You're with Stupid: kranky, Chicago, and the Reinvention of Indie Music

313 Pages·2022·2.218 MB·English

by  Bruce Adams

you’re
with
stupid
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you’re
with
stupid
kranky, Chicago, and the
Reinvention of Indie Music
BRUCE ADAMS
University of Texas Press
Austin
Copyright © 2022 by Bruce Adams
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2022
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
utpress.utexas.edu/rp-form
∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO
Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Adams, Bruce (Record label founder), author.
Title: You’re with Stupid : kranky, Chicago, and the reinvention of indie music /
Bruce Adams.
Other titles: You are with Stupid | American music series (Austin, Tex.)
Description: First edition. | Austin : University of Texas Press, 2022. | Series:
American music series | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021060196 (print) | LCCN 2021060197 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-4773-2120-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4773-2616-9 (PDF ebook)
ISBN 978-1-4773-2617-6 (ePub ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Kranky (Record label)—History. | Adams, Bruce (Record label
founder) | Record labels—Illinois—Chicago—History. | Alternative rock music—
Illinois—Chicago—History and criticism. | Underground music—Illinois—
Chicago—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC ML3792.K73 A32 2022 (print) | LCC ML3792.K73 (ebook) |
DDC 780.26/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021060196
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021060197
doi:10.7560/321201
For Annie

contents
Introduction 1
1 Hey Chicago 5
2 Honk if You Hate People, Too 31
3 That That Is . . . Is (Not): 1991–1992 43
4 Accelerating on a Smoother Road: 1992–1993 55
5 Analog Technology Makes Space Travel Possible:
1994 77
6 Slow Thrills: 1995 111
7 The Taut and the Tame: 1996 131
8 London Was Ridiculous: 1997 167
9 An Audience Hungry to Hear What Would
Happen Next: 1998 193
10 Both Ends Fixed: 1999 219
11 After This They Chose Silence: 2000–2002 225
Epilogue: Specifically Dissatisfied Since 1993 257
Acknowledgments 259
Author’s Notes 261
Index 265
The photographs appear following page 130.

you’re
with
stupid