As a journalist, I'm not supposed to be the subject, but as an author, I'm fair game - another ingredient in the media soup.

Just as not all popular albums are wonderful, not all wonderful albums are popular.

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.

For Nirvana, putting out their first major-label record was like getting into a new car. But the runaway success was like suddenly discovering that the car was a Ferrari and the accelerator pedal was Krazy Glued to the floorboard.

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

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

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