First, let me apologize to Mr. Eric Grubbs. This article (and the accompanying commentary tracks) should have been posted over a month ago and I just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m a fuck up; what can I say? Better late than never I always say (and say often).

So for four years Eric Grubbs spent his time away from traffic radio researching and writing a book. He was writing a book about how post-hardcore/emo music evolved from what it was in the mid-1980’s to what it became before “emo” became a four letter word. That book is POST: A Book about the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007.

Each chapter (more or less) focuses on a band of Fugazi, Jawbox, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Braid, the Promise Ring, Hot Water Music, the Get Up Kids, At the Drive-In, and Jimmy Eat World. Grubbs examines all this through the eyes of a fan and through the eyes of someone who is emotionally invested in this music and whose life has been changed by it. It the humanization of bands that sometimes (even I do it) are looked at almost like deities.

So, while admitting that Grubbs and I have talked many times and that I’ll surely buy him a drink when I meet him, the book is not just awesome, but it is also full of so much detail that people who weren’t there can put everything in context.

I (however) was there. I grew older with this music. I saw Braid at least a dozen times in places like basements and house parties, the guys from At The Drive-In once slept on my floor, and I’m a huge fan of all the bands Grubbs writes about in POST. If you have any interest in the modern “emo” or “post-hardcore” bands and where they came from or in the history of modern rock music you need to check out this book. It’s not perfect but neither are any of the bands he talks about. They are all just people making connections with other people through music.

What you’ll find below are some DVD-style commentary tracks that Grubbs recorded as a sort of supplement for the book and I think it turned out pretty well. While you’re listening to this, go ahead and pick up a copy of POST: A Book about the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007. You can (and should) do it right here.

MP3 | Introduction
MP3 | Dischord Records
MP3 | Jawbox
MP3 | Sunny Day Real Estate
MP3 | Jawbreaker
MP3 | Braid
MP3 | The Promise Ring
MP3 | Hot Water Music
MP3 | The Get Up Kids
MP3 | At The Drive-In
MP3 | Jimmy Eat World

Related posts:

1. Review: Riddle of Steel – 1985
2. The Anti-Matter Anthology
3. Listmania 2007 is here
4. Listmania 2007 revisited
5. Lollapalooza 2007 mp3 preview (part 9)