Meet Me in the Bathroom

 Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City (2001-2011) is an oral history compiled by Lizzy Goodman. Despite two good bookending essays, Goodman's words aren't part of the long book, which is, I suppose, how most oral histories are written. It was an entertaining read. The subject matter--a renaissance of sleazy garage rock after the trends of the 1990's--was mostly lost to me at the time: I had started college and dropped out of following music trends. Only later have I been introduced to, and enjoyed, bands like Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Walkmen, and the National. According to the book, the most influential of these is the Strokes, and while I'm not as taken by their music, I'm convinced now that they were perhaps the last great rock band before the internet changed music forever. Indeed, much of the landscape of the music scene and music industry is explained thoroughly by Meet Me in the Bathroom. I feel I understand the world better. I also know more bands, whose catalogues are now two decades old, but whose music--to me at least--still feels raw, fresh, and vital.