Its DIY graphics, high-octane prose and many rare images make Inner City Sound a crucial part of the culture it portrays.
Inner City Sound was first published in late 1981, as the postpunk scene was approaching its zenith, but soon fell out of print. It became a lost classic, so sought after that it has been bootlegged like the rare singles listed in its discography, and its influence was so seminal it actually helped shape the Australian indie rock scene of the following decade.
With this new edition, Inner City Sound is back in print for the first time in over 20 years. Editor Clinton Walker has added 32 extra pages of articles, photos and discographical data, which take the story through to its real resolution around 1985, when Nick Cave, the Go-Betweens, the Triffids, and others began to break through internationally.
One of the seminal texts of Australian music writing.
--Ian McFarlane (Encyclopedia of Australian Rock)
I grew up with Inner City Sound, lived vicariously through its pages. It gave me a firsthand account of a period in music that was vibrant, innovative and filled with wonderful characters.
-- Richard Kingsmill (Triple-J)
An essential educational tool and a powerful weapon in fighting the aggressive ahistoricalness of the popular culture machine. Get a copy.
-- rocknerd.org