Book Review: “Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats” – by Rob Skane.
The Raincoats are a very important band in the history of the music that we all love. And while they used the same 12 notes as everyone else, they did it in a completely different way. Listen to their work and you’ll understand; it’s oftentimes mind-blowing. A lot of us probably own dozens of albums by the countless number of bands that were influenced by the Raincoats. But I’m willing to bet that we don’t, or didn’t, even realize it.
Ana da Silva and Gina Birch began the band while they were art school students in London in 1977. They had seen the Slits perform and were inspired. The rest, literally, is history. They rotated drummers seemingly nonstop, including the Slits drummer Palmolive. From 1978 until 1984, Vicky Aspinall played violin. The first Raincoats LP opened a lot of ears. But I think their second release, “Odyshape,” is my personal favorite.
Thurston Moore saw their first performance in NYC at TR3 and shortly after that formed Sonic Youth. John Lydon referred to the first Raincoats LP as the sole record he’d choose to represent “the punk years.” The Raincoats were always about doing their own thing, their own way. It was more about expression than perfection. Thanks to radio station KAOS in Olympia, Washington, those musical expressions were heard by a lot of people in the Pacific Northwest, who were inspired to pick up instruments and express their own thoughts and feelings. It could be said that the Raincoats inspired the entire Riot Grrrl movement. Kurt Cobain – you’ve heard of him, right? Well, he was a massive Raincoats fan too. He even went so far as to track Ana down at an antique shop where she was working to profess his admiration and look for a copy of their first LP. It’s absolutely amazing how wide-reaching and clearly influential their music was, and I’d like to think, still is.
Audrey Golden has written an absolutely incredible book that details the story of the Raincoats. “Shouting Out Loud” has been researched with great attention to detail. This is a book that needs to be read about a band that needs to be listened to and enjoyed. Find the book wherever you find your books these days, and then run to your local record shop and dig through the bins, because any Raincoats music that you can find will get you right, for real. “Shouting Out Loud” just might help you to hear the music of the Raincoats a little differently than you did before, and we owe Audrey Golden a debt of gratitude.
More from Rob Skane.