Product Description
An oral history of the modern punk-revival's West Coast Birthplace

Outside of New York and London, California's Bay Area claims the oldest continuous punk-rock scene in the world. Gimme Something Better brings this outrageous and influential punk scene to life, from the notorious final performance of the Sex Pistols, to Jello Biafra's bid for mayor, the rise of Maximum RocknRoll magazine, and the East Bay pop-punk sound that sold millions around the globe. Throngs of punks, including members of the Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Flipper, MDC, Green Day, Rancid, NOFX, and AFI, tell their own stories in this definitive account, from the innovative art-damage of San Francisco's Fab Mab in North Beach, to the still vibrant all-ages DIY ethos of Berkeley's Gilman Street. Compiled by longtime Bay Area journalists Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor, Gimme Something Better chronicles more than two decades of punk music, progressive politics, social consciousness, and divine decadence, told by the people who made it happen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

a missed opportunity
While the book is ambitious in its scope, I can't help but be disappointed comparing this oral history to Please Kill Me (the New York version that pioneered punk oral histories) and We Got the Neutron Bomb (the equally fascinating L.A. version).The authors spend precious little time exploring the early scene, skipping over a number of important formative bands and spending way too much time on the splinter scene after 1981-82 or so and into the 90s (though of course Flipper gets well-deserved attention).That stuff just isn't as interesting as the roots of the scene, so deeply explored in the above books.Dead Kennedys of course get a lot of coverage, but we need to know much more about important well-known bands like Crime, Nuns, Dils, and Avengers (a short chapter each, if that, is not enough), and some lesser known but vital early bands that are barely mentioned, if at all, such as Maggots, VKTMS, Sudden Fun, Lewd, Breakouts, Nubs, Sleepers, Vs., etc.Also there is very little about the connection between punk and politics during the early days: the emergence of women in rock in a city with a thriving feminist movement, the connection between punk and gay politics in San Franciso (how can the book possibly not go into more detail about this when we're talking about the heyday of Harvey Milk and gay liberation!?), etc.To be honest, I read about 1/4 of the book, and attempted to read further, but just didn't care about many of the hardcore and alterna-rock bands that get much more attention than those who invented the scene.

This lively, fun survey is a pick for any popular music library
GIMMIE SOMETHING BETTER: THE PROFOUND, PROGRESSIVE, AND OCCASIONALLY POINTLESS HISTORY OF BAY AREA PUNK FROM DEAD KENNEDYS TO GREEN DAY is a 'must' for any general-interest music library catering to the general public as well as San Francisco music fans. It offers a history of the music, politics and creations of Bay Area punk through the voices of band members from Flipper to NOFX, charting the rise of the pop-punk sound that extended beyond the Bay Area. This lively, fun survey is a pick for any popular music library.

Voices from the Edge
Wonderful book about a fascinating subject, and, if you're not familiar with the cast of characters, an fine introduction to some memorable musicians. Unlike so many books on rock'n'roll that either gush about their subjects or seek to crucify them, reading "Gimme Something Better" feels like hanging out in a seedy bar and splitting a pitcher with some extremely colorful folks who aren't afraid to talk about the lows as well as the highs. Not afraid to talk about anything, actually.The jerks are jerks, and the geniuses are geniuses, but none of them are boring.Highly recommended.

Steve Patterson

A much needed history
Fantastic book! You always hear about LA and NYC scenes but I have always been a fan of East Bay punk- Green Day, Op Ivy, Rancid, Crimpshrine- so this book details the rise of a fairly important period of time. A must for all punk fans ... Read more

Product Description
Developed from the Hope Collective, a popular punk venue in Dublin, Ireland, this unique cookbook links healthy eating with the punk rock community and subculture. With over 120 vegan recipes and personal anecdotes collected from bands who performed at the club, Please Feed Me presents tasty offerings such as Fugazi Chocolate Cake, Bikini Kill Chili non Carne, and Neurosis and Pincer Martin Tomato and Orange Soup. Also included are thoughts on punk rock culture as a vital underground network, and insider stories of well-known U.S. and international bands. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Please Feed Me -- so good
Short book, but very good.i love it, haven't used any of the recipes, but i look forward to!

deadly
i lived through the time spoken about in this book and it shares many good memories with the reader.The recipes are straightforward vegan fare but good enough to eat.I found it the sort of book you could pick up and open on any page and read about how bands like Green Day and NOFX played in Dublin with no contracts and to crowds of 50 people.You can then try the recipe associated with that gig and feel part of this wonderful punk rock community

The collaborative effort of more than 120 people who donated their vegan recipes
Please Feed Me: A Punk Vegan Cookbook is a unique and welcome addition to any avant garde music enthusiasts cookbook collection because every recipe is accompanied by an anecdote by a band that performed at the Hope Collective -- a popular punk event in Dublin, Ireland, which Niall McGuirk helped to maintain for over a decade and which became a kind of template and inspiration for punk music events across Ireland and the United Kingdom. The collaborative effort of more than 120 people who donated their vegan recipes and thoughts on the importance of the punk rock community and culture, Please Feed Me uniquely illustrates the connections between community, art, activism, health, and the vegan diet.

Strange little cookbook
This presents first as a memoir rather than a cookbook. Must have been a magical era in punk music-- I'm dead envious reading about the musical experience. The food is somewhat remote, no pictures except of the bands. The recipes come from the bands as well, and can be chaotic. Which is fine-- it is, after all, a punk cookbook. Not well organized from the cookbook point of view-- contents are presented according to concert playlists, and not well indexed. I haven't made any of the food, but it's an interesting read, if repetitive. The intro is pieced together from the recipe copy-- you'll recognize entire sections as you skim along. I was hoping for something more like Cooking with the Dead, by Grateful Dead writer Elizabeth Zipern, which is more approachable from the food angle. I'm going to try a few recipes to see if this one is worth keeping long term. It'll be tough to judge, though, as all the recipes are by different cooks. So, overall interesting, but definately not an overview of fundamental vegan cooking. This one is more of a curiosity, a vivid portrayal of a period in punk music, complete history of the Hope Collective, with probably a few recipe gems. If you were fortunate enough to be in Ireland with these guys, it'll be a treasured keepsake.

Support the little guy
Buy this book from www.akpress.org.I'm not affiliated with them, but they're great! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (27)

:)
Saw this book under the Employee Recommended section at Barnes & Nobles and it looked good so I got it. :D

Please kill your heros
I kept hiding the name of the book from my wife and kids. I realized that a book about sex and drugs (and rock 'n' roll, sometimes) was giving me a strange perspective on life. More than anything, I didn't like seeing warts (exclusively) on my heros. Do we ALL need to be so human? I read 99% of the book (some people you just don't need to read) and buried it at the bottom of the recycling bin. Yes, it's a rock 'n' roll classic. But how strong are you?

I need a drink....
The interview style of this book does many things, not the least of which is sober you up ~ one of the more amazing things running through my mind while reading this was "how the hell is Iggy Pop alive?????"

If you're not a fan or historian of the punk movement in New York, this book may just give you the itch...some of the best music to never "hit" the mainstream was created during a blur of activity & competition b/t the Dolls, Television, Ramones, Stooges, Lou "the prick" Reed, Dead Boys, & on and on and on....get your iTunes account ready to roll, there is pure gold in them hills.

Please Kill Me!
A fantastic book whether you love and live punk rock or you're just interested by it. The dirt, both sides of all the stories and Legs McNeil isn't an asshole (for once.) Also some great pics!

The best book about punk rock ever!!
Endlessly entertaining. I simply could not put this book down, and the same will no doubt hold true for any, and every, other reader. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (10)

Fun book. However ...
The "heebie jeebies" in the title constitutes a fairly pointless pun on Hebes, as in Hebrews. It is the author's contention that punk rock, in most of its manifestations, was the product of a specifically Jewish mentality, that is, heavily influenced by and largely derived from the creativity of artists and promoters who happened to be Jewish. It's a little unclear what that has to do with getting creeped out inside the late, great punk rock palace of CBGB's, unless it's to invoke the Woody Allen stereotype of Jewish jitteriness.

Since Jews have always been heavily represented in almost every aspect of popular music, and arguably, in classical and jazz, it's not a particularly salient observation that there were a lot of Jews or those with Jewish antecedents in this particular genre, among them Joey Ramone (nee Jeff Hyman), Danny Fields, Malcolm McClaren, CBGB's owner Hilly Crystal, Lenny Kaye, Chris Stein of Blondie, journalist Charlie Frick, Mick Jones of the Clash and Richard Hell (nee Myers). He does make a case that the Jewish-outsider-socially-rebellious-hipster tradition had SOME kind of role to play in the rise of punk. Given that the Ramones' back-to-the-garage mentality inspired a zillion other young folks to join in the fun and urgency of making rock music, maybe it's not so surprising after all that Spin put them as number two in their list of the most influential bands, and perhaps credit is due to the Jewish hipster tradition. But was the Ramones' alienation particularly Jewish, or simply American white middle class? The intentionally cheesy adoption of retro junk artifacts and attitudes that helped define the subculture was codified by a (presumably) Irish-American and Scandinavian-American, Legs McNeil and John Holmstrom, who founded Punk magazine.

The author fails to mention that, perhaps as a part of its anti-hippie and therefore anti-egalitarian thrust, early punk could at times be right wing, homophobic and racist, hardly sociopolitical attitudes usually associated with Jews.

Praise from a shiksa
You don't have to be a Jew or a lover of punk to appreciate this well-researched, smartly written book. Beeber's voice, part wise guy and part acolyte, carries this book even for a "shiksa goddess" like me. He opens up a fascinating culture (or two) in an accessible, enjoyable way. I highly recommend this book.

Brilliant Exploration of Outsider Identity
In this brilliant exploration of outsider identity, Beeber uncovers the links between Jewishness and punk rock rebellion. The book includes in-depth interviews with such punk rock luminaries as Tommy Ramone, Chris Stein of Blondie, and former Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren. Beeber also explores the inherent contradictions within the punk movement, including the use of Nazi imagery by bands whose family members may have barely escaped the Holocaust. The book includes fascinating anecdotes about punk rock legends, including a chapter that describes Lou Reed's attempts to bring his dog to a seder, and Richard Hell's defensive responses to Beeber's simple question: Are you a Jew? Beeber is an insightful writer and cultural historian who makes heretofore unseen connections between origins of punk in the aggressive outsider comedy of Lenny Bruce and the work of graphic novel pioneer Will Eisner.

Interesting read with a stretch of a premise.
Beeber's book is an interesting recount of the formation of the punk rock scene in New York City. However, his attempt to correalate punk rock to the experience of being jewish stretches thin pretty quickly.

First off, Beeber utilizes Lou Reed and especially the Velvet Underground as forebearers of punk. While certainly influential, the Velvets were more of an avante garde pop band than punks.They were as much a result of the overall New York art scene and streets, as well as John Cale's british ideology and muscianship as Reed being jewish.

Next Beeber cites Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. The Modern Lovers, despite the Sex Pistols covering Road Runner, were sort of pre-new wave folk band, they never really released an album when they were together and Richman was from Boston. How this qualifies them as a proto punk band representing the New York Jewish voice is too much for me to comprehend.

Beeber does make a good case that Tommy Ramone was the architect of Ramones.However, he only lasted a couple of albums, Dee Dee was the main songwriter and Johnny's buzzsaw guitar and militaristic leadership (he seemed like a real tool)were as essential as anything.Further, Joey might have been obviously jewish to the New York punk scene, but to most he was just the senstive outcast. Tommy's influence is obvious, but it seemed to me he was as influenced by being an immigrant and growing up in the wrong neighborhood as solely by virtue of being jewish.

While New York obviously was a huge influence on the punk scene, the industrial and menancing Detroit rockers like the MC5, Iggy and Alice Cooper had just as much influence as the New York bands. This is especially true prior to all the great New York bands getting started.Also, the true New York punk influence, The NY Dolls, who really blended the street, with artistic ambitions and the phoniness of Manhatten dont have the jewish connection and therefor dont really lend to the author's theory.

The somewhat later day punkers like Richard Hell, Lenny Kaye and Chris Stein make a good points of converstation, but all seem as influenced by academics as ethnithcity. Hell in fact wouldnt be interviewed and dismissed the premise completely.It also somewhat dismisses how much influence this groups partners in punk,Debbie Harry, Tom Verlaine and Patti Smith, had.

Some of the more interesting jewish punks, including the ladies, Genya Raven and Helen Wheels, and less well known acts like the Dictators (hilarious name) and Suicide just werent well known enough outside of the city to be all that influential.

I dont want to take anything away from the city or culture that reinvented music, but punk was about all that were alienated, suspected and unwanted.It was about anger, pointing out hypocrisy, doing it yourself and the desire to succeed.Didnt Bowie once say all the Brit punks "wanted to be stars."

So, Beeber's point is again lost when punk became so much the property of the anglo british (other than Malcom McClaren managing the Pistols)who apparantly lacking jewish guilt and the somewhat limiting factor of being the property of New Yawk, increased its exposure tremendously.(Hey lets face it Johnny Rotten cussing and spitting in a British accent is gonna play in Cleveland, whereas Joey Ramones obvious jewishness... well... its a joke, one I think Lenny Bruce might have gotten).Fact is, punk was never gonna play to the mainstream, the populus cant all be disnefranchised.

Overall and interesting read, with a thought provoking premise that is well explored, but ultimatly a bit overwritten to prove its point. Still worthwhile if you have any interest in those magical formative musical days in the Big Apple and some of its reaching influences.

Hey!
if it's Jews you be a wantin..In Punk nonetheless..This stuff's for you.First of all,Marky Ramone rocks.He met me or rather vice versa.Steve does research into the sacred and shows that Punk music in It's New York Beginnings incorporated a lot of the Jewish Upstarters who could be credited for being Punk Pioneers. You like the Paranormal? Well Jews die too..and so:Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & ConspiracyBut:Other good books about Music and the Jewish experieNce:Spiritual Bathing: Healing Rituals and Traditions from Around the World,Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish,Jews Who Rock,Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Storiesand one more Paranormal plug:Questions from Earth, Answers from Heaven. ... Read more

Product Description
Punk is Dead exposes the lasting impact of Punk on visual culture worldwide. Hundreds of flyers, photos, set lists, vintage fashions and other ephemera from all of your favorite bands are jammed into this menacing volume. Punk is Dead is massive, featuring a wide spectrum of bands that initially catalyzed the scene, and later fueled its global expansion. Contributing writers such as Wayne Kramer, Arturo Vega, Kid Congo, David Yow, Annie Anxiety, Duane Peters, Marc McCoy, Tony Alva, Don Bolles, Trudie and Pat Smear, flesh out the visual assault. This long awaited follow-up to the highly influential bestselling book Fucked Up + Photocopied - Instant Art of the Punk Rock Movement also features hard hitting interviews with Ian Mackaye, one of the most respected voices of the DIY music underground, and Malcolm McLaren, likely the most impactful promoter of the early punk movement. From the unknown to the infamous, they will likely be found within the pages of Punk is Dead, Punk is Everything! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Punk is Dead, but this book has everything...
This is a fantastic, hard-bound piece of punk history... the layout is full color and gorgeous. All the scrappy bits of punk history in the form of flyers and playbills, arranged in a truly punk fashion, lacking repetition and never boring.... this is the quintessential punk coffee table book! And incredibly cheap, too. Get one before they're all gone!!!

Killer book, punk hardcore to the max
This is one you gotta get and keep.Once you get yer hands on it, no way will you depart with it.The thing just commands respect.

I hate to sound like some nerd but i am blown away but the size and thickness of this thing.Hardcover monstrosity!Tons of images, tales, opinions all with a wild graphic yet not "arty" layout and design.

i actually wish there was more writing and theories since the guys behind it and the hardcore celebs featured seem very interesting in their writing.But i'll take all the visuals.hey, all us hardcore kids like books with big pictures!

Flyers, always cool
I'm not quite sure how the publisher afforded to print massive hardcover editions of what is essentially a collection of flyers, but i am thankful he did.I love flyers-- they are little pieces of history and art.The layout was unnecessarily jumbled and weird for no reasons many times.Plus the quotes from some punk/hardcore luminaries was uninspiring a best.But who cares ... the book is cool.

Excellent!!!!
Essential for the lovers of the 80's punk & hardcore movement...a must have also for art designers to understand their roots of gig art

comprehenive collection of American punk flyer art
I'm pleased that Bryan Ray Turcotte and his cohorts managed to preserve and resurrect the sometimes annoying, sometimes stunning epehemal art of the 70s-80s punk scene. This is a nicely-packaged collection of the era's most exciting do-it-youself graphics. ... Read more

Product Description
Forming: The Early Days of L.A. Punk brings to life the unprecedented musical and artistic dynamo that was the Los Angeles punk scene from 1978 to 1982. Fueled by ambivalence to the prevailing cultural climate, musicians, artists, writers, photographers, and a diverse audience joined together to produce a flourishing punk community. This book includes numerous images by photographers on the scene as well as reproductions of flyers, magazines, 45s, albums, posters, and other ephemera. Documenting the edgy angst of the local performance art scene are photographs of Johanna Went, the Kipper Kids, and a legendary 1978 performance by Viennese Actionist Herman Nitsch. Also included are texts by Slash magazine editor Claude Bessy; a conversation with Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the band X; and a timeline that juxtaposes the highlights of punk with the low points of popular culture and news-of-the-day. Designed by Steve Samiof, the original publisher and designer of Slash magazine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Great Art Catalog
Many of you may think that this was meant to be some exhaustive or representative book about the early Los Angeles punk scene. Many of you were disappointed, maybe even snarky or angry that it was not. Well, it is not meant to be a tell all or a sociological tome about the scene. It was a companion book for an Art Show called Forming that took place a few years ago. So, save your snark and enjoy it as just another piece in the history of punk rock in Los Angeles. I was glad to see that they have kept this in print for those of us who missed the show. I, because I was too lazy to drag myself over to Santa Monica to see the show and I keep kicking myself over it.
Anyway, just a bit of information to guide you would be buyers. Cheers.

LA Punk: The Glory Days!!!
Great Document of the LA punk Glory Days! Great Pictures, Anecdotes and Attitude about this Scene of the true spirit Rock'n'Roll. Only Four Stars, because it leaves you Hungry for More. It was originally a book to accompany a Gallery show of the Scene. The Bands and characters are all here. X, Screamers, The Germs, etc. I actually have yet to find a book about LA punk that I haven't loved. Keep 'em coming!

I'm not a big X fan, so...
A collection of essays, photos, album covers, and assorted flotsam; Forming doesn't know what it wants to be. For every insightful look at the state of performance art at the dawn of the Punk Rock scene in Los Angeles, there's a glamour shot of Exene Cervenska. The apparent Queen of Punk Rock, Cervenska dominates the book in content. When other writers aren't tossing about her name, pictures of her dominate the page. Meanwhile, she and John Doe basically interview themselves for the fifth and final essay of the book.

For those who are unimpressed with X and all things Cervenska, there are still a few fun facts to know and tell provided in this book. However, Forming is not the documentation of this crucial musical/cultural "scene" that it pretends to be. (ISBN: 1889195448)

Put this one on the top of your list!
One of my personal favorite punk books. There are great photos of the Screamers, Go-go's, Germs, Weirdos, and X, just to name a few. The old flyers will make you wish you were at those legendary shows. The time line of L.A. punk facts is very informative. This single book is more important to any punk book collection than all the hundreds of Sex Pistols' books combined. A definate must.

The Best Book Regarding the Los Angeles Punk Scene
Finally a book about the early Los Angeles Punk scene that is intelligent,inspiring and also in color! From the photos to the text, this book is adefinite must. It feels like a time capsule (and it evenincludes a timeline) and a piece of art. The photos are beautiful and thereare a lot that i have not ever seen before. The best part i feel is theinformal conversation between John Doe and Exene Cervenka from the band X,at the end of the book. This book is a must. ... Read more

Product Description
A day-by-day, eyewitness account of the underground music scene.

Over three years/900 bands/3,300 recordings

Includes bonus CD featuring U2, R.E.M., the Cure, and over 20 more!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The CD saves it all. AND HOW!
This book is nothing REALLY special, just the dates of all (or 99% of them) punk releases of 1980 - 82 period. No articles, nothing on the performers themselves.

So, why 5 stars???

Well, the book comes with a CD (if you buy used make sure it is still included). On it is basically an hour+ long rockumentary! With a lot of tracks (half of them are not full-length though), rare interviews from performers (like Siouxsie And The Banshees and Psychedelic Furs)and a great narrator THE CD ALONE is worth the price of the book. And worth mentioning that the CD is UNIQUE, you can not get it elsewhere!

So, look at this product as a great one-of-a-kind collector's CD with a book of records as a bonus. If you like Punk, BUY THIS ONE!

Post Punk Product for the People
Wow -- what an unbelievable labour of love. Like his first book "PunkRock Diary", George Gimarc has managed to chronical the day to daydoings of hundreds of bands (some known, some who are just names to mostus) during two of the most pivotal years in modern music. If you like PostPunk/New Wave music, buy this book!

Astounding punk document!
this is a great document,even better is "High On Rebellion; Inside the Underground At Max's Kansas City" by Yvonne Sewell Ruskin, loaded with NY Dolls/Johnny Thunders,Psychotic Frogs,Jayne County,CherryVanilla,etc THE REAL SCENE!Yeah!

Essential reading for fans of new wave music.
This is an essential guide to the music that was called new wave and post punk, which, by the way, was THE real "alternative" music, not the junk they label"alternative" today.Not only is this book thoroughly entertaining but it's a great reference source. It has all the acts from that era, from commercial (The Cure, Depeche Mode) to hopelessly obscure (Girls at Our Best, Hurrah!, Freshies, New Musik, et.al.) It comes with a bonus CD that has some nice interviews and snippets of featured artists' songs. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (14)

Did this guy ever listen to punk before American Idiot?
As I started this book I got annoyed with how constantly shoved American Idiot down your throat. Ok I read past that and found some interesting interviews with Kevin Lyman and Brett Gurewitz. Then came the constant talk about Brody Dalle and the Distillers, as if they are the only band recording any sort of punk music. I really think Diehl should be president of their fan club and move on with his life.

When Matt Diehl refers to the Clash or Sex Pistols he stays very vague as if he has heard of them, but has no clue about them in any depth. How can you talk about a subject of modern punk if you have no basis of it's origins? Even when he talks about bands like the Boucing Souls, Alkaline Trio, or NOFX he uses quotes from interviews but doesn't give any feel of their music.

My other gripe is that with all the groups out their making music he really limits the amount of bands he talks about. Oh wait, I can never get enough of American Idiot or the Distillers.

Sloppy and disappointing
Every other negative review is right.

There's a good book to be written about punk in the 90s, the indie vs. mainstream history of the period and the questions about punk authenticity (and how much that idea really matters). This book was a big disappointment. Like other reviewers have pointed out, he's trying to make the Distillers the voice of neo-punk (which didn't really bother me - anybody writing a book like this is going to have a pet band), but it serves as a constant reminder of how this writer involves himself in the story he's telling; the whole thing is either poorly written or badly edited - everyone he quotes is introduced in full ("Tre Cool, drummer for Green Day") even if they were mentioned just a few paragraphs ago; he gets information wrong (Hermosa Beach, as someone pointed out, is not in Orange County, so when he starts complaining about the "OC-ification of punk" it's clear that he doesn't much know what he's talking about).

I should have quit reading when I hit the phrase "Meet the new punk. Definitely (italicized) not the same as the old punk." This is a guy whoitalicizes words for emphasis and paraphrases the Who when talking about punk. Dismal.

Minor details make it sort of weak
It's an interesting read, but by the end of it you realize that Diehl does a bad job of including a variety of punk bands into the mix that are influential.Unlike with Andy Greenwald's "Nothing Feels Good", Diehl offers one chapter to explaining a band's history (The Distillers), while Greenwald dedicated multiple chapters and parts of chapters to explaining the histories of many influential bands in the emo scene.The fact that Diehl only looks at The Distillers, who are NOT, in anyway, as influential as some of the other bands out there, is an eyebrow-raiser for sure.

Also, the editing.Oh.My.God.I can let a few mistakes slide, but it got to the point where I couldn't believe all of these typos were published.It's embarrassing.


Diehl constantly repeating himself I can understand.Maybe he was just assuming some people would pick up the book and only read parts of it.And it worked for me too anyway because if he hadn't kept repeating, I probably would have forgotten anyway.But those typos and the fact that this book is just basically giving Brody Dalle a rimjob really detract from what he was trying to do, and it's unfortunate because it would have been five stars if not for those issues.

Waste of time
This book started off promising but then disintegrated into an entire book about how great the Disitllers, Brody Dalle, Suicide girls and Green Day are.This was one of the most one sided pieces of "jounralism" I've ever read.His view of punk rock is so small minded it's just sad.I wouldn't even recommend this book for kindling.

Failed attempt at a good subject
My So-Called Punk was a pretty sorry attempt at a subject I am quite interested in.Having grown up in the neo-punk scene and an avid reader of the late 1970's punk scene I found most of this book to be a waste.

The first problem is of course the editing, spelling mistakes, grammar errors and even a glaring date error really distracted me.The fact that each person had to be reintroduced every time they were mentioned took me right out of the book as well.Tre Cool was introduced as "who later went on to play drums for Green Day" 3 times in the same short chapter!

I didn't like that the book was written in present tense, things move quickly and many things in the book were no longer relavent.The obsession with The Distillers and particularly Brode Dalle is grating and unnecessary.She is not the influence the book makes her out to be which puts the entire point of the book itself at risk, in my opinion.Creative and unique, perhaps, but to focus on her as the epitome of new-punk seems to be a complete miss.

The only part of the book I really found interesting was the details on what its like to run an independent, DIY label and the roots of Epitaph and Lookout! Records.Otherwise, I would pass on this book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Great First-Hand Memories of London Punk
An interesting and in-depth look at the London punk scene, told by somebody who lived through it in his youth. The big names are all mentioned, but there are also great stories about those who are hardly remembered today. The author tells his story well and is an interesting companion for the journey. ... Read more

Product Description
From its beginnings at World's End, King's Road, London, where Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood turned art into fashion and fashion into life from their shop SEX, punk sent shock waves of anarchistic music, attitude, fashion, and style through Europe, the United States, and beyond with a force that is still at work at the end of the century. Nils and Ray Stevenson were there from the start. More graphically than any other writer, Nils traces the roots of the experience that lay at the heart of punk: "We had no regard for 'authenticity.' We owned it and we manipulated it with an irreverence that was previously unheard of. . . . Punk was a cage to go wild in." The raucous reality of the unfolding story is recreated month by month in Ray's riveting photographs, accompanied by his brother's startlingly frank diary entries and handwritten comments from others who were part of the scene. McLaren and Westwood, the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Clash, the Buzzcocks, the Slits, the Stranglers, and their fellow renegades from across the Atlantic--Richard Hell, the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, and Debbie Harry--all come alive and kicking off the page. The first book to capture the immediacy and excitement of the original punk, this is a must-buy for all fans of punk, neo-punk, and the distinctive British music and fashion scenes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Slice of Life
This book is an excellent photo journal of the early Britpunk era.As the writer was the early manager of Siouxsie and the Banshees, he has included many pics of Siouxsie, along with all the major people during the scene back then.I think this book is a good companion not to "Please Kill Me" (as a previous reviewer mentioned) but to Jon Savage's "England's Dreaming". I say this because Savage's book is all about the British punk scene during the late 70's and he talks about all of the people who appear in photo form (and write their own little notes) in "Vacant"; "Please Kill Me" is really about the American punk scene which was totally different.I agree that Nils Stevenson's journal entries are a little disjointed and don't always connect with the photos being shown, but it doesn't seem to matter all that much because many of the people he mentions are pictured more than once in the book anyway.The quality of the photos, even the live concert shots, are exquisite. The still shots are crisp, with detail that makes them look like they were taken just yesterday.I definitely recommend this book for people interested in the early British punk scene; the photos alone are well-worth the price of the book!

Great Book For Those Interested In Brit Punk and Photography
This book is a great one if your into the '77 sound of the early british punk scene.It's a great companion to the Punk magazine book and "Please Kill Me."It seems to be a bit more honest than "Please Kill Me" and less pretenious also (though I still enjoy "Please Kill Me").The photographs that accompany the text of the diary are great and really show the shoot from the hip attitude that punk music and art had at the time.I would recommend this book for young kids first getting into punk as a primer on the who's who, and also to old timers to get a glipse at their long loved heroes.

Oh so pretty!
A nice addition to the recent explosion of books on punk. With the loverly image of young Sue Catwoman gracing the cover (a cool parody of "Vogue" magazine), you know the publishers are appealing to those already in the know about UK punk. Brothers Nils and Ray Stevenson were chroniclers of this demi-monde, now over twenty years old, and in their words and pictures capture the era.

Color and b/w photos abound, with glorious portraits of all the guilty parties, from the usual suspects like Johnny R, Sid, Siouxsie, & Poly Styrene, to the fringe characters like Debbie Wilson, Linda the dominatrix and Helen Wellington-Lloyd. Nils' diary entries start February 1976 and close August '80 (hanging out with the Banshees on a California beach). In between comes all the mayhem, the excitement, and the wonderful creative, anarchic energy that is true punk rock.

Look how young they all are! Sigh. It's amazing that these kids were between 16 and 20 years old and changed pop music so drastically. It's fun to read the contemporary handwritten comments written about those days by the folks involved. You just know that their lives were forever altered by these couple years.

There's a good intro that traces the roots of punk, from the mods and rockers of the sixties to the teddy boys of the early seventies to Malcolm's shop Sex. This book will go nicely on the shelf with "England's Dreaming," "Rotten," and "Blank Generation." It's not for the casual fan of punk, but for the true fan.

Ageless style when people could still be shocked.
Wow what a book.I once had a scary pet rock that had a mohawk.It brought me back two decades.

Punk before the pretension!
This is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the formative years of punk in the UK, courtesy of Nils' journal entries, and more importantly, through excellent photographs.In many ways this book makes the whole originalpunk scene/moment look not only incredibly avant garde, but also verydisturbingly beautiful and innocent (in a deranged way of course--excludingthe junkie tendencies of many of the characters...).My only complaint isthat I wish the book were a bit meatier text-wise.The photos compensatefor this slightness in text--candid, unstaged photos of Johnny Rotten,Siouxsie et.al. in all their shock glamor splendor. ... Read more

Product Description
The Rough Guide to Punk casts a sneering glance at the musicians, fashions, icons and record labels behind the sub-culture that revolutionized pop music. The guide includes profiles of more than 250 artists, from legends such as the Sex Pistols and X-Ray Spex to contemporary stars like Green Day and Babyshambles. There are critical reviews of landmark albums and classic singles, plus the lowdown on everything from safety pins and bondage trousers to venues like The Roxy and CBGBs. The guide comes complete with recommended playlists of the best, loudest and angriest slices of punk waiting to be downloaded to your iPod or MP3 player. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

No Social D?
I read the review
By A. Ross (OHIO)
Which said
"THEY PUT A BAND LIKE SUM 41 IN HERE BUT THEY FORGET TO WRITE ABOUT SOCIAL DISTORTION..THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY."

And that was all I needed to know.If this book does not contain information on Social Distortion under the title "punk" then someone at Rough Trade has made a HUGE mistake, and I have no use for this title.

.
Like the other reviews for this, I've only flipped through this book and would never consider purchasing it. In addition to the errors listed below, some playlists have band names confused with the names of their songs, the Napalm Death entry says that their first album has over fifty songs on it, when it really has 24, and some of the bands inside just have dismissive reviews of there music instead of actually having a biography (or any information whatsoever). It really seems like this book was written by memory, without any editing or fact-checking whatsoever, especially since most of the errors could have been fixed by simply looking at the liner notes on the records.

I would like to give this no stars at all, but apparently Amazon won't let me.

Could be a cool book if they spent more time on it
I was flipping through this book at the library and thought it was cool, but very poorly done. The book features a history of punk music, followed by a very large sort of encyclopedia of punk bands, and I honestly can't recall what the last section was. Anyway, even though I only flipped through this book for a bit I was able to find several errors and omissions. First of all, they get the year wrong for several albums. They listed Bleach, Nirvana's first album, as having been released in 2002. They also listed their compilation album Incesticide as Insecticide. I noticed a few times where they get information like this wrong. It makes it seem like the book was written by Jackie Harvey from The Onion. Another problem is they leave out important details. The section for The Misfits doesn't mention anything about the recording process or release of their album Static Age, which is probably their most popular album and one of the biggest reasons for renewed interest in the band. Also, when talking about punk bands of the 90s they classify Offspring and Pennywise as "ska punk"., which is just really bizarre. And a lot of the commentary on different bands is heavily opinionated. I think it's cool that the writers try to be a little funny and stuff, but there's parts where they just talk trash about a lot of different bands.

What is good about this book though is that it has brief histories of most major punk bands and a lot of these are complimented by a playlist of some of their most popular songs (although, I noticed there were a couple of playlists that started off by saying they contained 30 songs, but they actually got cut off at around 15. Poor editing, I guess). Sprinkled throughout the book is information about different aspects of punk culture and how they got started, which is pretty cool.

Like I said, the book is a pretty good idea, but it just feels really unfinished.

a lot of bands missing
THEY PUT A BAND LIKE SUM 41 IN HERE BUT THEY FORGET TO WRITE ABOUT SOCIAL DISTORTION..THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY

Need a New Fact checker
I was thumbing through this book in a borders and I just read the section on The Clash but the amount of Facts and dates that were wrong were really horrible and misleading.From what I've read before Terry Chimes did not replace Topper in 1976 and Joe Strummer died in 2002 not 2004! I can't speak for the rest of the book I didn't read it but it's like an A-Z list of punk backs from the 70s to the present. ... Read more

Product Description
Taking us back to late ’70s and early ’80s Hollywood—pre-crack, pre-AIDS, pre-Reagan—We Got the Neutron Bomb re-creates word for word the rage, intensity, and anarchic glory of the Los Angeles punk scene, straight from the mouths of the scenesters, zinesters, groupies, filmmakers, and musicians who were there.

“California was wide-open sex—no condoms, no birth control, no morality, no guilt.” —Kim Fowley

“The Runaways were rebels, all of us were. And a lot of people looked up to us. It helped a lot of kids who had very mediocre, uneventful, unhappy lives. It gave them something to hold on to.” —Cherie Currie

“The objective was to create something for our own personal satisfaction, because everything in our youthful and limited opinion sucked, and we knew better.” —John Doe

“The Masque was like Heaven and Hell all rolled into one. It was a bomb shelter, a basement. It was so amazing, such a dive ... but it was our dive.” —Hellin Killer

“At least fifty punks were living at the Canterbury. You’d walk into the courtyard and there’d be a dozen different punk songs all playing at the same time. It was an incredible environment.” —Belinda Carlisle

Assembled from exhaustive interviews, We Got the Neutron Bomb tells the authentically gritty stories of bands like the Runaways, the Germs, X, the Screamers, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks—their rise, their fall, and their undeniable influence on the rock ’n’ roll of today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Crazy Stories
Covers Southern California's sun drenched punk scene from Jim Morrison berating audiences in 1968 to the GoGos crossing over into the mainstream in 1981. We get the decline of the hippies, the rise and fall of Glitter (and/or Glam), the affront that was Disco and the beginning of MTV, which changed everything.

It's a collection of interview snippets from a wide cast of characters. Some of the people are fans, some were the business people behind the scenes, some were the musicians. Such as - Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Pat Smear, Exene Cervenka, Henry Rollins, Mike Watt, John Doe, Kim Fowley, Lee Ving, amongst many others. (Greg Ginn wasn't in there. I don't know if he doesnt' talk to the media or not, but he's the biggest gap that I noticed.)

It was a fun read. They talk about getting into punk. How LA punk was different from the NY scene and the London scene. They talk about wanting to get away from the stultifying suburbia they grew up in. What life was like for outsider kids in the 70's. How they learned to live on their own. Some of my favorite stories were about how they lived together at the Canterbury apartments and the Plunger Pit. Some crazy and hilarious stuff.

If you want an in depth history this probably isn't for you. If are looking for an entertaining oral history of the time and place, I'd say this most likely is for you. I really enjoyed it.

This town is our town
I'm not sure if anyone else remembers a great VH1 show, Legends, from the late 90's in which, without narration, members of, say, The Clash or Led Zeppelin might sit around, be interviewed for a while, then intersperse video of a concert or event somewhere.I was reminded of that format reading We Got The Neutron Bomb which overlaps one interview after another.Reading the end notes, you get a glimpse of the method - age-old documentary transcripts, long gone fanzine interviews mixed with modern day recollections.The fact that someone took the time to compile all of this disparate work into one cohesive and at times mesmerizing, structured approach is a gift in itself.Yet something else grabbed me with We Got The Neutron Bomb, and that's the approach to what it means to be a "scene" and its lasting impact.Starting from the roots - a group of kids simply being stunned by David Bowie walking around town in a dress, which led to having a place to hang out and listen to music, to drugged-out apartment complexes, to people who never had any "talent" per se but felt what they wanted to express.Somewhere that spawned bands that eventually made music that's lasting, musicians that succeeded, and movements that never really went away.Reading these recollections as we are with one person after another, you almost become a part of the crowd - you're taken from a time when The Germs performed by stuffing a microphone in peanut butter, to Lita Ford terrifying her bandmates in The Runaways, to X playing the Whiskey on the night Exene Cervenka's sister died, to the Go-go's drug-binge-heavy recording of Beauty and the Beat.So many vivid personalities emerge, but truly the one that signifies the whole culture is Darby Crash, the poetic, self-destructive head of The Germs whose lifelong journey to a heroin overdose seemed predestined the moment he arrived.He's like Sid Vicious with a side of prostitution, and in compiling one recollection after another, Mullen and Spitz make him a true legend, someone who lived and was martyred for the world he helped create.This is a book that materializes a vital world that seemed to be made up on the spot, and lets you know why that process mattered.

Disappointing
As an important figure in the early LA punk scene, Brendan Mullen theoretically would have amounted to an ideal figure to recount its history. Alas, he and co-author Spitz fall short of the mark, though to be fair, this may have owed more to their publisher. What should have been colorful anecdotes are compressed into blips that barely make an impression. The lingering after-effect, on finishing this book, is that it follows too closely in format the superior "Please Kill Me," which largely concerned the NYC punk scene -- and that in turn reflects poorly on the scene in LA, as if that, like this book, followed too closely the scene in NYC. Not true! The LA scene awaits a better recounting. But "Neutron Bomb," although seriously lacking, it still a decent place to begin.

Anyone who loves punk needs to read this.
The first time i read this book was in college and I loved it so much that I checked it out over and over again untill a few years down the road I eventually purchased it. Anyone who loves Fear, The Germs, X, The Go-Go's, The Screamers must read it, but I can guarentee you will want to read it again and again, like I did.

It's no "Please Kill Me"
Picked this and the new _American Hardcore: A Tribal History_ up at the same time. Despite listening to the West Coast punk bands growing up, I knew far less about them and that scene than I did about their contemporaries in New York, England and even DC (well-covered in "Our Band Could Be Your Life").

The first half is tedious, spending too much time on the fading glam scene and teenage groupies - unlike the Doors/VU/Iggy chapters of _Please Kill Me_ they don't really tell you how this scene fed into punk rock.

The latter half takes off fairly well, when X and the Germs (and Black Flag and Social Distortion, etc.) start to make records and we actually get to read about them instead of which Chinese restaurant/bar was booking shows for a little while.

A key difference with this one vs. _Please Kill Me_ is that they had (it seems) less access to personalities that readers will recognize. Fewer famous acts from LA than NY, and some wouldn't speak to the authors, so they had to rely on people.

Skip this and find a bootleg of _The Decline of Western Civilization_ for a more intimate account of what LA punk rock looked and sounded like. ... Read more

Product Description
In Britain during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new phenomenon emerged, with female guitarists, bass-players, keyboard players and drummers playing in bands. Before this time, women's presence in rock bands, with a few notable exceptions, was always as vocalists. This sudden influx of female musicians into the male domain of rock music was brought about partly by the enabling ethic of punk rock ('anybody can do it!') and partly by the impact of the Equal Opportunities Act. But just as suddenly as the phenomenon arrived, the interest in these musicians evaporated and other priorities became important to music audiences. Helen Reddington investigates the social and commercial reasons for how these women became lost from the rock music record, and rewrites this period in history in the context of other periods when female musicians have been visible in previously male environments. Reddington draws on her own experience as bass player in a punk band, thereby contributing a fresh perspective on the socio-political context of the punk scene and its relationship with the media.The book also features a wealth of original interview material with key protagonists, including the late John Peel, Geoff Travis, The Raincoats and the Poison Girls. ... Read more

Product Description
This lively and entertaining revisionist history of rock music after 1970 reconsiders the roles of two genres, heavy metal and punk. Instead of considering metal and punk as aesthetically opposed to each other, Steve Waksman breaks new ground by showing that a profound connection exists between them. Metal and punk enjoyed a charged, intimate relationship that informed both genres in terms of sound, image, and discourse. This Ain't the Summer of Love traces this connection back to the early 1970s, when metal first asserted its identity and punk arose independently as an ideal about what rock should be and could become, and upends established interpretations of metal and punk and their place in rock history. ... Read more

Product Description
A Da Capo Original: A unique look at New York's legendary underground culture from the 1950s Beat Generation through the 1970s Punk explosion and right into the 1990s.

Here, accompanied by dozens of unique photographs, are the very best of Victor Bockris's infamous interviews, essays, and observations on the stars of downtown Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s. The internationally acclaimed biographer Bockris was there as a witness, friend, collaborator, and co-conspirator. Some of the stars were founder members of Beat or Punk, others were just passing through. But all of them--rockers, rebels, artists, and intellectuals--revealed more to Bockris than they did to any other writer: Allen Ginsberg, Richard Hell, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Debbie Harry, William Burroughs, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, Terry Southern, Martin Amis, Susan Sontag. Bockris's conclusion--that Punk owed the Beats a big debt and that the Beats were in turn re-animated by the Punks--is argued from the perspective of someone who was in the thick of it, and who loved every minute of it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Beat Generation from most of the way inside
Victor Bockris has a knack for being around interesting people and his essays and interviews of the Beat Generation celebrities are legendary. This book is cobbled together from those writings. We see Burroughs and Ginsberg, followed by their punk worshippers Patti Smith and Richard Hell, with Susan Sontag, Andy Warhol, and Robert Mapplethorpe along the way. Beat turns to Punk, and this book comes to market. Interesting bits on the people involved, but you're always left wanting for a bit more. ... Read more

Product Description
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Los Lobos, and the Go-Gos got their starts in the 1980s Los Angeles music scene. Collected here are the forefathers of this era, speaking out in voices that only the truly initiated possess. Don Snowden has assembled the writers who knew and lived this scene, who were this scene. Color photo insert. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

& it Did Go Bang!!!
Very Good Overview of the Seminal late 70's Punk Scene & beyond. The LA scene seemed to Rise up on its own Without The Rock Press giving much notice or influence. That is a Good thing. New York was "Too Cool" London "Too Reactionary" But the LA scene since it was very much more ofa Vacuum, was able to Grow up on its own terms & inevitably Crumble under Its own Terms too. The Book has many Voices telling the Tale, The Best way to tell almost Any Rock history. Loosely put together, which gives a Great Feel of the scene for those Stuck Elsewhere, because of Age, Location, or Natural Selection! Beer! Pills! Loud Guitars! Many New unseen Pictures. Great Cast of Characters. This Book sits Nicely next to "We've got the Neutron Bomb" & "Forming" as Great History Books of the Wonderful LA Punk scene. Poseurs Note: Black clothing is Nice, but Wild Colors Look Much better in the Southern California Sunshine, when you are Stoned(I imagine)!

Really puts you there
I just finished re-reading this book after a few months, and it's even better than I remembered. This is the only book I've found that has classic L.A. punk (as opposed to band) photos - pics that I remember looking at twenty-five years ago, and being influenced by them. It talks about Baces Hall and the Vex; this really is the book to buy if you want to get a feel of what it was like. I upped this review from four to five stars, because it's even better the second time around. If you were there, in the mid-seventies to early eighties, it'll bring back great memories; if you weren't there - Make The Music Go Bang will give you a glimpse into what was an amazing scene.

Overpriced and Perfunctory
I bought this "history" at a time when I was obsessed by the L.A. hardcore scene. Any information on it at all would have been like steak to famished hounds. So why was I let down?

Maybe I was spoiled by excellent books like the essential "Banned in D.C.", but this one did little to satisfy my curiosity. It has some nice photographs and interesting (though brief and overly congenial) chapters by Brendan Mullen and Keith Morris. It has a list of punk venues and hang-outs in L.A. back in the day. But there's nothing else of substance. No history of the development of punk music in California, few exciting anecdotes, and almost no descriptions of performers and punks. What were these people like? What were their inspirations, what drew them together, how did it feel to be a part of this tribe? You won't find out here.

I guess the main draw of the book is the photographs, but there are none from the most interesting and creative era in L.A. punk: pre-1979. And the slender commentary meant to tie these cryptic images together has an overly precious and wistful tone: the equivalent of an old hippie sighing, "You just hadda be there, man...." Half the chronoclers seem to have turned complacent and a little ashamed of their pasts, and others, like Claude Bessy (whose contribution is particularly worthless, rest his soul) deem themselves too "hip" to even try to be coherent. My overall impression is that a true, old-school punk would've ripped a book like this to shreds. Glibness, indifference, and price tag included, it's in denial of everything the movement originally stood for.

DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!
This book, to say the most is O.K., the writing, as a 1 on 1 peice is great, but when they put it toghter it's too much, like a "we we're just there to party" kinda thing, no real mentions of bands no realstories, just a kinda what-were-we-thinking kinda book. There was no photosfrom the 70s since only Gary's photos are in this book and it's too badbecause they missed out! I don't think I saw one picture of the Weirdos,the Screamers, the Bags, the Eyes, the Controllers - I can go on..

insightful look at a wild time!
this book is cool, but even better is "High On Rebellion/Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City" by Yvonne Sewell Ruskin, loaded with NY Dolls/Johnny Thunders,Psychotic Frogs,Jayne County, Cherry Vanilla, etcTHE REAL SCENE! YEAH! ... Read more

Product Description
Celebrating friendships that have been bound together by music since 1979, Susie J. Horgan's largely unpublished images were taken as friend and participant on the music scene, rather than as a journalist, and are both an exceptional contribution to the history of punk as well as a true reflection of punk values. She captured iconic photographs of such hardcore legends as Minor Threat, S.O.A., Teen Idles, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Cramps, Untouchables, Youth Brigade, the Germs, and many others. Punk Love documents specifically the birth of the early Washington, D.C., punk movement in 1979. D.C. punk was a different kind of punk. It was hardcore. It was explosive. It was revolutionary. But people misread punk rock as being about hate and anger. It was spiritual. It was about self-respect and justice-basic morals and values. This is punk love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I still love DC Hardcore
I loved this book!It was very cool looking through Suzie's early pics of documenting the birth of the DC Hardcore scene.Many of the pics are just great.

Good book
This book has some awesome pictures in it. Having grown up 40 minutes south of DC, seeing those pics brought back great memories of shows and fun times had. There is a foreward by Henry Rollins and an interview of the author by Ian Mackaye, but this is primarily a picture book.

Flash in Time
I went to the book launch party for this a few weeks ago, and all I can say is "Wow!" This beautifully designed and produced book is a little photo album which captures the people and energy of the Washington, D.C. punk scene circa 1980-81. Susie Horgan was in college there at the time, and worked in the Georgetown Hagen Daaz ice cream parlor alongside punk legends Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye. She was just starting to learn how to use her camera, and happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right attitude to capture these two indie music legends in their goofy early years, along with a plethora of other local musicians and scenesters.

The book is divided into five sections, along with a preface by Rollins and a conversation between MacKaye and Horgan. The first section, "Ice Cream, You Scream" is a cheerful series of Rollins and MacKaye horsing around the Hagen Daaz parlor. It's notable for rendering a pair of guys known for their seriousness, dourness, and sometimes anger, as a pair of goofy teenagers. Next is "Minor Disturbance", which is basically bits of the cover shoot for the Teen Idles 7" of the same name -- and features the iconic shots of the crossed X'd-up hands. "Get Up and Go" is a series of shots of MacKaye riding his skateboard, and "Riding with Henry" is just a few shots of Rollins driving. These are just the opening acts for the largest section, "Getting in to the Shows," which is where the book really comes alive. Horgan captures the scene inside and outside of iconic DC venues like the Wilson Center, dc space, the old 9:30 club, and Woodlawn High School. All the major bands of the era appear, especially Minor Threat, SOA, G.I., along with lesser known bands such as Red Cross, Black Market Baby, and the Stimulators.

Overall this is a beautiful testament to the vibrancy of the early D.C. scene and makes a great companion to the two other major books on the era: Banned in D.C. and Dance of Days. Great stuff! ... Read more

Product Description
More than just a new direction in music, punk rock ignited a cultural revolution. Its intense, exciting emergence in the Bay Area is captured in Punk 77. In more than 100 searing, fully-captioned photos — including early shots of The Damned, The Ramones, Blondie, Nico, and Devo —the book traces the punk movement in San Francisco from its earliest days through the January 1978 Sex Pistols concert. Interviews and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the Dils, Penelope Houston, Negative Trend, the Nuns, Dirk Dirksen, V. Vale, and others provide insights and illumination into both the music and the social, political, and economic factors punks rebelled against. While many of these colorful early adopters have died, their influence is still felt in the music of East Bay artists like Green Day and Rancid, and their incendiary thoughts live on in this inspiring, essential historical document — a counterculture manual for subversion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awsome and detailed interviews and photos
I actually got this book at the garage sale that Vale (the publisher) had a few weeks back and it was a fun experience in itself.The book is loaded with great pictures and interviews with a lot of the local scenesters in SFbefore the decline of the initial scene by "jock-punks" from thesuburbs.I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in undergroundAmerican history. I was actually mostly impressed with the socio-economicsituation which existed at the time, the book delves into that aspect viathe interviews quite a bit! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting.
I purchased this mostly for the interviews with Kathleen Hanna and Sleater-Kinney, but I ended up really enjoying the entire book. The interviews are always insightful and interesting, and a wide variety are included...Noam Chomsky was one that I wasn't expecting to find.

There are thirty interviews in all, so this is definitely good value for the price. ... Read more

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