The Definitive Oral History of Grunge—AS TOLD BY THE MUSICIANS WHO CREATED THE SOUND AND THE SENSATION—And published to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s multiplatinum debut Ten. 

**with exclusive photos and MORE THAN 250 interviews**

EVERYBODY LOVES OUR TOWN

An Oral History of Grunge

By Mark Yarm

“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.” —Kirkus Reviews, *Starred Review*

 “Hardcore fans of grunge will treasure this.” —Publishers Weekly

“Yarm, a former editor of Blender, interviewed more than 250 musicians, scenesters, and record business types to deliver a personal, comprehensive history of grunge music. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal

“Mark Yarm has assembled the gospels of grunge music. Here is a warts-and-elbows refresher course for those of us who still find our memories of the era a little hazy.”—Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club

 
“Great oral histories are rare. Hewing a narrative from all those chaotic and often conflicting memories with testimony alone and no guide-prose or stage direction is difficult. Making that somehow intimate and epic is nearly impossible. When a writer pulls it off, as Mark Yarm has with Everybody Loves Our Town, it’s really a gift: the subject or scene finally gets its definitive record and the reader gains what feels like a room full of brand new friends. One of the best rock reads in a very long time.” —Marc Spitz, co-author of We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk, music blogger for VanityFair.com

“A deeply funny story, as well as a deeply sad story—the glorious nineties moment when a bunch of punk rock bands from Seattle accidentally blew up into the world’s biggest noise. Mark Yarm gives the definitive chronicle of how it all happened, and how it ended too soon.” —Rob Sheffield, author of Love Is a Mix Tape and Talking to Girls About Duran Duran“A very noble record of the grunge scene—and an excellent addition to the growing library of oral history music books.” —Legs McNeil, coauthor of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

Grunge, also known as the “Seattle sound,” is the raw fusion of punk rock and heavy metal that emerged from the Pacific Northwest in the early part of the 1980s. While bands like Soundgarden and Mudhoney called attention to this regional sound, it was the unexpected, seemingly overnight success of Nirvana’s single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the fall of 1991 that made grunge a household word and Seattle ground zero for the nineties alternative-rock explosion.

Now, twenty years after the release of Nirvana’s landmark Nevermind album, music writer Mark Yarm brings us EVERYBODY LOVES OUR TOWN: An Oral History of Grunge (Crown Archetype; On Sale September 6, 2011), the definitive account of the grunge era, straight from the mouths of the musicians, producers, managers, record executives, video directors, photographers, reporters, club owners, roadies, scenesters, and hangers-on who lived and witnessed it firsthand. This book tells the whole story: the founding and early successes of Seattle’s Sub Pop record label; the rise of lesser-known bands as well as powerhouses such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam; the insane media hype surrounding the grunge explosion; the suicide of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain; and finally, the genre’s mid-to-late nineties decline.

Yarm conducted more than 250 unique interviews, making this the most comprehensive book on the subject. Interviewees include Courtney Love and other members of Hole; Chris Cornell and the rest of Soundgarden; plus members of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, the Melvins, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Green River, Screaming Trees, Cat Butt, Temple of the Dog, TAD, L7, Babes in Toyland, 7 Year Bitch, the Gits, the

U-Men, and Candlebox, to name just a few. The book also includes rare, never-before-seen photos of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, and many more. In EVERYBODY LOVES OUR TOWN, Yarm has created the Please Kill Me for a whole new generation of music fans.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MARK YARM is a former senior editor at Blender magazine. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Bonnie. Visit http://grungebook.tumblr.com or http://www.facebook.com/everybodylovesourtown.

ABOUT THE BOOK

For more information on EVERYBODY LOVES OUR TOWN or to schedule your interview with Mark Yarm, please contact Rachel Rokicki: 212-782-8455 or rrokicki@randomhouse.com.