RASŤO KACHNIČ – ALTERNATOR: A BIASED GUIDE THROUGH THE WORLD OF ALTERNATIVE MUSIC VIDEOS (1990 – 1994)
INDEPENDENT
BOOK REVIEW BY GERROD HARRIS
For his first book, Rasťo Kachnič has brought his music blog, Alternator, into reality. Alternator: A Biased Guide Through The World Of Alternative Music Videos (1990 – 1994) is an examination of the rise of grunge and alternative music in the early ‘90s from counterculture to the mainstream through the music video format and the increasingly prevalent popularity of MTV. Organized by year of release, Alternator collects the brief thoughts of Kachnič and other contributing authors from the original blog in an attempt to connect the listeners and viewers experiences to the music and the videos.
Alternator is a personal exploration that speaks to the power that an added visual component can have when accompanying music. Through the use of anecdotal blurbs – each as small as a paragraph can be – Alternator captures the excitement as the contributing authors reminisce about their memories surrounding their selected songs and videos. Ranging from some of the biggest hits from the first half of the decade to some more obscure videos released, there is much to explore through this book and the use of embedded QR codes associated with a video playlist for each year is an especially strong idea that enhances the reading experience.
Despite this, however, Alternator suffers from looking at the decade at a surface deep level. Kachnič feels constantly on the verge of analysing the decade thoroughly to better understand social factors of the 1980’s that led to the musical changes brought on within the new decade. Where he alludes to this, I truly believe Alternator would have benefited from this, allowing for Kachnič to balance a thoroughly academic approach with the use of personal connections to the music. This, however, does not hinder Alternator from being an enjoyable book.
From the jump, Alternator is a fun throwback that will leave you reeling with nostalgia for the days of MTV and the massive cultural shift of the ‘90s. While not the critical examination as one may have hoped, Kachnič and company have laid the groundwork for what could be a very compelling series. I look forward to what Kachnič and the Alternator team have in store for the future.
ISBN – 978-8057044321
Purchase Alternator: A Biased Guide Through The World Of Alternative Music Videos (1990 – 1994) HERE Or Via
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