Rating System Best Albums Since 1965 Best Artists of 00s Best Artists of 90s Best of 20th Century Best Reggae Albums Best Kosmische Albums Other Lists 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1949-1964

Think I'm obsessive? Go here and catch the list bug yourself, mwa ha ha haaaa:

Books

Punk

• Mark Andersen, Mark Jenkins, Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital (2001)
• Michael Azzerad, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 (2001)

  Our Band Could Be Your Life (extracted from a Minutemen song) is the first decent historical account of the eighties indie rock scene. While books like We Rock So You Don't Have To (excerpts from Option, edited by Scott Becker) and We Owe You Nothing: Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews (edited by Daniel Sinker) offer nice snapshots, Michael Azzerad presents a much more satisfying, cohesive, exhaustively researched account of key bands -- Black Flag, Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Hüsker Dü, Replacements, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Dinosaur Jr., Fugazi, Mudhoney and Beat Happening.

  The stories range from truly inspiring (Minutemen, Fugazi), disheartening (it's amazing how bands like The Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. managed to make great music, considering how unlikeable and loutish they were) to unremarkable (Mudhoney).

  In the Black Flag chapter, one has to give respect to Henry Rollins' dedication. His self-flagellating, narcissistic lyrics finally make sense after learning about how he had been sexually abused growing up. They laid out the blueprint for self-releasing records and touring cheaply. But their lifestyle of suffering -- seven people living in a practice space, living in a van, hating life -- really came through in their dreary records from '83 to '86. Reading about all the constant negativity and disintegration of camaraderie and mutual respect for each other was depressing.

  Minutemen were a refreshing opposite. While they toured together a lot, they couldn't have been more different. Intellectually curious, passionate, more positive, more experimental, they were overall much more worldly than Black Flag. A fucking incredible band to the end. It was cool to see that they really did listen to Captain Beefheart, Television, Wire, Gang Of Four and The Pop Group, just as I suspected. But more surprisingly, they listened to plenty of mainstream stuff. Before they initially formed as The Reactionaries, before hearing punk, they did cover songs of classic rock. In the liner notes for Double Nickels On The Dime, I never noticed this before, or didn't remember, but they wrote, "p.s. we also thank van halen, steely dan, & creedence clearwater revival for writing timeless music and richard meltzer for writing STAIRWAY TO THE STARS." Heh. The chapter on Mission Of Burma also gave intriguing insights into their influences, including John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, No Wave, free jazz, Sun Ra, Brian Eno, James Brown, Pere Ubu, Gang Of Four, P.i.L. and Television. Contrary to most of the bands, Mission Of Burma really had no peers in their local scene, which made it so difficult for them to get an audience, except when they'd open for touring bands like Black Flag and The Fall, who were big fans. Had they formed a few years later, they would have found useful compatriots in Sonic Youth.

  Sonic Youth could have come across as a bunch of pretentious art-rocker wanna-be wankers, the way they craftily networked and bridged gaps between the art world and the indie rock scene with their famous gift of gab. However, their sheer, joyous enthusiasm comes across as utterly genuine, as they selflessly helped out many bands, some who went on to far greater success, like Nirvana. Most importantly, their music holds up over time.

  Other memorable, amusing moments include the fact that the non-drinking Ted Nugent was one of the first inspirations for Ian MacKaye's "straight edge" lifestyle. For a while, this did not include non-violence. The Minor Threat chapter documents how they originally had chips on their shoulders, and weren't afraid to get into fights (though they were all pretty damn small!) At a Black Flag show at the Peppermint Lounge in New York, they knocked into the long hairs. Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover (named after a Bad Brains song) "assailed the D.C. punks' behavior as 'a stupid, macho, phoney trip,' adding, 'If you insist on this bullshit attitude than [sic] we may as well forget all the positive aspects of our scene and chuck the whole thing out the window. And may a hippie beat the living shit out of you.'" By the chapter on Fugazi, things have changed quite a bit, with MacKaye becoming the dignified post-hardcore elder statesman.

  And who can forget the images of former MBA corporate accountant and gigantic wildman Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers literally weeping because they were in such desperate poverty?

  Throughout the book, one can see the connections between each band, held together by hard-working indie-labels like SST and Touch And Go, producers like Spot and Steve Albini, and fanzines like Forced Exposure, Matter and many more. It truly was a community built on a foundation of scraps and favors, one that, for better and for worse, has never been the same since the 90's.

  While the bands covered are not all the best ones, they do make the most sense in giving a history of indie rock. Azzerad does a good job in mentioning at least in passing, other important bands. Important bands like R.E.M., Jane's Addiction, Fishbone, Throwing Muses and The Pixies were on major labels pretty much the whole time. However, enough important bands were left out, that a volume two could easily be filled with chapters on Bad Brains, X, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, The Feelies, The Gun Club, Half Japanese, Violent Femmes, Yo La Tengo, Camper Van Beethoven, The Flaming Lips, Souled American, Superchunk, Pussy Galore/Royal Trux/JSBX/Boss Hog and Squirrel Bait/Slint.

• Claude Bessy, Chris Morris, Sean Carillo, Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Forming: The Early Days of L.A. Punk (2000)
• Cynthia Connolly, Leslie Clague, Sharon Cheslow, Banned in D C : Photos and Anecdotes from the Dc Punk Underground (1988)
• George Gimarc, Punk Diary : 1970-1979 (1994)
• Clinton Heylin, From the Velvets to the Voidoids : A Pre-Punk History for a Post-Punk World (1993)

  This is the book I would have wished I'd written when I did a mini history of punk. Of course in 1989/90, Heylin was probably already working on it. Heylin seems to have a vested interest in the acknowledgement of American Pre-Punk in rock history. Part of his thesis is that the scenes in New York, Detroit and Cleveland were basically superior to the punk scene in Europe. I would hesitate to make such a crass generalization. Sure, the Americans basically came first. But it was simply different. The music basically took part in a pretentious artsy-fartsy climate of East Village artists and intellectuals in their 20s and 30s. In Britain punk was more exclusively a youth phenomenon, and the difference in aesthetic and energy reflected that.

  Despite this somewhat flawed judgement, Heylin's book is well done. And it's not just for people who aren't familiar with the standard story of the Velvet Underground, MC5, Stooges, Modern Lovers, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Pere Ubu, Devo, Johnny Thunders and Richard Hell & the Voidoids. It tells lesser known stories -- the secret histories of the bands that hid between the cracks, like Cinderella Backstreet, Mirrors, The Electric Eels, Suicide, Wayne County, Rocket from the Tombs, The Dictators, Dead Boys, Friction, DNA, The Feelies, The Contortions, Mars, Lydia Lunch and The Plasmatics. I learned quite a bit about these bands, some of which I knew very little about.

• John Holmstrom (Editor), Punk: The Original (1998)
• Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces : A Secret History of the 20th Century (1990)
• Greil Marcus, In the Fascist Bathroom : Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992 (1999)
• Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain (Editors), Please Kill Me : The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (1997)
• Mark Petty, Danny Baker, Mark Perry, Sniffin' Glue : The Essential Punk Accessory (2000)
• Charles Romalotti, Salad Days (2000)
• John Lydon, Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman, Rotten : No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs: The Authorized Autobiography Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols (1995)
• Craig O'Hara, The Philosophy of Punk : More Than Noise (1999)
• Roger Sabin (Editor), Punk Rock : So What? (1999)
• Jon Savage, England's Dreaming : Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock and Beyond (1993)
• Marc Spitz and Brendan Mullan, We Got The Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story Of L.A. Punk (2001)

  With Clinton Heylin's From the Velvets to the Voidoids and Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me, the history of the American pre-punk and punk scenes of Detroit, Cleveland and New York are well documented. Yet even at the time it was happening, many scoffed at the authenticity of a punk scene in sunny Los Angeles and Orange County. With Neutron Bomb, the participants of that scene finally get well-deserved vindication. Spin writer Marc Spitz and Brendan Mullen, former owner of the underground Hollywood club the Masque, followed the same oral history format that served Please Kill Me well, and revealed a pre-punk and punk scene whose diversity and creativity at one point rivaled anything from New York or London. It tells a story of the (somewhat fleeting) success of a few (The Runaways, The Go-Go's, The Germs, X, Black Flag) and the failure of many. The reasons are the same as usual -- drugs, tragic accidents, and sheer ineptness in keeping shit together enough to record and tour as a functioning band. But the colorful personalities, strikingly original ideas and a briefly utopian sense of community are what make the book so compelling.

  Even in the early 70's, there was more going on than The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne. At The Troubador, The E Club, the English Disco and The Sugar Shack, one could dance to British glam records and hear proto-glitter bands like the Ziggy Stardust-influenced space suit-wearing Zolar X, Christopher Milk, Jobriath, Silverhead, Berlin Brats, Les Petites Bon-Bons and The Quick. Influenced by Suzi Quatro, The Sparks, T-Rex and David Bowie (who was a partner and semi-regular at the E Club), these artists were proof in the pudding that L.A. was hardly behind the times. Unfortunately none of them managed to record any lasting document, so they were quickly forgotten.

  L.A. was the home of one of the earliest fanzine cultures, with Greg Shaw's Who Put the Bomp starting in 1969. In 1973 Lisa Fancher began Records/Street Life and in March 1975, Phast Phreddie, Don Waller and D.D. Faye founded the mighty Back Door Man, featuring Iggy Pop on the first cover. The warning on the cover read, "For hardcore rock 'n' rollers only," and it covered blues, garage rock, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Patti Smith and Pere Ubu. At the same time, legendary scenester and letch Kim Fowley put together a group of underage girls known as the proto-punk/metal The Runaways. Formed in 1977, the Weirdos would become the catalyst in forming a punk scene. The Dils, The Zeros, The Germs and The Screamers frequently played with them in basements and lofts. It could be safe to say that the Weirdos and The Screamers were utterly unique. The Weirdos featured two guitars, bass, singer and no drums, while The Screamers two distorted keyboards and a drum kit, which was unheard of outside of Kraftwerk and Suicide. More punk zines popped up. French expatriate Claude Bessy switched from publishing a reggae fanzine called Angeleno Dread to doing Slash. Flipside and Lobotomy soon followed. Clubs like The Masque, Whiskey A Go-Go, Starwood, Atomic Café, Madame Wong's, Hong Kong Café started booking punk bands. When The Damned visited in '77, they were amazed by how extensive the punk scene was. The scene peaked in diversity and creativity by 1979, with the rootsy punk of Rank And File and X, the bluesy Gun Club, the poppy Dickies and The Go-Go's, the early hardcore of Fear, the electro-noir of Wall Of Voodoo, the rockabilly Live and the Rockats and The Blasters, The Avengers, The Middle Class, F-Word, Black Randy & the Metro Squad, The Bags, The Eyes, The Skulls, The Plugz, Hal Negro and The Flesheaters, some of which were featured on the Yes L.A. album put out by Dangerhouse.

  The community soon became divided by two main causes. One was the Chinatown punk wars, involving a feud between the owners Madame Wong's and the Hong Kong Café. Madame Wong banned most of the punk bands that played at the Hong Kong Café, and focused on Blondie and Cars-influenced power pop and new wave like Sensible Shoes, the Naughty Sweeties, 20/20, the Motels and the Knack. In conjunction with industry heavy-hitters like Sire's Seymour Stein, Bomp's Greg Shaw declared power pop and new wave as the next big thing. When the Knack hit number one that summer, the rift was finalized, and even bands like the Model Citizens, X and Wall of Voodoo were criticized for being too soft by those who resented the success of the more accessible bands. Then in the fall of '79, Posh Boy Records put out the Beach Boulevard compilation, introducing younger, more hyper suburban hardcore bands like The Crowd, Covina, Negative Trend, The Simpletones and Rik L. Rik. Young, beefy suburban jocks would show up at T.S.O.L. (True Sounds Of Liberty), Black Flag, Vicious Circle and Circle Jerks shows and start fights. The bands often did little to stop the violence, and often encouraged it and participated. The older bands did not appreciate it, and even people like Darby Crash of the Germs were horrified by the violence. While there was a lot of good music that came from these bands, and newer bands that were embraced by the skate punks like The Descendents, Redd Cross, The Last, Bad Religion, The Adolescents, Social Distortion, Agent Orange and Suicidal Tendencies, it's unfortunate that Penelope Spheeris' The Decline Of Western Civilization, Part 1 focused on the drug and violence, and featured the hardcore bands to the exclusion of the more musically interesting bands. By the time the movie was out, Crash, wracked with depression and struggling over his homosexuality, had fulfilled his own prophecy and committed suicide. Many bands imploded while others moved on for a while before fizzing out. The only bands to reach greater heights of success were Social Distortion and Bad Religion. Bad Religion also enjoyed a boost when The Offspring sold nine million albums on their indie label Epitaph. Together with Rancid, Down by Law, Pennywise and NoFx, they spearheaded a punk renaissance.

  Neutron Bomb isn't the only book about L.A. punk. There's also Don Snowden's Make the Music Go Bang: The Early L.A. Punk Scene (1997) and Forming: The Early Days of L.A. Punk (1999) by Claude Bessy, Chris Morris, Sean Carillo, Exene Cervenka and John Doe, which work better as more visually-oriented supplements to the oral history that tells a more complete story. Let's hope that the newfound attention will be followed by a more complete reissue program to make some more of the recordings available again.

• Nils Stevenson, Ray Stevenson , Vacant: A Diary of the Punk Years 1976-1979 (1999)
• Dave Thompson, Illustrated Collectors Guide to Punk: Band by Band Document of the Punk Era (1990)
• Bryan Ray Turcotte, E Bryan R. Turcott(Editors), Fucked Up + Photocopied: instant art of the punk rock movement (1999)
• V. Vale (Editor), Search & Destroy : An Authoritative Guide to Punk History (1996)

  Rock Journalism

• Lester Bangs, Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung (1988)
• Scott Becker (Editor), We Rock So You Don't Have to: The Option Reader#1 (1998)
• Jim DeRogatis, Let It Blurt : The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic (2000)
• Nick Kent, The Dark Stuff : Selected Writings on Rock Music 1972-1995 (1995)
• Richard Meltzer, A Whore Just Like the Rest: The Music Writings of Richard Meltzer (2000)
• Daniel Sinker (Editor), We Owe You Nothing, Punk Planet : The Collected Interviews (2001)
• Nick Tosches, The Nick Tosches Reader (2000)

  Obscure Rock & Avant-Garde

• William C. Bamberger, Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet (1999)
• Irwin Chusid, Songs in the Key of Z : The Curious Universe of Outsider Music (2000)
• David Cope, New Directions in Music (2000)
• John Corbett, Extended Play : Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein (1994)
• William Duckworth, Talking Music : Conversations With John Cage, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and Five Generations of American Experimental Composers (1995)
• Roselee Goldberg, Laurie Anderson (2000)
• Bill Harkleroad, Lunar Notes : Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart Experience (1998)
• Michael Hicks, Sixties Rock : Garage, Psychedelic, and Other Satisfactions (2000)
• Michael Nyman, Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond (Music in the Twentieth Century) (1999)
• Roni Sarig, The Secret History of Rock: The Most Influential Bands You've Never Heard (1998)
• Ian Shirley, Meet the Residents : America's Most Eccentric Band (1998)
• John F. Szwed, Space Is the Place : The Lives and Times of Sun Ra (1998)
• Eric Tamm, Brian Eno : His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound (1995)
• Nick Tosches, Unsung Heroes of Rock 'N' Roll : The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years Before Elvis (1999)
• Richie Unterberger, Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll (1998)
• Richie Unterberger & Paul Kantner, Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock (2000)

  Pop, Electronica, Jazz, Culture, etc.

• Gina Arnold, Route 666 : On the Road to Nirvana (1993)

  As one of the few female journalists documenting the post-punk scene in the 80s and early 90s, Gina Arnold was able to give a unique perspective on fandom from the inside. She hung out with R.E.M., The Replacements and Nirvana, and bands like X, The Go-Go's and Faith No More played in the basement of her co-op. Arnold writes about the various scenes from a passionately autobiographical perspective, from the time that a stolen copy of Big Star's Radio City changed her life to her utopian-like account of the International Pop Underground Convention in Olympia, Washington in 1991. Route 666 is an enjoyable read that won't add much for anyone who was involved at the time, but gives a nice, if fragmentary sketch of a handful of the indie rock scenes to those who missed out. Ultimately what makes the book simultaneously charming and underwhelming is the fact that Arnold's passion for the music was completely socially driven. But by the time her friends and idols Nirvana achieved international success, she found herself feeling utterly depressed and empty, because she was no longer able to hang out with them and share their success. Without being totally self-aware about it, it was clear that Arnold yearned for the days when she was part of a community who lived and breathed the music and stayed up all night drinking and talking with the bands. Hey, don't we all. At that point, she placed the burdon of all her dreams and expectations of what is right and honorable in a band upon the sturdy shoulders of Fugazi. Yet one band was not enough to make up for her sense of loss. Watching her youthful exhuberance devolve into self-pitying bitterness is disheartening, and was obviously a preview to the extended rant of her next book, Kiss This: Punk in the Present Tense. A recent interview has shown that Arnold has pretty much "outgrown" writing about, even listening to new music, which shows they she was indeed a fair-weather fan. To be fair, it is not unusual for many people to get stuck in a rut of nostalgia for the music of their youth. But coming from a supposed authority, it's hardly inspiring. Nevertheless the first three-quarters is enjoyable if taken with a teaspoon of salt.

• Gina Arnold, Kiss This : Punk in the Present Tense (1997)
• Michael Azerrad, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 (2001)
• Shane K. Bernard, Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm And Blues (1996)

  Son of legendary swamp pop star Rod Bernard, Shane Bernard defines a genre of music that many, including myself, didn't even know existed. Everyone is familiar with the Cajun and Zydeco music of Louisiana, and New Orleans R&B. This author's thesis is that swamp pop is a separate, definable genre that is just as valid and culturally and historically relevant as the others. So what is swamp pop? In short, it's "[a] rhythm and blues hybrid indigenous to southeast Texas and the Acadiana region of south Louisiana, and influenced mainly by New Orleans rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun and black Creole music."

  That's all well and good. But after checking out some of the compilations recommended at the back of the book, I'd say swamp pop is the retarded inbred cousin to these other styles. While there are definitely some standout songs, as a whole I'd say they lack the swing of New Orleans R&B, the songwriting genius of Hank Williams, the manic energy of Zydeco, and the festive air of Cajun. What's left is largely slow, snivelling, whiny laments of loneliness, despair and boredom. Which I suppose is only natural when you find yourself in rural Louisiana with no job, no money, no girls, but plenty of liquor and a guitar. To be fair, I may not have been in the best state of mind to be listening to this stuff. Perhaps later my opinion will change. If you are a music historian or can't get enough of anything recorded in Louisiana, then by all means check it out. The rest of you would be better off buying the Fats Domino and Clifton Chenier collections for starters.

• Joe Carducci, Rock & The Pop Narcotic (1992?)
• Nik Cohn, Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom : The Golden Age of Rock (1968/1972)
• Peter Guralnick, Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom (1986)

  Several years ago I thought I had collected all the soul that mattered. Ha ha ha! There are so many semi-obscure 60s soul artists out there, I'll never get it all. After reading this book, I probably bought another thirty albums, and compiled my favorite cuts on five 110 minute tapes. I spent the holidays dubbing them for all my friends. For those of you wanting a more concise, cheaper option, check out the great Rhino 6-CD collection, Beg, Scream and Shout! It comes in a box shaped like a 45 case.

  The book was somewhat disheartening, as it focused a little too much on the business side of things, and how bad business and backstabbing killed far too many soul singer's careers. Nevertheless, it's essential for anyone who wants to gain even the slightest understanding of the magic and loss behind Stax Records, the Fame and Muscle Shoals studios, giants like Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and all the minor players.

• Iara Lee, Peter Shapiro, Simon Reynolds (Editors), Modulations: A History of Electronic Music: Throbbing Words on Sound (2000)
• George Lipsitz, Dangerous Crossroads: Popular Music, Postmodernism and the Poetics of Place (1997)
• Eric Nisenson, Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest (1993)

  Rather than taking the ordinary biographical approach, Nisenson concentrates on the motivations behind Coltrane's artistic development. As one of the most enigmatic jazz musicians ever, his quest was more than just musical. It was a complex melding of spiritual, psychological, philosophical and social forces that shaped the man who would become as much of a cultural Zeitgeist of the sixties as The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Everything in his life was directed toward improving his music, including his studies of Eastern philosophy and religions, taking LSD for spiritual insight, and modern physics.

  Nisenson's insights into Coltrane's life enriched my understanding of the evolution of his music. It's fascinating to match up the exact dates he went through his heroin withdrawal and spiritual awakening to his recording dates in 1957. The transformation is strikingly noticeable. Ascension gives a detailed account of his whole recording history. If you're a fan at all, it's going to make you want to hear every album that is discussed. This is a warning -- this book may cost you more than you reckon!

  I was surprised to find that the book goes on a few chapters after Coltrane's death. It turns out to be one of the most interesting parts, discussing why there had been, aside from John McLaughlin & Tony Williams' Lifetime, Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, no great jazz innovators, or innovations since his death. I won't give away the conclusion. Ascension is a well written, satisfying book. Yet it leaves me wanting more. Fortunately he has another book he wrote prior to Ascension called 'Round About Midnight about Miles Davis.

• Simon Reynolds, Blissed Out: The Raptures of Rock (1990)
• Simon Reynolds, Joy Press, The Sex Revolts : Gender, Rebellion, and Rock 'N' Roll (1996)
• Simon Reynolds, Generation Ecstasy : Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (1999)
• David Toop, Exotica (1999)
• David Toop, Ocean of Sound : Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Worlds (1999)

  Album Guides

• Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine (Editors), All Music Guide to Rock 3 Ed: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (2001)
• Robert Christgau, Rock Albums of the '70s : A Critical Guide (1980)
• Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide : The '80s (1990)
• Robert Christgau, Christgau's Consumer Guide : Albums of the 90s (2000)
• Anthony Decurtis, James Henke, Holly George-Warren (Editors), The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews : Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist (2000)
• Jim Irvin (Editor), The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (2001)
• Colin Larkin (Editor), The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave (1998)
• Colin Larkin (Editor), The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (1998)
• Colin Larkin (Editor), The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music (1998)
• Colin Larkin (Editor), The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (1998)
• Martin Popoff, The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal (1997)
• Ira A. Robbins, David Sprague (Editors), The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock (1997)
• Martin C. Strong, The Great Rock Discography (1998)
• Rock the Rough Guide (1999)

---

Last updated: October 7, 2001
The man behind the virtual curtain: reviews@fastnbulbous.com