Pretend We're Dead - Large Print by Tanya Pearson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A refreshing and much-needed contribution to the male-dominated history of rock 'n' roll."--Kirkus Reviews

From the founder of the Women of Rock Oral History Project, an exploration of women in the '90s rock scene, featuring original interviews with Liz Phair, Shirley Manson, Kristin Hersh, Donita Sparks, Tanya Donelly, members of Hole, Luscious Jackson, Veruca Salt, Babes in Toyland, and more

In 2018, during an interview with journalist Tanya Pearson, Shirley Manson lamented: "It's a blanket fact that after September 11th, nonconformist women were taken off the radio." This comment echoed a reality Pearson had personally witnessed as a musician and a fan, and launched her into a quest to figure out just what happened to these extraordinary female figures.

PRETEND WE'RE DEAD seeks to answer two big questions: First, where did all these wildly different, politically conscious, and supremely talented women in rock come from in the 1990s? And second, after their unprecedented breakout, why did they vanish from the mainstream by the early aughts? Along with analysis and narrative, PRETEND WE'RE DEAD is built on exclusive interviews with the unfiltered voices of legends including: Shirley Manson, Melissa Auf der Maur, Patty Schemel, Kate Schellenbach, Nina Gordon, Louise Post, Josephine Wiggs, Tanya Donelly, Kristin Hersh, Tracy Bonham, Donita Sparks, Liz Phair, Zia McCabe, Tracy Bonham, Lori Barbero, Josephine Wiggs, and Jill Emery. Through thought-provoking conversations, these women explore how they fell in love with music and started bands; fought labels, their coverage in the media, and sexism; and wrote deeply political and feminist music. Readers also learn about the effects of Woodstock '99, the corporatization of the music industry, the rise of Clear Channel and its ties to the Bush administration, and finally the nationalist sentiment after 9/11.

While sonically diverse, these musicians all wrote fierce, socially conscious, feminist lyrics, and PRETEND WE'RE DEAD commemorates and celebrates the overlooked contributions of true trailblazers.

Review Quotes

Amazon, "Best History Books of the Month (February 2025)"

LitHub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2025"

"A must-read for music fans and anyone who is still (correctly) angry at the Bush Administration."--LitHub

"Captivating."--Washington Monthly

"Through firsthand accounts from artists like [Shirley] Manson and [Donita] Sparks, Pearson crafts a precise before-and-after snapshot of the two decades, charting the ascent of nonconformist women in mainstream culture through their sudden dropoff in the early 2000s... Through tales of prior day jobs to general absurdities... the format of Pretend We're Dead also ensures that each woman comes across as a multidimensional person instead of a flat narrator."--Boston Globe

"A vibrant account of the golden age of women's rock music and the forces that capsized it. . . . a hopeful call for a new generation of fans and musicians to revive the transgressive spirit of the '90s. . . . [a] stirring blend of oral history and sharp cultural insight [that] opens a fascinating window into a dynamic chapter in music history."--Publishers Weekly

"As probing as it is intelligent, Pearson's book will appeal to fans of '90s music and beyond. . . . A refreshing and much-needed contribution to the male-dominated history of rock 'n' roll."
--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Tanya Pearson is an Oral Historian and founder of the Women of Rock Oral History Project, a collection of digital interviews and written transcripts documenting the lives and careers of (women-identified) rock musicians. Her first book, Why Marianne Faithfull Matters, was published in July 2021. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Washington Post, Pop Matters, and Bust Magazine. An Assistant Lecturer in Women's Gender, and African American Studies at Ball State University, she currently resides in Muncie, IN.