Please Kill Me


Book Description

Now in paperback, this first oral history of the most nihilistic of all pop movements brings the sound of the punk generation chillingly to life with 50 new pages of depraved testimony. "Please Kill Me" reads like a fast-paced novel, but the tragedies it contains are all too human and all too real. photos.




Punk


Book Description

On the thirtieth anniversary of the rise to popularity of punk rock, a collection of articles, interviews, and photography looks at the history of punk and the artists, music, and culture it spawned.




Elpaso: A Punk Story


Book Description




My Damage


Book Description

Keith Morris is a true punk icon. No one else embodies the sound of Southern Californian hardcore the way he does. With his waist-length dreadlocks and snarling vocals, Morris is known the world over for his take-no-prisoners approach on the stage and his integrity off of it. Over the course of his forty-year career with Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, and OFF!, he's battled diabetes, drug and alcohol addiction, and the record industry . . . and he's still going strong. My Damage is more than a book about the highs and lows of a punk rock legend. It's a story from the perspective of someone who has shared the stage with just about every major figure in the music industry and has appeared in cult films like The Decline of Western Civilization and Repo Man. A true Hollywood tale from an L.A. native, My Damage reveals the story of Morris's streets, his scene, and his music-as only he can tell it.




Punk Story


Book Description

1977, Silver Jubilee year and the punk movement is breaking out among British youth, spreading moral panic. Paul Bottle and friends are just leaving college, when he is seduced by the vibrant punk scene and suddenly his life begins. Next door neighbour Stan forms his own band, Mortal Wound and gigs and new music explode around them. When EMI offer a record contract to the best local punk group, furious competition breaks out among all the rivals. A ruthless ‘Battle of the Bands' contest ensues that summer. If you were an original punk - or a younger person interested - this book puts you right back there among it. In a gripping, often hilarious, sometimes touching story, the music, the whole period and - most importantly - the brilliant people - are brought back to us. We feel the social pain and desire that fuelled the whole phenomenon, generally amid times of economic hardship and political conflict. Most of all we feel the energy and excitement and hilarity.




Punk Rock


Book Description

With its own fashion, culture, and chaotic energy, punk rock boasted a do-it-yourself ethos that allowed anyone to take part. Vibrant and volatile, the punk scene left an extraordinary legacy of music and cultural change. John Robb talks to many of those who cultivated the movement, such as John Lydon, Lemmy, Siouxsie Sioux, Mick Jones, Chrissie Hynde, Malcolm McLaren, Henry Rollins, and Glen Matlock, weaving together their accounts to create a raw and unprecedented oral history of UK punk. All the main players are here: from The Clash to Crass, from The Sex Pistols to the Stranglers, from the UK Subs to Buzzcocks—over 150 interviews capture the excitement of the most thrilling wave of rock ’n’ roll pop culture ever. Ranging from its widely debated roots in the late 1960s to its enduring influence on the bands, fashion, and culture of today, this history brings to life the energy and the anarchy as no other book has done.




Straight Edge


Book Description

Starting in 1981 via Minor Threat's revolutionary call to arms, the clean and positive straight edge hardcore punk movement took hold and prospered during the 1980s, earning a position as one of the most durable yet chronically misunderstood music subcultures. Straight edge created its own sound and visual style, went on to embrace vegetarianism, and later saw the rise of a militant fringe. As the "don't drink, don't smoke" message spread from Washington, D.C., to Boston, California, New York City, and, eventually, the world, adherents struggled to define the fundamental ideals and limits of what may be the ultimate youth movement. Tony Rettman traces the story of straight edge from adolescent origins to enduring counterculture via fresh first-hand accounts from the clear and alert members of Minor Threat, SS Decontrol, Youth of Today, DYS, Slapshot, Uniform Choice, 7 Seconds, Stalag 13, Justice League, Chain of Strength, No for an Answer, Insted, Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, Bold, Projec




Punk Fiction


Book Description

Punk Fiction is an anthology of short stories, poems and illustrations submitted by an impressive line up of contributors. Each piece of work shares one unifying theme – everything included in this collection will be inspired by a punk rock song. The book will open with a foreword by former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Contributors have been hand-picked from the generations that followed the punk revolution; those at the forefront of contemporary popular culture, who have been (and are still being) influenced by the movement, rather than punk’s original vanguard. Though they are drawn mainly from music, those involved also embrace all corners of the arts and include some of the most exciting contemporary authors around. The book will act as proof (if any were needed) that the punk rock legacy was not merely musical but that the stones it cast upon the surface of cultural life created ripples that reached into every corner, and exerted a force that continues to this day. All proceeds raised by the book will be donated to The Teenage Cancer Trust. The book has already been guaranteed the lead review in Mojo magazine on release, as well as the front page of MySpace, which reaches eight million registered users. NME, Q and The Guardian will also support the book’s publication. Due to the list of contributors it is sure to garner substantial media interest. It is also worth bearing in mind that large fanbases will be accessed via many of the contributors’ mailing databases, for example Bloc Party, who currently have a database of 60,000 fans to whom the book will be heavily publicised.




Pretty Vacant


Book Description

Traces the history of punk music from its underground roots to the mainstream charts, from Britain to the U.S., including bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, and the Talking Heads, and figures such as Sid Vicious and Iggy Pop.




Revenge of the She-Punks


Book Description

As an industry insider and pioneering post-punk musician, Vivien Goldman’s perspective on music journalism is unusually well-rounded. In Revenge of the She-Punks, she probes four themes—identity, money, love, and protest—to explore what makes punk such a liberating art form for women. With her visceral style, Goldman blends interviews, history, and her personal experience as one of Britain’s first female music writers in a book that reads like a vivid documentary of a genre defined by dismantling boundaries. A discussion of the Patti Smith song “Free Money,” for example, opens with Goldman on a shopping spree with Smith. Tamar-Kali, whose name pays homage to a Hindu goddess, describes the influence of her Gullah ancestors on her music, while the late Poly Styrene's daughter reflects on why her Somali-Scots-Irish mother wrote the 1978 punk anthem “Identity,” with the refrain “Identity is the crisis you can't see.” Other strands feature artists from farther afield (including in Colombia and Indonesia) and genre-busting revolutionaries such as Grace Jones, who wasn't exclusively punk but clearly influenced the movement while absorbing its liberating audacity. From punk's Euro origins to its international reach, this is an exhilarating world tour.




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