The book is called Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. It was collected and curated by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.
What made this book interesting?
Please Kill Me attempts to piece together a linear narrative about the evolution of punk rock in America in 1970s. It does this by collecting and ordering interviews with primary and secondary figures on the scene, both musicians and support personnel.
What did I learn from this book?
Many of the big names in the early punk scene have attained a mythical status, but the authors portray these figures in a humanizing way, often to the subjects' detriment. This was both disappointing to learn, as I had idolized many of them, but also interesting, as it made them seem more like people instead of punk rock gods.
Who was my favorite character?
Iggy Pop was the most compelling, not only because of how early he and his band are considered part of the scene, but also the way he portrays himself as a victim both of circumstance and of his own poorly controlled impulses. The early Ramones were bored teenagers completely lacking in morals, and the British scene felt like a caricature of the New York scene, but Iggy Pop seemed connected everywhere, almost as though he were accidentally orchestrating something.
Final thoughts?
Punk rock is bone-head stupid. The music could generally be written by musicians within a year on their respective instruments. A five-year-old can sing along to the average Ramones song on the third listen. Many of the important figures in the scene were their own worst enemies, frequently destroying their bands and themselves. Lyrical themes are repetitive and simple, frequently rebellious, snotty, angry. The scene was birthed through sheer force of personality. I've loved it since the day I found it.
Here are albums I listened to while reading the book:
*The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico '67
*The Doors - The Doors '67
David Peel & the Lower East Side - Have a Marijuana '68
MC5 - Kick Out the Jams '69
The Stooges - The Stooges '69
The Stooges - Fun House '70
*The Stooges - Raw Power '73
New York Dolls - New York Dolls '73
New York Dolls - Too Much Too Soon '74
Lou Reed - Lou Reed '72
*Lou Reed - Transformer '72
Lou Reed - Berlin '72
Lou Reed - Sally Can't Dance '74
Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music '75
*The Dictators - Go Girl Crazy! '75
Patti Smith - Horses '75
Patti Smith - Radio Ethiopia '76
Patti Smith - Easter '78
Patti Smith - Wave '79
*The Ramones - Ramones '76
*The Ramones - Leave Home '77
The Ramones - Rocket to Russia '78
*The Ramones - Road to Ruin '79
The Ramones - End of the Century '80
David Bowie - Station to Station '76
*Iggy Pop & James Williamson - Kill City '77
Iggy Pop - The Idiot '77
*Iggy Pop - Lust for Life '77
*Iggy Pop - New Values '79
Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Blank Generation '77
The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F. '77
*Dead Boys - Young Loud and Snotty '77
The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistols '77
Johnny Thunders - So Alone '78
*Television - Marquee Moon '77
Television - Adventure '78
Television - Live at the Old Waldorf, San Francisco '78
Blondie - Blondie '76
Blondie - Plastic Letters '77
*The Damned - Damned Damned Damned '77
The Saints - (I'm) Stranded '77
Wire - Pink Flag '77
*Radio Birdman - Radios Appear '77
Suicide - Suicide '77
Chrome - Alien Soundtracks '77
The Jam - This is the Modern World '77
The Real Kids - The Real Kids '77
The Clash - The Clash '77*The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope '78
The Clash - London Calling '79
The Slits - Cut '79
The Lords of the New Church - The Lords of the New Church '82
The Lords of the New Church - Is Nothing Sacred '83
The Lords of the New Church - The Method to Our Madness '84
*Album of special interest or quality (usually owned)
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