Touch Me I'm Sick
Picture an image from the grunge movement of the 1990s and odds are it was Charles Peterson who clicked the camera's shutter. As unofficial photographer of the SubPop record label, Peterson put a face on the scene that began in Seattle and shaped the landscape of popular music. With its title taken from Mudhoney's anthemic underground hit,Touch Me I'm Sickis more than a rehash of Peterson's 1995Screaming Life. This high-quality collection includes an introduction by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and over 90 photos of the stars before they became household names, plus many who never reached notoriety beyond the Seattle city limits. There are classic photos that have been seen before--Kurt Cobain sprawled across Chad Channing's drum set, the roiling mosh pit of Seattle's Endfest, the blacked-out teeth of L7's Suzi Gardner--but more than 80 have never been published. Peterson's open shutter technique stretches spotlights and blurs movement, bringing still images to life, while his black-and-white photos abound in texture: from the rubber soles of Converse high-tops to the ripped and frayed knees of worn-out blue jeans and greasy knots of flailing hair.Touch Me I'm Sickis a required title for music fans who wore the flannel as well as those who only watched in awe from the edge of the pit.--Ben Reese