Taking its title with suitable slacker irony from a song on Nirvana's In Utero , Milk It! is an anthology of pieces written in the heat of the moment-an urgent and diverse overview that mirrors the chaotic rush of the postmodern sounds it covers. Headnotes and connective material-the "stories behind the stories"-provide running commentary on the music business, rock criticism, a troubled generation, and an attempt to put the fast-moving alternative-rock era in perspective from the safe distance of the comparatively bland new millennium. Compiled by a critic who shared the Generation X outlook, attitude, and biting sense of humor with the musicians that he covered-Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, and many others- Milk It! is the first serious attempt to chart the alternative music scene. Compelling, amusing, and provocative, Milk It! captures the excitement of an era, and reckons with its enduring influence.

Jim DeRogatis is pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, the co-host of WXRT-FM's "Sound Opinions,"and the ASCAP/Deems-Taylor Award-winning author of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, American's Greatest Rock Critic. A frequent contributor to Spin, Guitar World, Modern Drummer, and other magazines, he lives in Chicago.