Mark Baumgarten is the managing editor at Crosscut where he
oversees a newsroom of dedicated reporters, producers and editors
telling the stories of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. He is
also the host of theCrosscut Talkspodcast and theAt-Largelive event
series.
Previously, Baumgarten has servedas Editor at Large for City Arts
magazine and Managing Editor of the Seattle Weekly. Baumgarten's
work has been featured in a variety of publications, including
Willamette Week, The Village Voice, Seattle Weekly, and Lost Cause
magazine.
You can find him on Twitter@MarkBaumgarten
"No novelist, short of Ayn Rand, could come up with a character as
iconoclastic and idealist as Calvin Johnson, which is one reason
Love Rock Revolution is a compelling book. Mark Baumgarten
methodically details every nuance of K Records, and in doing so has
written the best book yet on the Olympia, Washington scene. Whether
you're a fan of Beat Happening, Bikini Kill, or Nirvana, this book
will help you understand a scene that changed music history."
Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven
"In his new book Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of
Independent Music, Mark Baumgarten explores the independent music
scene of the mid eighties to the present through the story of
Calvin Johnson's seminal record label. ... It was the heyday of
zines and newsletters, when independent bands toured in vans across
the country, blazing trails down the still-new interstate system,
winning new fans over one small town at a time."
Think Out Loud, Oregon Public Broadcasting
"Baumgarten is not just a great writer and astute music critic; he
is an impeccable storyteller, and exhibits this skill in this
selection from his book. Love Rock Revolution will undoubtedly be a
treasure for K Records fans and music lovers in general."
Pop Press International
"It’s a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book that should
interest anyone curious about independent music, the Northwest, or
the growth of a community or scene."
Another Rainy Saturday
"It could all be called 'punk,' but in a sense that referred
to a feeling and an ethos, not a particular sound. Love Rock
Revolution reflects that feeling by describing not only the music
itself, but the economies of culture, resources, and personality
that made it possible."
Los Angeles Review of Books
"Baumgarten's history lessons are conversational and well-written,
and he obviously has a deep love for his subject. Amid accounts of
who's who, there are small revelations, like just how bizarre K
Records' back catalog is: The fervent hard rock of Karp alongside
the sugar-spun Softies, and Built to Spill's deft guitar epics
bookended with Beat Happening's near musical incompetence. Erratic
and varied, it's very much a list that represents K Records'
open-door policy, where record deals are made with a handshake.
Even if Love Rock Revolution doesn't lob hardballs at Johnson's
psyche, it's a nourishing chunk of facts, stories, and memories of
long teenage days spent listening to K Records mixtapes."
The Portland Mercury
"Baumgarten manages to pull off a rather balanced and historically
important label biography through the format of an oral history --
no easy feat."
Bookslut
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