Hi everyone!
Last night’s #SJsTwitterBookClub featured writer, broadcaster and DJ Dave Haslam (@Mr_Dave_Haslam). We talked about his extraordinary memoir, ‘Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor’.
Dave introduced the book to us. ‘I was 16, 17,’ he said, ‘going to see Iggy, Blondie, Joy Division, I was a young lad with my face pressed against a window, outside, looking in at a world of music, excitement, ideas, passion. The book is about how I ended up in that world.’
Dave told us how Sonic Youth had indeed slept on his floor - when he lived in a ‘grotty flat in Hulme’, however when they met 25 years later Thurston Moore (of the band) couldn’t actually remember having done so. Dave went on to tell us that ‘… he did remember my fanzine which was called ‘Debris’. I also interviewed Raymond Carver in the issue Sonic Youth were in … Mid-1985.’
We then had a bit of a chat about fanzines, and I was delighted to learn that far from being a spent force, ‘zines’ were still alive and well, and not only online. We talked about counterculture, and Dave told us that… ‘A theme in most of (his) books inc. 'Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor' is the power of undercapitalised activity to change culture. The power of the cell, like-minded folk getting together. In a venue, a magazine, a band.’
He then quoted Margaret Mead:
It was a great conversation and the hour flew by. I really wanted to chat to Dave for longer, but alas we had to draw it to a close. Dave did end by sharing this memento...
Join us next week (Thursday, 7.30pm UK time), when novelist and Emmy-winning comedy writer David Quantick (@quantick) will join us to talk about ALL MY COLORS.
Happy reading!