Fictional books about Indie Rock

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so has anyone heard of/read the Williamsburg-eviscerating "Gary Benchley, Rock Star"? This is the thread where ILM decries/praises portrayals of similar indie-rock culture a la Jeff Gomez's "Our Noise" or "High Fidelity"... I admit that so far "Gary Benchley" is quite funny, but it does raise some questions for me as to who the indie rock community is comprised of and whether or not this is actually something I would want to be associated with (tho I def. am, like it or not)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 19:57 (twenty years ago)

you are reading that book? for shame.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

the book in question:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452286638/103-1285222-8921436?v=glance

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

(a friend of mine wrote it, I have to read it!)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

i heard your friend reading it on npr, he sucks.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

lampooning williamsburg is so fucking easy. i'll write a book about it by tomorrow.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

sort of fictional, according to David Lowery anyway... "boy island" by Camden Joy

― gadsg, Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

it is an easy target - did anyone write any bitchy novels about Seattle in the early 90s...? I guess there's those two issues of Hate and "Singles"...

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

Paul Ford (ie the author) is FUCKING AWESOME -- you are insane!

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:14 (twenty years ago)

is he your friend, too?

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

i WISH. ftrain's like the best writing on the internet.

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:23 (twenty years ago)

the writing is good, the jokes are funny. But the subject matter itself alternately strikes me too close to the bone or seems completely pointless (ie, why bother making fun of these people, its so easy, ohmigod one of these people is me ahhhhhhhhhhhh shame spiral!)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:24 (twenty years ago)

eight years pass...

our noise was AWFUL

― i was a downy lad, and twee (stevie), Monday, 18 August 2014 16:09 (eleven years ago)

ftrain's at the Atlantic now in case anyone didn't know

― Οὖτις, Monday, 18 August 2014 16:10 (eleven years ago)

This is also pretty horrible reading.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Mistakes-Were-Made-Novel-ebook/dp/B0050IEQJ8

― paulhw, Monday, 18 August 2014 16:32 (eleven years ago)

I seem to recall there's a shitty Lethem novel about an indie rock band

― Οὖτις, Monday, 18 August 2014 16:33 (eleven years ago)

I've read some really wonderful novels about indie-rock bands (Pagan Kennedy's The Exes, Caryn Roses's B-sides and Broken Hearts, maybe even Kevin Samson's Powder) but I've also read so many terrible books about bands. But my take on the thing is that the latter tend to be by people who are primarily writers, writing what they *think* it is like to be in a band, while the former have been by people who actually were in bands, or were managers, and around a lot of bands/musicians enough that they actually had first hand experience.

(But, y'know, I have a dog or two in this fight, so I'll shut up now.)

― are we shoegaze or are we dancer? (Branwell with an N), Monday, 18 August 2014 16:56 (eleven years ago)

i liked the shitty lethem indie rock novel! "you don't love me yet." but maybe i'm just inclined to like anything that borrows its title from roky erickson.

― fact checking cuz, Monday, 18 August 2014 17:28 (eleven years ago)

also, maybe i liked it 'cause it was based in los angeles, which at the time i didn't know much about. if it was based in new york, maybe it would've given me road rage.

― fact checking cuz, Monday, 18 August 2014 17:31 (eleven years ago)

our noise was kinda awful but i enjoyed all the band namedrops. the less namedroppy geniuses of crack follow-up was much worse

― ned's atomic raggett (electricsound), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 00:13 (eleven years ago)

The musician character in Jonathan Franzen's Freedom is really great.

― goth colouring book (anagram), Tuesday, 19 August 2014 08:34 (eleven years ago)

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