of phrase make this gathering of his past magazine work a must-read. With a unique perspective on what it means to be a pop star, he’s able to wrench new and interesting stories out of such exasperated subjects as Bono, Jack White, and Jeff Tweedy.

Turnabout is fair play, so what should we be reading?

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