Good afternoon to everyone out there in Book Blog Land! It is my week on the Book Blog this week, and I know how much everyone looks forward to my ramblings! This week I will discuss a book titled “There Was No Alternative: Generation X, Aids, and the Making of a Classic Nineties Record.” Jeff Gomez wrote this book and details the events and people who helped bring together an album called “No Alternative.” The album was used to raise funds and awareness about safe sex and the Aids Epidemic that was being experienced in the United States and around the world.
Gomez begins the book by giving background knowledge of the Red Hot Organization, a charity that helped to raise money and awareness of HIV/AIDS through cultural objects and events. This was the third music compilation put out by the organization. The first two albums were called Red Hot + Blue and also Red Hot + Dance. Both albums featured a variety of artists and were top-selling records in the early 1990s. A New York City lawyer, John Carlin, who had seen many friends get sick and pass from the disease was the man who came up with the idea of the charity records.
John Carlin then joined with Paul Heck, Chris Mundy, and Jessica Kowol to ultimately produce the third Red Hot Organization charity record No Alternative. During the planning of the album, alternative rock music had become one of the most popular forms of music in the United States. Paul Heck worked in New York City and began to recruit bands to donate songs to the record. Chris Mundy had become (at the time) a writer for Rolling Stone magazine and together with Paul they built their wish list of bands.
Each chapter in this book then goes on to discuss each song that was included on the record and the story behind why it was made or how it was chosen. I do not want to spoil any of the book, so I will keep it brief here, but there are some great stories about the bands chosen and the songs they decide to donate to the project. Some of my favorites include the story about the hidden Nirvana track, as well as the story behind the song Glynis by the Smashing Pumpkins.
I will say that one track that I didn’t pay attention to at the time but has captured my imagination now is a song called Effigy, which was originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The author of the book, Jeff Gomez says the song was written in protest against the Nixon White House. The band who covered the song on No Alternative was Uncle Tupelo, which was led by Jeff Tweedy who went on to form Wilco.
These are just a few of the stories described in the book. If you are into 1990’s culture and history, this is a must-read.
There Was No Alternative by