Tom Lynch

John Sellers' irritating, funny, beer-soaked, self-deprecating memoir of melody, "Perfect from Now On," his documented history of his personal relationship with indie rock--the book's subhead is "How Indie Rock Saved My Life"--is written in the spirit of Nick Hornby and is surely intended for already-groomed fans of the genre. It's far too subjective to be a guidebook--it is Sellers' history, after all--as he focuses on bands he loves and ignores those that don't impress him. Problem is, he'll likely split indie-rock readers in half--many are bound to disagree.

I hate this book. Funny thing is, Sellers is incredibly lovable. The New York City journalist--who has written for GQ, The New York Times, Spin and the TV cesspool for the pop culture-factoid-obsessed, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"--weaves his short memoir with hipster wit, detailing his music road trip from his early hatred of Bob Dylan, to his introductions to U2 and New Order, to his adoration for Guided by Voices and his eventual spreading-of the-wealth to others like The Shins, Pavement and almost everyone else. The best part of the book, unfortunately but necessarily crammed in the end, is an account of his out-of-the-blue hangout session with GBV frontman and Sellers' hero, Robert Pollard, which led to much drinking and chumming about--however, Sellers' didn't tell ol' Bob he was writing a book, and the drama pays off in the end, just as the band was calling it quits. Also, after the story ends, he publishes various random lists about who he loves, what he hates, his favorite labels, who he thinks is overrated and more. Rob Gordon would hate it, though, because he didn't do it first.

Sellers admits he didn't get into indie rock until he was far too old, thus being "that guy" who purists find entirely bothersome. Who cares? As far as specific history goes, he probably does know more than you offhand. There are other, more alarming, problems. He nearly leaves out Built to Spill entirely, and the title of the band's 1997 record is the title of the book. Also barely noticed? Sonic Youth, the Pixies, The Replacements, Yo La Tengo and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Yet Sellers, in his closing lists, comes clean and makes this known to those who hadn't noticed in "The Top Twelve Indie Bands I Could Have Written About at Length But Failed to Do So, Thereby Failing the Bands I Love."

Hate the book. Like the writer.

But for the record, Sellers--Pavement is way more influential and far better than Guided by Voices, Sleater-Kinney is probably better than both of them and, for the love of Kevin Shields, REM is unbelievably more valuable than U2.

"Perfect from Now On"

By John Sellers

Simon & Schuster, $23, 215 pages

(2007-02-27)

Also by Tom Lynch

Soundcheck
While "Living Well" sounds indeed like it could be an offshoot of a Pinback member, the bedroom-like recording quality--which oddly, somehow, lends itself to Crow's low-end hum of a voice and sometimes sudden attack of complicated guitar work--adds a more personal layer to the artist's delivery
(2007-02-20)

Tip of the Week
Toronto's mind-crunch musical oddity Holy Fuck sets out each night to create contemporary electronic music without contemporary electronic-music tools--no laptops, no pre-programming, no looping
(2007-02-20)

The Unreal World
While reality television may offer the hopes of fame and fortune, love and adoration, sometimes the public attention--and perception, perhaps due to clever editing--can turn to vitriolic hatred. For instance, Walla Walla, Washington-raised Tonya Cooley
(2007-02-20)

Syked Out
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter are an ethereal bunch, creating late-night soundtracks to long drives across the States, long nights with a lover or never-ending evenings of vast melancholy, loneliness and doubt. Unlike many other outfits, the band is able to pull such intensely distinct feelings from a listener--one moment you're on top of the world, the next, well, isn't there a little bit left in that bottle of Jack?
(2007-02-13)

Tip of the Week
(2007-02-13)

State of Grace
(2007-02-06)

Dead Calm
(2007-02-06)

Bowlshit
(2007-02-06)

Tip of the Week
(2007-02-06)

Tip of the Week
(2007-02-06)

Soundcheck
(2007-01-30)

Tip of the Week
(2007-01-30)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment