Rob Janicke - Slacker: 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created

Rob Janicke in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.robjanicke.com/

HAVE I GOT A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU...

 

The year was 1984. I was eleven years old and popular music was in a state of confusion. Along with songs by artists I liked such as Van Halen, Prince, Quiet Riot, Duran Duran, Billy Idol, and The Police, Top 40 radio constantly played songs from bands or artists that didn't quite do it for me. Apologies to Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins, Bananarama, Wang Chung, and Ray Parker Jr.

 

Due to the divorce of my parents and telling my mom that I was so unhappy that I no longer wanted to live, I was now a couple of years into therapy. It was around this time that I really began to find solace in music. The mid to late '80s gave me hope. Rap, punk rock, and alternative music befriended me at a time when I needed them the most.

 

A mixtape from 1989, courtesy of a high school friend, opened my soul to the music that would change my life forever- the gritty sound of grunge.

 

I know that this experience is not unique to me or my life. History has shown that millions of Gen X kids who were going through some heavy times in the late '80s and early '90s, found comfort in the grunge and alternative music and culture that came first from Seattle, then the world.

Music can save lives; we are proof of that. This book and that sentiment is for the SLACKER in all of us.

- Rob Janicke, author of Slacker