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By Kimberly Egolf
2006.12
In the fickle music industry–the world of one-hit wonders and flash-in-the-pan reality show singers—what gives a rock band longevity? “Internal dynamics,” argues Mirit Eliraz in her new book, “Band Together: Internal Dynamics in U2, R.E.M., Radiohead and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” These bands in particular have been chosen above any others because of their relatively contemporary (to each other) existence, their purveyance of “guitar-rock,” and their collaborative internal dynamics. A few glaring factual errors regarding U2 might be difficult for any rabid fan reading the book to overcome, but the overall arguments made about the internal dynamics of these bands hold up to scrutiny. And, in fact, they provide an interesting new way to think about these four bands together.
Eliraz begins her investigation into these dynamics with informative biographies, especially useful for anyone not intimately familiar with the four bands in question. Eliraz does a fine job of paring down sometimes upwards of 30 years of band history in order to highlight the points which are central to her arguments.
Subsequent chapters explore the meat of Eliraz’s topic. An exploration of the multivalent relationships present in each of the bands begins with the growth of each band out of an initial friendship relationship (as Bono is fond of saying, “U2 were a band before we could play”). She then continues with the development of a creative alliance amongst the group of friends, which finally creates a business partnership to successfully manage the creative alliance. Highlights of other chapters include investigations of the governing structures of each band, how they interact among themselves and democratically divide profits, how the bands make decisions, and explorations of the factors that divide and unite each band. The remaining chapters provide convincing discussions of collaborative processes within each band; including songwriting and touring, and an examination of some of the challenges the bands have successfully overcome throughout their respective careers.
Brief introductory paragraphs introduce the main questions of each chapter which are then explained through a bulk of smaller textual sections. This organization has the contradictory effect of making the first part of “Band Together” both easy and frustrating to read: while each point is made neatly and succinctly, the book develops a somewhat disjointed feeling. Happily, Eliraz smoothes the last part of the book into a well-written summary of her arguments and evidence, providing insightful, comprehensive, and quite interesting discussions of (among other things) the songwriting processes used by each band, the on-and-offstage dynamics of the bands, and the evolution of the bands’ relationships over long careers.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the simple juxtaposition of these four bands themselves. The differences Eliraz outlines emphasize that each band is, indeed, its own entity. But ultimately it is the similarities of these bands that are particularly striking. U2, R.E.M., Radiohead, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers share a similar democratic structure, creative process, and band ethos. Eliraz manages to draw parallels between bands that may seem somewhat dissimilar on the surface.
Overall, “Band Together” produces some fascinating harmonies between four of the most enduringly popular, polarizing, and prolific groups of the past 30 years of rock music. Eliraz synthesizes a dazzling amount of information from a huge diversity of sources, carefully melding appropriate quotations from band members with her own words. Incidentally, her extensive bibliography is another great (though perhaps peripheral) facet of the book. The list of sources is intriguing in its diversity and serves to further illustrate how pervasive these bands are and why they merit a closer look into their internal dynamics.
“Band Together” was published in September 2006 by McFarland & Company.
By Kimberly Egolf
2006.12
In the fickle music industry–the world of one-hit wonders and flash-in-the-pan reality show singers—what gives a rock band longevity? “Internal dynamics,” argues Mirit Eliraz in her new book, “Band Together: Internal Dynamics in U2, R.E.M., Radiohead and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” These bands in particular have been chosen above any others because of their relatively contemporary (to each other) existence, their purveyance of “guitar-rock,” and their collaborative internal dynamics. A few glaring factual errors regarding U2 might be difficult for any rabid fan reading the book to overcome, but the overall arguments made about the internal dynamics of these bands hold up to scrutiny. And, in fact, they provide an interesting new way to think about these four bands together.
Eliraz begins her investigation into these dynamics with informative biographies, especially useful for anyone not intimately familiar with the four bands in question. Eliraz does a fine job of paring down sometimes upwards of 30 years of band history in order to highlight the points which are central to her arguments.
Subsequent chapters explore the meat of Eliraz’s topic. An exploration of the multivalent relationships present in each of the bands begins with the growth of each band out of an initial friendship relationship (as Bono is fond of saying, “U2 were a band before we could play”). She then continues with the development of a creative alliance amongst the group of friends, which finally creates a business partnership to successfully manage the creative alliance. Highlights of other chapters include investigations of the governing structures of each band, how they interact among themselves and democratically divide profits, how the bands make decisions, and explorations of the factors that divide and unite each band. The remaining chapters provide convincing discussions of collaborative processes within each band; including songwriting and touring, and an examination of some of the challenges the bands have successfully overcome throughout their respective careers.
Brief introductory paragraphs introduce the main questions of each chapter which are then explained through a bulk of smaller textual sections. This organization has the contradictory effect of making the first part of “Band Together” both easy and frustrating to read: while each point is made neatly and succinctly, the book develops a somewhat disjointed feeling. Happily, Eliraz smoothes the last part of the book into a well-written summary of her arguments and evidence, providing insightful, comprehensive, and quite interesting discussions of (among other things) the songwriting processes used by each band, the on-and-offstage dynamics of the bands, and the evolution of the bands’ relationships over long careers.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the simple juxtaposition of these four bands themselves. The differences Eliraz outlines emphasize that each band is, indeed, its own entity. But ultimately it is the similarities of these bands that are particularly striking. U2, R.E.M., Radiohead, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers share a similar democratic structure, creative process, and band ethos. Eliraz manages to draw parallels between bands that may seem somewhat dissimilar on the surface.
Overall, “Band Together” produces some fascinating harmonies between four of the most enduringly popular, polarizing, and prolific groups of the past 30 years of rock music. Eliraz synthesizes a dazzling amount of information from a huge diversity of sources, carefully melding appropriate quotations from band members with her own words. Incidentally, her extensive bibliography is another great (though perhaps peripheral) facet of the book. The list of sources is intriguing in its diversity and serves to further illustrate how pervasive these bands are and why they merit a closer look into their internal dynamics.
“Band Together” was published in September 2006 by McFarland & Company.
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