Eric Stone
Name a subculture. To people outside of it, it means nothing. To people involved, it is everything. I witnessed this book firsthand. Having grown up in Central Mass, graduating in 2003, and attending college in Boston, the Boston Hardcore scene was very much a part of my world. Reading this felt like stepping into a time capsule.
It brought me right back to September 13, 2003, at the ICC in Allston. I had spent two months in the hospital following a car accident exactly two years prior, and I spent that night sitting on top of a piano watching Bane, Comeback Kid, Mental, and The Promise. That feeling of belonging and purpose was exactly what I needed at that moment in my life.
Whether it’s this or King’s Faithful, I will consume any perspective on the Red Sox 2004 World Series season. Wrenn’s ability to switch from descriptive storytelling to historical recollection is seamless. He captures the balance of Boston outside Fenway in the fall perfectly. The description of Have Heart’s last show and the afterword were particularly emotional - they perfectly captured what made that era and that scene so special.
I listened to the audiobook from Hachette on an ALC. The narration was solid, though it tripped me up slightly because my edge friends always put the emphasis on the "straight" versus the "edge," but that’s a minor regional detail in an otherwise great performance.
Wrenn doesn’t just document a subculture; he bottles the lightning of a very specific era in Boston’s history. For anyone who felt the belonging and purpose of the Massachusetts hardcore scene or lived through the magic of the 2004 Sox season, this isn't just a book - it’s a time capsule. A seamless blend of grit, nostalgia, and historical recollection.
Name a subculture. To people outside of it, it means nothing. To people involved, it is everything. I witnessed this book firsthand. Having grown up in Central Mass, graduating in 2003, and attending college in Boston, the Boston Hardcore scene was very much a part of my world. Reading this felt like stepping into a time capsule.
It brought me right back to September 13, 2003, at the ICC in Allston. I had spent two months in the hospital following a car accident exactly two years prior, and I spent that night sitting on top of a piano watching Bane, Comeback Kid, Mental, and The Promise. That feeling of belonging and purpose was exactly what I needed at that moment in my life.
Whether it’s this or King’s Faithful, I will consume any perspective on the Red Sox 2004 World Series season. Wrenn’s ability to switch from descriptive storytelling to historical recollection is seamless. He captures the balance of Boston outside Fenway in the fall perfectly. The description of Have Heart’s last show and the afterword were particularly emotional - they perfectly captured what made that era and that scene so special.
I listened to the audiobook from Hachette on an ALC. The narration was solid, though it tripped me up slightly because my edge friends always put the emphasis on the "straight" versus the "edge," but that’s a minor regional detail in an otherwise great performance.
Wrenn doesn’t just document a subculture; he bottles the lightning of a very specific era in Boston’s history. For anyone who felt the belonging and purpose of the Massachusetts hardcore scene or lived through the magic of the 2004 Sox season, this isn't just a book - it’s a time capsule. A seamless blend of grit, nostalgia, and historical recollection.