The Sentimentalist

BOMP's latest tome is a vibrant history lesson of biblical proportions, touching on some of the most inspiring moments of the independent music movement, going back as far as the 1960's. If you weren't there, after reading the book BOMP: Saving the World One Record At a Time, you'll wish you had been.

Indie music: what does that term mean today? Does it in fact, actually have any relevance given the high dollars that today's "indie" bands are demanding from their, ahem, "indie" record labels? There are certainly tons more "indie labels" today than when Greg Shaw, BOMP's owner/idea man, was turning kids onto new music back in the day, but a good portion of these are just major label imprints. To think that Greg used the readership of BOMP Magazine as a distribution channel was ingenius. That was truly being independent; doing things on your own, based on an idea that came from your cerebral cortex.

Suzy and Greg Shaw had the original idea for this book right after the original BOMP Magazine folded, circa 1980. I can't imagine the enormity of the undertaking; going through all the old articles and contacting the writers and photographers, choosing what to include and what not to include. No wonder it has taken this long to finish the project.

Much like the long defunct BOMP Magazine, the book includes original photography, articles and text laid out with a "fanzine" feel (and in BOMP's trademark colors: yellow, red and black). Think of it like a compilation CD but in book form, with all the best band articles of the day included.

Reading the book is an event; you are a active participant and not just a passive reader. The book is a living, breathing, artful documentation of an era that makes the reader feel that they were actually a part of what was going on at the time.

For instance, there's the original 60's British Invasion (not that of the Libertines' 90's), complete with carefully typed fan reports and photos detailing the highs and lows of events as they unfolded. Or there's the story of the early 70's, with the first part of the decade detailed as a "Preamble to Punk" in one chapter. Of course, it's not long until Iggy Pop pops up, with a full-page, young and shirtless live shot next to his own record review of David Bowie's Pin-Ups.

On page 183, there's a picture of the BOMP Record store in LA from yesteryear. Looking at the sign above the door that says "Oldies/Imports/Punk Rock" brings back memories of my misspent grammar school days, spent skulking around the seedier used record shops of New Haven CT, with their smell of dust, Chinese food and BO. It just gives me chills to see photos like that.

There are far too many historical treasures captured in this book to go into detail, but suffice it to say, if you have any interest in knowing about the origins of independent music, you owe it to yourself to pick up this historically significant and entertaining BOMP lovechild. Where else could you find an article on Elvis Presley right next to a review of the Sex Pistols? Oh yes, hard to believe, but both were around at the same time.

The Doors, The Standells, The Ramones, Iggy Pop, Blondie, Stiv Bators, The Germs, from garage to punk and beyond. It's all in here, giving you first hand accounts and crazy artifacts from the time.

It's said that Greg Shaw has long been thought to be at least partly responsible for the birth of the independent music press. After flipping through BOMP: Saving The World One Record At A Time, you will be convinced of it. We owe a debt of gratitude to Suzy, Mick, Patrick, Ammo Press and everyone else involved in the project for compiling all the original articles, stories, photographs and excepts into a hardcover, fully bound, 400 page, easy to read history. - The Sentimentalist (posted on Amazon)