John Doe (4) (1953–)

Here's the thing about the audiobook. I can make an argument for it being a crucial document of one of the most interesting scenes ever to exist; nearly everybody involved in the first wave was, in the words of Dave Alvin, over-literate, even as many were musically underwhelming. And having everybody read their own chapters adds an immediacy that is fundamental to the appeal. As writers discuss each other indirectly, or give different impressions of the legendary (sad) musicians who died like Crash Darby, hearing their own voices lowers defenses and makes one less judgmental about their, um, bad decisions.

But, man, it would help to have chapters identified in some way other than a quick name at the beginning. If one is not married to the scene, it is not necessarily easy to remember that Dave Alvin was in "The Blasters" until he mentions it, and at that point, one has already missed a lot of context. That neither Amazon, nor Audible, nor Wikipedia list who narrated what chapter makes it extremely difficult to follow the entire arc of the scene, much less wean any sort of narrative from it. Which that last is probably a point, but one is not supposed to come to that conclusion simply by confusion.

Last note: some of these writers are really good. As mentioned above, Alvin called them over-literate, but that doesn't always mean people can write. About 2/3 of these chapters are fantastically written. Funny, dry, and always a bit sad not because of nostalgia, but because of what has been lost in order to get to this point.… (meer)