I have this theory, bands with enigmatic lyrics attract crazies.

The American indie underground made music for like-minded people who thought for themselves. Thinking for yourself is intrinsically subversive.

The most surprising and rewarding chapter to write was the Butthole Surfers chapter. I'd always thought of them as a bunch of drug-addled reprobates -- which maybe they were -- but it turned out to be more complicated than that.

A lot of music fans are still interested in insightful perspectives on music -- maybe even more interested than ever, since everyone needs help making sense of the incredible variety of sounds that have sprung up in the wake of the Internet revolution. There's a lot of room for unique, qualified voices who can provide good reads.

Bon Jovi's trick is to use heavy-metal chords and still sound absolutely safe. Rock and roll used to be rebellion disguised as commercialism; now so much of it is commercialism disguised as rebellion.

I really believe in the power of music -- and I mean literally the power of musical tones -- to rearrange the way you can think.

Ten percent of the American population thinks that Barack Obama is a Muslim. Those are the people that have not learned the skill of filtering information from the vast barrage of inaccurate information that we're all faced with everyday. I think that's a very 21st century skill.

Nine Inch Nails' sound is dominated by clanging synths and sardonic, shrieking vocals.

People shared everything: information, equipment, their floors, whatever. There was strength in unity.

Back in the day, in '91 or so, I tried to interview Fugazi for Rolling Stone, which the band felt stood for everything they detested about corporate infiltration of music. They said, 'We'll do the interview if you give us a million dollars of cash in a suitcase.' Which was their way of saying no.

I'll leave it to other people to evaluate the legacy of my book, but I'm very moved when musicians tell me that they've been inspired by my book.

Naturally, no one knows more about music than musicians. They talk about their own work all the time, but they rarely get to talk about other people's music.

Rock'n'roll is a teenage sport, meant to be played by teenagers of all ages -- they could be 15, 25 or 35. It all boils down to whether they've got the love in their hearts, that beautiful teenage spirit... -Calvin Johnson.

I would roll out of bed and immediately start working, and keep working until it was so late at night that I couldn't stay awake anymore. Then I'd go to sleep and wake up the next morning and do the same thing all over again. I did that every day for three years.

Now that the generation that grew up on '80s indie-rock has attained influential positions in the culture, that music is the new yardstick. And that will shift yet again some day.

You didn't have to be a huge rock star; you just had to do well enough to continue doing what you wanted to do. It wasn't about hitting the jackpot, it was about sustainability.

There's a whole apparatus for indie bands now, but back in the eighties it was just getting built. The early people really took it on the chin.

People didn't get to see how other towns interpreted the underground ethos, and so they developed their own unique versions of it.

When you're writing, you're only a brain and some fingers, but drumming, you're involving all four limbs, and you're hearing stuff and you're converting your ideas into physical motions, getting physical feedback from things you are touching -- it's pretty cool. It's a really a nice contrast to writing.

Critics and fans use the music of their youth as reference points. For years, people seriously wondered who the next Beatles were going to be, and classic rock bands were the de facto yardstick for rock quality.