In eras past, mainstream culture was blandly, blindly complacent, so underground music was angry and dissatisfied. But now, mainstream culture isn’t complacent, it’s stupid and angry; underground culture reacts by becoming smarter, more serene. That’s not wimpy—it’s powerful and productive.

I'm not sure I ever try to make a case for the music. I mean, sometimes the music isn't even that good. I just tell the band's stories; if I describe the music, it's to explain how it moved the overall story along.

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.

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

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

There's no glamour in Nirvana, no glamour at all, in fact.

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