All Topics  
Michael Azerrad

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Michael Azerrad
 
 
  Topics Michael Azerrad Topic Home

Michael Azerrad is an American author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
, journalist
Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
 and musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
. He grew up in the New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 area and received his BA
Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin language Artium Baccalaureus, is an Undergraduate education bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
 degree from Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University

Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus of Morningside Heights in the Borough of Manhattan in the New York City....
 in 1983. During his college years, he was both a roommate and a bandmate of keyboard virtuoso Marc Capelle (who later went on to become a member of American Music Club
American Music Club

American Music Club is a San Francisco-based band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. The band is commonly credited as one of the major bands from the "slowcore" and "sadcore" movements....
.)

After college, Azerrad played drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
 in various small bands while pursuing a career in music journalism. Besides writing features for Spin, Musician and Details, and a stint at MTV News from 1987 through 1992, Azerrad wrote several hundred pieces for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 magazine from 1987 through 1993, and was eventually named contributing editor.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Michael Azerrad'
Start a new discussion about 'Michael Azerrad'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Michael Azerrad is an American author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
, journalist
Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
 and musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
. He grew up in the New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 area and received his BA
Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin language Artium Baccalaureus, is an Undergraduate education bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
 degree from Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University

Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus of Morningside Heights in the Borough of Manhattan in the New York City....
 in 1983. During his college years, he was both a roommate and a bandmate of keyboard virtuoso Marc Capelle (who later went on to become a member of American Music Club
American Music Club

American Music Club is a San Francisco-based band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. The band is commonly credited as one of the major bands from the "slowcore" and "sadcore" movements....
.)

After college, Azerrad played drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
 in various small bands while pursuing a career in music journalism. Besides writing features for Spin, Musician and Details, and a stint at MTV News from 1987 through 1992, Azerrad wrote several hundred pieces for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 magazine from 1987 through 1993, and was eventually named contributing editor. In 1993 Doubleday Books published Azerrad's definitive, best-selling biography of the band Nirvana
Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American Rock music band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987....
, entitled Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana
Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana

Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana is a 1993 book by Michael Azerrad, covering the career of Nirvana from its inception. For the book, Azerrad met with the members of the band and conducted extensive interviews about the band and its members' histories....
, which appeared six months before bandleader Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician who served as Singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Grunge music band Nirvana .With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from Nirvana's second album Nevermind , Cobain with Nirvana entered into the mainstream, bringing along with them a subgenre of alternative rock called Grunge musi...
 died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Azerrad spent many months interviewing the band members and their friends, relatives and associates, and Cobain and the other members of the band shared a wide variety of archival materials with him, many of which are reproduced in the book.

His subsequent book, Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad .The title comes from the opening line of an autobiography song written by Mike Watt of Minutemen , one of the groups featured in the book....
  was a collection of profiles of thirteen prominent indie rock
Indie rock

Indie rock is alternative rock that most notably exists in the Independent music underground music scene. It primarily refers to rock musicians that are or were unsigned, or have signed to independent record labels, rather than major record labels....
 bands of the 1980s and early 1990s, including Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American rock music rock band formed in New York City in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Mark Ibold and Steve Shelley ....
, Black Flag
Black Flag (band)

Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes....
 and The Replacements
The Replacements

The Replacements were an American rock music band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota in 1979. The band was composed of guitarist and vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars for most of their career....
. In 2000 Q magazine named Come as You Are
Come as You Are

"Come as You Are" is a song by the American Grunge music band Nirvana , written by frontman Kurt Cobain and released as the second single from the band's second studio album Nevermind in 1992....
 one of the 50 greatest rock books ever written, and in 2006 the Guardian rated Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad .The title comes from the opening line of an autobiography song written by Mike Watt of Minutemen , one of the groups featured in the book....
 as one of the 50 best music books ever written.

Since 2002 Azerrad has himself been a member of indie band the King of France, whose acclaimed self-titled debut album was released in 2004, and in 2005 became an original member of Reprise Records recording artists the LeeVees
The LeeVees

The LeeVees is a rock band from New York City featuring Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis. The band was formed when the two bands went on tour together....
. He has written major features for the New Yorker
The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an United States magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published 47 times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans....
, Mojo
Mojo (magazine)

Mojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, monthly in the United Kingdom.Following the success of the magazine Q , publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music....
, Italian GQ and the New York Times
The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
, as well as cover stories for Spin
Spin (magazine)

Spin is a music magazine. Founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr., it competes with industry stalwart Rolling Stone. Madonna was the artist on the cover of the first issue....
 and Revolver
Revolver (magazine)

Revolver is a monthly hard rock and heavy metal music magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal and hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine....
.

In 2006, Azerrad co-produced a documentary about Kurt Cobain, "Kurt Cobain About a Son". He is the editor of the upcoming autobiography of former Husker Du and Sugar
Sugar (band)

Sugar was an United States alternative rock band of the early 1990s led by vocalist/guitarist Bob Mould alongside bassist David Barbe drummer Malcolm Travis ....
 leader Bob Mould
Bob Mould

Bob Mould is an United States musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands H?sker D? in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s....
.

External links