pnbic of being classical, naturalistic, orrnDadaist, to pick a random handful ofrnother “literary” approaches) or of thernhistory of the business. She seems unawarernof just how and in what ways rockrnremains great or of all the \as in whichrnher suggestion would ruin it.rnhi nearly eyery American city of anyrnsize, particularly in college towns wherernlate adolescents congregate in greatrnnumber and small space, is a plethorarnof individuals keeping the American folkrnart of rock aliyc. The best rock beingrnmade today is done on the local lcel,rnproduced by small labels that issue musicrnon the supposedly “dead” format ofrnthe traditional 7-inch vinyl record. ‘I’hern7-inch vinyl is a totemistic gesture of independencernfrom the exigencies of technologicalrnchange forced bv corporate decisions.rnThis music is spread bv arndistribution network that generally dealsrndirectly with independent small recordrnshops around the country and an informationrnnetwork based on small-circulation,rnself-produced magazines that atrntheir best should be the envy of any artrnform in their knowledge, wit, and liveliness.rn(Fhc best of these publications,rnknown as “fanzines,” is Conflict, editedrnand almost entirely written by GerardrnCosloy, who is also co-owner of thernsmall New York label Matador, which issuesrnsome of the best American rock.)rnThis lack of corporate or go ernmentalrncentralism allows for a range of communityrnsounds that can develop smallrnand then add to the musical store of thernnation and the world. The band Nirvanarnis an example. It was the surpriserncommercial success of 99, hittingrnnumber one on both the album and thernsingle charts after many industry punditsrnhad declared that the traditionalrnrock band was dead, buried by dancernmusic, rap, and country. And it was nurturedrnby the local scene and sound ofrnSeattle and its 7-inch-orientcd label,rnSub-Pop.rnNirvana grew out of a local comniunitrnthat reinforced and honed a distinctivernsound (dirty, grungy, “garagc”-yrnguitar rock with a beat more for leapingrnup and down than for dancing and lyricsrnbordering on the genuinely incoherent,rneven for rock-trained ears), which provedrnits appeal to the world at large in thernsuccess not only of Nirvana but also ofrnPearl Jam, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden,rnall of whom arose from the samerntown and scene.rnIn this example, the local communityrnserved as a sort of farm league for majorrncorporate labels, who have snapped uprnall the aforementioned bands and madernthem famous. But it doesn’t alwaysrnwork out this wav, and isn’t meant to.rnMany town-centered sounds have neverrnmade the leap to international prominence,rnat least not directly. The blackhumoredrnand high-pitched machinernscree of Chicago and its Touch & Gornlabel, best exemplified b Big Black, neverrnhit it big, though its sonic influencerncan still be felt in a later wave of bands,rnlike industrial dance giant Ministry, whornbought ‘Ibuch & Go’s small-circulationrnrecords and locd them. This is an oldrntradition in rock; it is said of the VelvetrnUnderground, a late 60’s band of sterlingrncjualify and no comniercial success,rnthat only two hundred people boughtrntheir records but that all two hundredrnlater went on to form their own bands.rnIn some cases a town’s scene explicitlyrndiscourages moving on to nationalrnsuccess on a corporate level. Washington,rnD. G.’s Dischord label and its flagshiprnband, Fugazi (formed b the exsingerrnof Minor Threat, the archetypicalrnearly 80’s American straight-edged hardcorernband, which combined punishinglyrnfast and simple rhythms and riffs withrnhortatory screams about clean, youthfulrnliving), make a policy of “Small isrnBeautiful.” They sell their product atrnconspicuously low prices and refuse tornplay venues that don’t admit all ages orrnthat charge more than five dollars forrnadmission. They are an example of enlightenedrnlocal capitalism at its best andrnhave managed to sell through their independentrndistribution system almostrn100,000 copies of the most recentrnFugazi LP.rnThe dominant musical stvlc of thernD. G. scene tends to be overly politicallyrncharged and musicalK formless. D. G.rnbands are less interested in providing arncatchy, plcasureful tune than in creatingrnan atmosphere of intensity, speed,rnand aggression. “I know this is politicallyrncorrect / But it comes to ou spirituallyrndirect / An attempt to thoughtfullyrneffect our way of thinking / That isrnif you believe in race / And that yournwere born in the right time or place /rnThis is a bullet ou cannot outrace /rnYour way of thinking” is a characteristicrnexample of Fugazi’s over-didactic approachrnto song lyrics.rnAlso in the D. G. area is the even lower-rnprofile Teen Beat label, run by MarkrnRobinson, singer and guitarist for thernband Unrest, which is perhaps the finestrnexample of the breadth of the bestrnmodern rock bands. Ihirest is a cottageindustryrnsatire of music-biz glitz andrnproduct orientation—it produces promotionalrncoffee mugs and pens with catalogrnnumbers and issues music in arndizzying arra of eassette-onlv releases,rnLPs, and vinyl 7-inch records both onrnTeen Beat and on other labels sharingrnsimilar interests and approaches, likernOlympia, Washington’s K, and NewrnYork’s Homestead. This music runs therngamut from the aehinglv sincere andrnlovely—an approach pioneered by thernK label, whose flagship band Beat Happeningrndefined a charming, clumsy, andrnyet ineffabh gleeful and positive approachrnto pop music that has been appositelyrndubbed “love rock” because ofrnits sweetness and lack of aggression, itsrnsimple, insistent rhythms and often singsongy,rnchildish rhymes—to the jaggedrnand harsh to the soporific (as on theirrnlatest LP, imperial f.f.r.r.). And Robinson’srnlyrics achieve a sinuous suggestivenessrn(often dealing frankly yet adoringl’rnwith phwsical love) that is poprnpoetrv of high acliicvenient. From “IrnDo Believe You Are Blushing”: “I do believernthat you are blushing / Fverythingrnin your mind is coming / Why miss K Irndo believe you / I want to stick you goldrnand blue. . . . I do believe vour eyes /rnYour face is glowing / I do believe yourrnface / Waking up to your eyes. . . . Whatrnwill they be like, like you? Incrediblerneyes / Incredible!”‘rnFor some genuine Americana, tryrnAustin’s ‘lexas Instruments, so proud ofrnits state that it adopted a name in thernmanner of an amateur sports squad. Itsrnfirst two I ,Ps were released by local labelrnRabid Gat, which has since gone out ofrnbusiness, as happens often in this cashstrappedrnmini-industry where labels arernmore often hobbies than ways to make arnliving. It now releases records on thernRockville label, a “house label” for thernindependent record distributor DutchrnEast from Long Island, New York. It’s arnrocking folk band, self-conscious grandsonsrnof Woodv Guthrie and Bob Dlan,rnwith a similar political sense of the peoplernvs. a power structure that is alwaysrnoperating against their interests. Inrn”Decade of Denial,” after imagining arncitizenry rising up against what he seesrnas the anti-liberty depredations of thernReagan years and big-government conservatism,rnthe singer meets a man whornsays, “You’re vyrong, son / What you sayrn46/CHRO.NICLESrnrnrn