Bill Brown moved to Ann Arbor in September 1980 to complete his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies degree in May 1982 (the last year this degree was offered). While still a student, he published record reviews in The Michigan Daily and a few articles in the Ann Arbor News. In December 1982, he became the News' weekly Pop Shop columnist, a position that he would hold until July 1983. In July 1983, Bill founded NOT BORED!, a fanzine that went on-line in 1996 and is still being published. During 1983 and 1984, he also wrote for The Metro Times and, as a regular monthly columnist, for Michael Moore's The Michigan Voice.

In 1985, Bill Brown left Ann Arbor and hasn't lived there since. Inspired by a recent visit, he has anthologized virtually all of the newspaper articles he wrote while in town. Entitled "You Should've Heard Just What I Seen: Collected Newspaper Articles 1981-1984," the book was published in October 2010 by Colossal Books, which is located in Cincinnati, Ohio.