Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001–2011
£14.60£19.00 (-23%)
A SUNDAY TIMES, ROUGH TRADE, ROLLING STONE, MOJO AND UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR
LONGLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE
New York, 2001. 9/11 plunges the US into a state of war and political volatility-and heralds the rebirth of the city’s rock scene. As the old-guard music industry crumbles, a group of iconoclastic bands suddenly become the voice of a generation desperately in need of an anthem.
In this fascinating and vibrant oral history, acclaimed journalist Lizzy Goodman charts New York’s explosive musical transformation in the early 2000s. Drawing on over 200 original interviews, Goodman follows the meteoric rise of the artists that revolutionised the cultural landscape and made Brooklyn the hipster capital of cool-including The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, and Vampire Weekend.
Joining the ranks of classics like Please Kill Me, Our Band Could Be Your Life, and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Meet Me in the Bathroom is the definitive account of an iconic era in rock-and-roll.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Faber & Faber, Main edition (3 Aug. 2017) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 640 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 057133797X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0571337972 |
| Dimensions | 15.5 x 4.5 x 23.5 cm |
by Mr. John D. Mcgonagle
I’m conflicted – it’s fun. Big names of the scene are, impressively, on the record. But you realise its mostly about cocaine and bitching, rather than songwriting. Flicking back to the index of contributors gets tedious.
by Ed, North London
It was really disappointing that the kindle edition of this book doesn’t have any photos.
There are parts of the book that are interesting, the genesis of DFA and electroclash, but also parts which feel like an interminable list of scenesters dropping names and telling anecdotes to let you know how cool they were.
Kind of like being trapped in the bar of Soho House in the early 00’s listening to a load of journalists and industry dudes telling coked up anecdotes about The Strokes, James Murphy et al.
This book has it’s interesting bits, but overall if you LOVE Interpol and The Strokes and have a massive nostalgia for that era of Indie you may be more enticed than I was.
by peteee
what a book , you can almost smell and taste the new york bars and clubs , the only book that matters about the new york scene of the time
by Amazon Customer
Incredible book. If you are a fan of the New York rock scene of the early 2000’s this is a must read.
by Angus
Entertaining read.
I’m a big fan of The Strokes, Interpol and Kings of Leon so I’ve had this book recommended to me a few times.
I learnt some facts and history about my favourite albums which is great.
And Paul Banks made me laugh a few times with his stories..!
by Graham R. Atherton
But everyone in this book is… probably even the person who pours the ink into the printing press (yes I know it a kindle book.. I’m being ironic..)
The Stokes are better than you.. Interpol are even better than that.. it even makes Vampire weekend seem ok..
So a great book
by Coco
It’s okay. It didn’t make me ‘wish I was there’, as per John Harris’s review. Partly because there isn’t really a ‘there’. It’s not like Edie, the tremendous oral history by Jean Stein and George Plimpton, which creates a very vivid sense of the Warhol / 60s Manhattan scene. More gossip and trivia and bitching. Maybe the author was too much part of it to be able to stand back and take an objective view – she includes photographs of herself in the plates of the people she is writing about.
I think that part of my gripe is the price of the book. £17 was way too much. At typical paperback pricing it might have got a three and a half.
by Vincent J Ives
If, like everyone else, you adored 2001’s ‘Is This It’, then this oral history of the New York scene before and after will be hugely enjoyable. The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, and LCD Soundsystem probably get the most devoted coverage, but the interviews reach as far as Vampire Weekend, while covering Jonathan Fire*Eater, Kings of Leon, the Walkmen and many other smaller players along the way. Occasionally stories contradict each other (what came first, Ryan Adams or Heroin? is a real chicken/egg scenario as far as The Strokes are concerned), but those moments only serve to make the book more entertaining (and let’s face it, in the current climate I’d be surprised if anyone takes Adams’ side). My only minor gripe with this otherwise great read is that in other oral histories I’ve read, the first time a new interviewee is mentioned you get parentheses stating who they are. That’s not the case here, and so you’ll find yourself constantly referring back to the (thankfully alphabetical) list of contributors found at the start of the book. Overall though, loved it.