Our Band Could Have Been Your Life - a reflection on the 80s in underground music

 I've spent much of my adult life casting about for music to listen to. Without the concentration of peers common in college, the discovery of quality bands has shifted a responsibility onto my own shoulders. No longer are people bringing music to me; I have to chase it down myself. This has only recently been made more accessible due to YouTube and Bandcamp hosting almost every album I've ever heard of, or could hear of. The days of piracy via peer-to-peer servers are over for me. No longer do I have to wait to hear one song, or at best three or four from a classic album. It's all right there, available for my listening pleasure as soon as I get around to it. The pinch point has shifted from attainability to a dearth of listening time. Household projects and routine chores, even doing my taxes or processing photos have become a boon as they allow me the time to sit down, do something relatively mindless while I catch up on recent and ancient releases. Much of the time, this attempt to LISTEN TO ALL THE MUSIC has been a grab bag. I'm all over the place. Bands people have mentioned recently, bands I've written down in the last decade that people mentioned, bands that influenced bands I like, brand new bands I never would have discovered myself are now touted on websites by writers I've come to respect. Finding music is easy. But in order to find great music, I have to wade through a lot of outdated ideas, terrible budget-recording demos, endless self-indulgence. It's worth it to me though, as there are a lot of great moments out there for the taking. I just have to reach and discover them. I'm always searching for the chance to hear my favorite album, for the first time, again. 
    Michael Azerrad wrote a book called Our Band Could Be Your Life. It set the tone for a lot of later musical journalism that I've read and enjoyed of not only talking about bands, but telling their history, and why they might be important to you. There are a lot of albums/bands mentioned that didn't click either the first or the 20th time, but I'm always willing to try. The following is a list of all the recordings mentioned in the book that I listened through as I read it. I've been at it for a few years.

Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown EP
Black Flag - Jealous Again EP
Black Flag - Six Pack EP
*Black Flag - Damaged
Black Flag - My War
Black Flag - Family Man
Black Flag - Slip It In
Black Flag - Loose Nut
Black Flag - The Process of Weeding Out EP
Black Flag - In My Head
Black Flag - Who's Got the 10 1/2?
The Minutemen - Paranoid Time EP
The Minutemen - Joy EP
The Minutemen - The Punch Line
The Minutemen - What Makes a Man Start Fires?
*The Minutemen - Bean Spill EP
The Minutemen - Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat EP
The Minutemen - Tour Spiel EP
The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
*The Minutemen - Project: Mersh
The Minutemen - 3-Way Tie (For Last)
The Minutemen - Ballot Result
Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song/Max Ernst single
Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches EP
Mission of Burma - Vs
Mission of Burma - The Horrible Truth About Burma
Minor Threat - Minor Threat EP
Minor Threat - Flex Your Head compilation
Minor Threat - In My Eyes EP
Minor Threat - Out of Step EP
Minor Threat - Salad Days EP
Husker Du - Statues/Amusement EP
Husker Du - Land Speed Record
Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart
Husker Du - In A Free Land single
Husker Du - Metal Circus EP
Husker Du - Eight Miles High single
Husker Du - Zen Arcade
Husker Du - New Day Rising
Husker Du - Flip Your Wig
Husker Du - Candy Apple Gray
Husker Du - Warehouse: Songs and Stories
*The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
The Replacements - Stink
The Replacements - Hootenanny
The Replacements - Let It Be
*The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
No New York compilation 1978
Sonic Youth - Sonic Youth EP
Sonic Youth - Confusion is Sex
Sonic Youth - Kill Yr. Idols EP
Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising
*Sonic Youth - EVOL
*Sonic Youth - Sister
*Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth - Walls Have Ears
*Sonic Youth - Goo
Butthole Surfers - Live PCPPEP EP
Butthole Surfers - Psychic,,Powerless..Another Man's Sac
Butthole Surfers - Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Butthole Surfers - Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis EP
Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
Butthole Surfers - Hairway to Steven
Butthole Surfers - piouhgd
Big Black - Lungs EP
Big Black - Bulldozer EP
Big Black - Pigpile Live
Big Black - Racer-X EP
Big Black - Atomizer
Big Black - Headache EP
Big Black - Songs About Fucking
Rapeman - Budd EP
Rapeman - Two Nuns and a Pack Mule
Bands that Could be God compilation
Dinosaur Jr - Dinosaur
Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me
Sebadoh - Weed Forestin'
Dinosaur Jr - Bug
Dinosaur Jr - Green Mind
Pailhead - Trait EP
Fugazi - Fugazi EP
Fugazi - Margin Walker (both combined as 13 Songs)
*Fugazi - Repeater
*Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Fugazi - In On the Kill Taker
Nuggets compilation
Sub Pop #5
Sub Pop #9
Mr Epp & the Calculations - Of Course I'm Happy, Why?
Mighty Feeble Compilation
Young Fresh Fellows - Topsy Turvy
Deep Six compilation
Sub Pop #100
Green River - Come On Down EP
Green River - Dry As a Bone EP
Soundgarden - Screaming Life EP
Mudhoney - Touch Me I'm Sick/Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More single
Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff
Nirvana - Love Buzz/Big Cheese single
Soundgarden - Ultramega OK
Sup Pop #200
Sub Pop - Fuck Me, I'm Rich Australian compilation
Splendora - In the Grass
Swallow - Swallow
Swallow - Sour Puss
Mudhoney - Mudhoney
TAD - Jack Pepsi
TAD - 8-Way Santa
Mark Arm - Masters of War
Nirvana - Sliver/Dive single
Mudhoney - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
Steven Jesse Bernstein - Prison
Mudhoney - Piece of Cake
*Nirvana - Bleach
*Nirvana - Nevermind
Supreme Cool Beings - Survival of the Coolest *"You're Name Here"
K Records - Danger is Their Business comp
Beat Happening - Beat Happening
Beat Happening - Three Tea Breakfast EP
Shonen Knife - Burning Farm
Beat Happening - Jamboree
Beat Happening - Black Candy
Beat Happening - Nancy Sin single
Beat Happening - Red Head Walking single
Beat Happening - Dreamy
Beat Happening - You Turn Me On
Sebadoh - Gimme Indie Rock! single

* particularly cool, and possibly worth owning