Mark Yarm's Blog, page 770

The Gits perform "Second Skin," from The...

The Gits perform "Second Skin," from The Gits documentary.

The City Council in Aberdeen, WA has voted to not rename the...

The City Council in Aberdeen, WA has voted to not rename the Young Street Bridge after Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. An area of land near the (muddy banks of the) Wishkah River, however, will be named Cobain Landing.

(Thanks to Rachel Strongin for the news story link. Picture of the Young Street Bridge from http://www.terrysdiary.com).

Screaming Trees make their network TV debut on Letterman,...

Screaming Trees make their network TV debut on Letterman, October 16, 1992.

"Letterman was all excited because he likes to make jokes about fat people, apparently. So during the food segment he held up a giant ham and was like, 'This is trail mix for the Screaming Trees.' Actually, for a band that's good publicity."

—Screaming Trees bassist Van Conner, in the forthcoming book Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge

The first review of Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge is in!

It's a starred review from the August 1 issue of Kirkus. Here's the main quote:

Yarm's affectionate, gossipy, detailed look at the highs and lows of the contemporary Seattle music scene is one of the most essential rock books of recent years.

The full review is posted here, but you'll need a Kirkus subscription to read it all prior to the book's release on September 6. Pre-order here.

The long-gone Sub Pop Mega Mart retail store, Seattle, 1996....

The long-gone Sub Pop Mega Mart retail store, Seattle, 1996. (Photo by Dave Curry; see more of Dave's pictures of mid-'90s Seattle haunts in this Flickr set.)

Mudhoney and Sir Mix-a-lot, "Freak Momma," from the...

Mudhoney and Sir Mix-a-lot, "Freak Momma," from the Judgment Night soundtrack

"I always thought that the ironic nature of us being on the same label as Aretha Franklin, the..."

"I always thought that the ironic nature of us being on the same label as Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin was that that's where we belong. We need to be right there, totally legitimate—not half-legitimate, not half-assed. All of it, I want the whole thing. Because we're not an exclusive club. I've always thought that our records should sell millions and millions of copies."

- Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne on the band's time on Atlantic Records (outtake from Everybody...

L7's infamous 1992 performance of "Pretend...

L7's infamous 1992 performance of "Pretend We're Dead" on The Word. The trou-dropping commences at 2:54.

Hey guys, have you "liked" Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge on Facebook yet?

If not, now would be a great time to do so: http://www.facebook.com/everybodylovesourtown. Book is out September 6!

"When I saw Mookie Blaylock, I'd already met Ed [Vedder] 'cause he came over to the house that we..."

"When I saw Mookie Blaylock, I'd already met Ed [Vedder] 'cause he came over to the house that we lived at for a photo shoot Mudhoney was doing with Chris Cuffaro, a photographer from L.A. He came over as Chris's photo assistant—he knew him from his time in L.A.—and he was this super-cool, nice guy that we were hangin' out with all day long…. And after that, we found out he was actually the singer for Mookie Blaylock. It was a perfect way to meet Ed. He didn't want it to be known who he was s...