American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush
It was very hard to get started reading American Hardcore: A Tribal History without a series of expectations already built in. I had read so many reviews of the book and heard so much complaining from a number of people that it seemed like I would get nothing [...]
If you’ve ever been a reader of fanzines, then there’s no doubt that you’ve at least heard of the almighty Cometbus. For over 20 years, Aaron Elliot has been self-publishing this impressive fanzine full of journal entries, fiction and interesting historical sidenotes. His dedication to quality over quantity and to producing a completely consistent body [...]
“Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” by Legs McNeil and Gillian Anderson
The argument has been going on since the first Clash album as to who “started” punk rock.
The between-the-lines argument is just as old: US versus UK. Depending on who you ask, the music we anarchists(TM) cherish was born to the tradition [...]
I haven’t met too many people who are as ambivalent to Henry Rollins as I am. It seems like most people either relate to and understand the guy’s point of view or despise him as a hypocritical, macho thick neck. While I find most of his current musical output boring and his spoken word [...]