Reddit mentions: The best books about punk music

From top right:

The Antlers - Hospice - I had just seen them the day before I bought this. I'd been meaning to get it for a while. Sounds just as I hoped it would - amazing. I really love having a large physical version of the album, I really like the art.

The Field - Sun & Ice - Also had just seen The Field the day prior to buying this. I think this is the single before From Here We Go To Sublime. It's an excellent EP/Single. I had only starting listening to The Field after seeing a tweet from a webcomic's author and fell in love immediately.

The Field - Things Keep Falling Down - Same situation as before. From wiki, this is one of his first 12" releases.

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 - Not going to lie, I only started listening to Tim Hecker about a week and a half ago. Then I saw him at Moogfest the same day I bought this album. I think he played the first half or so of this album. I was blown away. I haven't had a chance to listen to it (though I have digitally) but I know it's going to be an experience.

A Silver Mt. Zion - Horses in the Sky - I'm slowly working on completing my ASMZ collection. Slowly. I picked up 13 Blues and This is Our Punk Rock over 2 years ago. 2xLP and 3 sides, and the 4th side has some cool etches.

Wire - Pink Flag - I've been looking for this forever. It's a 180g reissue, but I don't mind. I'm listening to it now and wow. I've been listening to it on my laptop so long that I could never have expected how great it sounds. I'm going to work on getting other Wire records soon.

Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material - My dad's got the original issuing of this right upstairs. I got this one because I wanted my own copy, this (like Wire) is a reissue. Maybe one day I can inherit the original pressing, haha.

Public Image Ltd - Album - I got this one because I had just read John Lydon's autobiography and, although I had been listening to PiL for a bit I hadn't really invested too much listening time to them. Now I got this album so I can do as such.

I saw some other excellent stuff while I was there: Yanqui UXO, a bunch of Flipper albums, Justice's Cross (which I was SO tempted to get, but I didn't have an extra $25), and so much more stuff. And I got a free T-shirt for spending over $100, haha.

If you're ever in Asheville, NC, make sure to check out Harvest Records, as well as all the other excellent stores they've got spread throughout downtown!

There was three really great books that I found extremely helpful foodwise when I was a vegan. They're also chock full of easy to make great recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/Please-Dont-Feed-Bears-Cookbook/dp/097705571X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317867686&sr=8-1 Please don't feed the Bears is an excellent zine-esque cookbook that focuses on cheap and easy to make vegan meals while educating you about the health benefits.

http://www.amazon.com/Soy-Not-Oi-Joel-Olson/dp/1904859194/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317868985&sr=1-1
Product Description
An authorized reprint of the classic vegan cookbook. Over 100 recipes designed to destroy the government, complete with musical notes to accompany the chef. A sure-fire winner for every revolutionary palate

It's fairly anarchist slanted but it's chock full of great recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Farm-Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/0913990604/ref=pd_sim_b29
THIS RIGHT HERE IS ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS EVER.

Ignore the fact that it says vegetarian, as most of the book is chock full of vegan stuff. They also teach you how to keep a healthy diet and keep your vitamins up.

"Industrial" music started here

http://www.discogs.com/label/Industrial+Records

The slogan "Industrial music for Industrial people", coined by the lovely Monte Cazazza, was where the actual term "Industrial music" comes from.

Largely it was a synthesis of medium and message; through a combination of sound and presentation TG looked to communicate thoughts, feelings and criticisms of modern (between 1975-1981) life. It was NOT about noise for noise sake. It was experimental. Listen to 20 Jazz Funk Greats, listen to D.O.A; these are not super noisy records but they are Industrial.

This is great reading for more of the story http://www.amazon.com/Wreckers-Civilisation-Transmissions-Throbbing-Gristle/dp/1901033600/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347582593&sr=1-1&keywords=wreckers+of+civilization

As far as bands that embody that synthesis of form and message, making more a collage project than just a "band" (and that don't involve directly members of TG) , I can think of a few off the top of my head: Prurient,Death Grips, Grouper, Msott (maybe). And actually...although I'm not a fan...I have to hand it to Amanda Palmer for putting her money where he mouth is and making the form and concept of her music mesh in a way not dissimilar from how TG employed fans to create zine's and fans clubs.

In short, to me, Industrial Music represents a holistic view of artwork involving the process, presentation and final output in a raw and honestly emotional or intellectual way.

Well, the bands that made it out of the 70s were the exception rather than the rule. And the Pistols (and the Damned, and countless other "proper" punk bands) were really just recycling '50s rock & roll, but louder and sneerier. Initially it was interesting and "arty" but it became a rigid template incredibly quickly.

There's a reason Lydon went on to PiL - because he was clearly better than punk would let him be as Johnny Rotten. And Siouxsie Sioux and Pete Murphy effectively invented Goth because equally, punk wasn't open to the things they wanted to do. The bands that stuck with it - UK Subs, The Damned, even the Clash - just recycled the old stuff or kept with mainstream pop/rock styles into the '80s.

What I've read of the original punk scene tends to paint it as aggressively conservative. The bands may have initially been "experimental" but once the die was cast, that was it. TG were lumped in with punk initially, although they were clearly much more of an intellectual endeavour, because of their transgressive style. Subcultures, scenes and music genres weren't really that much of a thing to most people, so there was a huge amount of crossover in who would play gigs and what the audience would be like.

You should read 'Lipstick Traces' by Greil Marcus, 'Rip It Up And Start Again' by Simon Reynolds and, most certainly, 'Wreckers of Civilization' by Simon Ford, for a great cross-section of the late 70s music scene.

Read Nothing Feels Good. All your answers lie within that book:

Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and EMO https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312308639/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_b1bqDb7MDE8FN

As a TL:DR, Emo has gone through several waves of popularity and genre fusions, so it gets confusing.

To summarize the last 30 years, Emo started as a reaction to political hardcore bands in the 80s (Rites of Spring), then it sort of mutated into alt/indie rock (Sunny Day Real Estate, The Promise Ring, Jawbreaker) in the 90s.

The reason people have the reaction to Emo they have now is because of its next mutation was less a musical style and more of a lifestyle/subculture that blew up in the early to mid-aughts. This was Emo's largest mutation, which is why it's hard to define.

Bands like Dashboard Confessional led the way, while bands like Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, and (whether they agree/like it or not) Thursday pushed it along for bands like My Chemical Romance to elevate it to its height.

Today, we're seeing a reaction to that mid-aughts Emo subculture. Beginning in about 2009/10, bands like Fireworks and The World is a Beautiful Place... have taken us sort of full circle. Now Emo can be defined by twinkly or clean guitars (Tiny Moving Parts), or even more of a grunge-y sound (Citizen, Movements, Moose Blood). For a full experience of what Emo is in 2019, listen to Sunsleeper; they are an amalgam of Citizen, Movements, and Brand New.

For me Emo is back in that sweet spot, like how it was in the late 90s, early aughts before it blew up. I don't think it's going to blow up that way again, but for now it's nice to have consistently good music coming out from the scene while everyone else ignores it.

I don't think you asked for a history lesson, but get me started on Emo and I can't shut up (I really just wanted to post the link to the book and look where it took me, haha).

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, or whatever the kids say these days.

Long story short, I hate reading and have only read 2 books since I graduated high school 16 years ago. But just finished one of those books yesterday. NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories. And only after it sat on a shelf collecting dust for over 2 years before I finally said "it's time."

I'd recommend that to anyone who was or is a NOFX fan or anyone who's a fan or interested in the 80s Southern California punk scene. These guys tell it like it is and don't hold anything back. It'll make you wince, laugh, cry and want to punch someone in the face.

And in honor of their 5th and all time best selling album turning 25 years old yesterday, here's some Linoleum

I think it's cool too. We have a punk rock activity book in our house that gets a lot of use. Just because this letter says "fuck" doesn't make it bad. If the kid can't read yet, who cares, and if they can, the overall message is one promoting kindness, love, and punk rock.

New Order

True Faith (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zzeNAUOp17c)

Age of Consent (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ahU-x-4Gxw)

Here to Stay (with the Chemical Brothers) (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx3uZtQRs_U)

Bonus: "How Not to Run A Club", memoir written by New Order and Joy Division bassist Peter Hook about his connection with the Haçienda, at one time the most notable nightclub in the world. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Hacienda-How-Not-Club/dp/0062307959)

Yeah, this is a great source for info on the Stooges. The Best of Punk Magazine by John Holmstrom also has some great pieces on Iggy and the Stooges as well. Both Legs McNeil and John Holmstrom were involved in creating Punk Magazine.

Goth is about the music. A good book to read about the history of goth music is "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84" by Simon Reynolds. (UK version.)


> Punk's raw power rejuvenated rock, but by summer 1977 it had become a parody of itself. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84 is a celebration of what happened next--bands like Joy Division, Gang of Four, Wire, Contortions, Talking Heads, The Fall, Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League--who dedicated themselves to fulfilling punk's unfinished musical revolution. Based on over 125 interviews, Rip It Up offers a panoramic survey of the seven year period following punk, taking in everything from PIL to ABC to SST to ZTT, and dealing with genres including industrial, 2-Tone, synthpop, and goth.

Interviews include goth bands, but also bands that were influential to goth bands.

Bands like: Bauhaus. Siouxsie & The Banshees. The Cure. The Birthday Party. Killing Joke. Virgin Prunes. Theatre of Hate. Sisters of Mercy. Southern Death Cult. Throbbing Gristle. Whitehouse. Nurse With Wound. Clock DVA. 23 Skidoo. Husker Du. Mission of Burma. Meat Puppets. Psychic TV. Cabaret Voltaire. Coil. Foetus. Einsturzende Neubauten. Test Dept. Swans. Depeche Mode. (& more!)



http://ripitupinfohype.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/info-on-rip-it-up-and-start-again.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rip-Up-Start-Again-1978-1984/dp/057121570X?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Very good. In the event my Santa needs some inspiration: books are great. I don't have any denim related reading, and /u/KingOCarrotFlowers informed me of a cool music series, so these books are on the wishlist to pick and choose from: 1 2 3 4 5 6. There's always the Steam wishlist and the winter sale is coming up.

hey guys,

my name's jeff, i was one of the directors of the Backstage Passports. the linoleum cover is by Christine "Cece" Sherman. i just did a quick google search trying to find a full version online to share with you all but no luck. :(

she does pretty great covers of Franco Unamerican and Eat The Meek as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgMJFgsh9VA

and while i'm typing, i'm programmed to always mention that everyone should pre-order NOFX's new book, "The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories"!

www.amazon.com/NOFX-Hepatitis-Bathtub-Other-Stories/dp/0306824779

Johnny was pretty gifted. He had a great mind. I strongly recommend his autobiography

I would reccomend Soy not Oi!

It costs $7.00, but tells you how to make everything vegan on the super cheap, plus what foods have those all too essential vitamins and protein you need. Personal favorite is the 'Bring Back Black Sabbath Black Bean Casserole'.

Peter Hook (Joy Divison / New Order bassist) wrote a book about Joy Divsion. Starts out with him and Bernard Sumner back when they are teenagers forming the band through Ian's death. Really cool, get some good gig stories, interesting facts about their recording process that led to their sound and a lot of notes about the songs on the record. I found it to be fascinating.

I know other's will disagree, but I enjoyed Nirvana: The Biography by Everett True. I hate reading books, but those 650 pages were pretty easy to digest.

https://www.amazon.com/Nirvana-Biography-Everett-True/dp/0306815540

The evolution of a Cro-Magnon is a pretty solid book. It is an autobiography of John Joseph McGowan. He was the lead singer of a hardcore punk band called the cro-mags that was popular in the 1980s. This book has some really interesting stories. They are so interesting that they might not even be real but still it's a fun book to read.

If you like Sit Down and Shut up - may I recommend Dharma Punx? Absolutely love that book.

Hey pretty great on first listen! Read their new book it's incredible! About to finish it for the second time! https://www.amazon.com/NOFX-Hepatitis-Bathtub-Other-Stories/dp/0306824779

I really liked the 33 1/3 book about Ramones by Nicholas Rombes. It's part of a series of books about individual albums, and this one focuses on the cultural context of the 1970s American punk movement and the Ramones' role in it. I do wish Rombes had discussed the songs on the Ramones' debut album a little more, but what is in the book is still fascinating.

Then you don't listen to the Ramones very closely.

Johnny played full major barre chords pretty much all the time. It's plainly obvious if you actually listen. It's also clearly visible in most pictures of him performing that he's got his middle finger planted on the 3rd string (which also yields the 3rd of the chord)

If that's not enough, Johnny explicitly stated such in this book

You might gain some benefit from reading Dharma Punx by Noah Levine. It's not the be-all, end-all of Buddhism, not by a long shot, but I found it a really easy way to access an intro to Buddhism when I was in a really rough place in life.

Chris Connelly wrote up a pretty good account of its making. It's worth a read, IMHO

FYI: Everett True's account of Nirvana's history is a much more compelling and interesting read.

Edit: should have prefaced this by saying that a lot of us seem quite fond of our books so I thought I would share a few of mine from a recent splurge. Also reading The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn on my e-reader.


Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever: The Completely Ridiculous Edition was the first one I read and it was wonderful. if you are not familiar, their neighbours are Hall & Oates and they are "Satanists". Hilarity ensues.

Hey, yeah I left a comment yesterday about this, I got it on their bandcamp, very few copies left though I'd guess they're gone now.

The book can be found on Amazon though, I've been really enjoying it so far:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/God-Forgive-These-Bastards-Forgotten/dp/1621068765

Obviously you are a NEWBIE to the Market! So a brief history lesson. Some of those crust punks are from the punk era and were members of a punk band Bunchof****ingoofs or BFG for short. They have been in the market since the 80's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVeRuUNxars
There is a book about them
https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Drunk-Punk-Twisted-Bunchofuckingoofs/dp/1897415281
And they even have Wiki page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunchofuckingoofs
Included in the group of Pushy's sometimes is a guy who plays bagpipes at the corner of Univ and Queen NE corner, another busks outside the LCBO on Spadina, one of the doing nothing people went to the U of T and studied Astrology or something along those lines. These punks helped clean the cocaine out the Market, others do drop by the lane cause these guys don't discriminate against anyone. Previously they had a Fort and a bar where they hung out but times bars and buildings and people are changing. Next time you're there buy a beer sit and chat with them or stop and chat with them they will provbably offer you a beer! They love their dogs, ask for Jamesenstein and ask about his old dog thats now desceased Sir Ralph...

Source
I've been hanging in the Market over 35 years, living, working, shopping.

Its easy to forget the treatment of the Irish in England and maybe Mrs Thatcher was not exposed to that.

Contemporaneous to this punk & new wave happened and the easy answer, John Lydon's/Johnny Rotten's Biography [No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs] (http://www.amazon.com/Rotten-No-Irish-Blacks-Dogs/dp/031211883X)

Lydon's parents are Irish and experienced the anti Irish culture.

So if anyone is tempted to answer the question it was probably cos the English didn't seem to like the Irish.

Well that's what Johnny says.

It may not have been just Thatcher, the Labour Party that was in Government from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1979.

The policies were hardly all her policies and it was Labour who cocked up NI Premiers Terrence O'Neill's efforts to tackle sectarian issues in the mid 1960's and be friendly with the South and the Civil Rights Movement mess was theirs too..

Was there an anti-irish culture in Britain that was not limited to the Tories but existed in the Labour Party, the football terraces and in the streets.

Yall should read the NOFX autobiography. Such a good book and has a lot of good info on addiction. I couldn't put it down.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0306824779/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1519735416&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Nofx

Link to his book on amazon, great read http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0306815540

We Jam Econo is truly awesome.

I would add:

afro punk

american hardcore

D.O.A. A Rite of Passage

Kill Your Idols

The Real Frank Zappa Book

Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs

No One Here Gets Out Alive

X: The Unheard Music

And, for fun:

Heavy Metal Parking Lot - I actually went to high school with some of the kids interviewed here.

This is also a great book about it http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Feels-Good-Punk-Teenagers/dp/0312308639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382621157&sr=8-1&keywords=nothing+feels+good

I enjoyed reading Noah Levine's Dharma Punx -the story of how he kicked drugs using meditation -- so much that I've been listening to his 'Against The Stream' dharma talks for years. He's stayed clean now for 20 years. Apparently people in his community have started an alt (or addition) to AA called RefugeRecovery that aims to help people deal with their addictions via buddhism/meditation. It's early days but there might be a group in your area.

Welcome! What sort of hardcore are you into? And looking at your WL, you're a fixed gear biker too?

Also, based on what you said above, you should check out a book called Dharma Punx.

I'm currently reading "NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories". It's about the punk band NOFX and it's really good read if you're into musical biographies/memoirs.

Amazon!

If you enjoyed BHN as much as I did, check out [Dharma Punx(http://www.amazon.ca/Dharma-Punx-Noah-Levine/dp/0060008954).

Street kid junkie becomes Buddhist teacher.

The Punk Rock Fun Time Activity Book.

Punk Rock Fun Time Activity Book

Of Mice and Men and Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo

Wreckers of civilization - a very in depth book about Throbbing Gristle and COUM Transmissions (Up until their first breakup, if I'm not mistaken)


RE/Search #4/5: W.S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Throbbing Gristle - should still be in print


RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook - Eternal classic that some important musicians used as a starting point. Mostly very rare and out of print, but RE/Search had it in some bundle for around $100 recently..

If you want to know more, Andy Greenwald wrote a decent history book about the development of emo music.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0306815540

This one.

Nothing Feels Good

Have you read this? http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Feels-Good-Punk-Teenagers/dp/0312308639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422153197&sr=8-1

NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories

https://www.amazon.de/NOFX-Hepatitis-Bathtub-Other-Stories/dp/0306824779

Bis jetzt ein sehr interessantes und unterhaltsames Buch.

Refuge Recovery is a Buddhist recovery group with 3 or 4 meetings in Austin weekly. It is for people with any kind of addiction.

RR was started by Noah Levine, he wrote a book about his path from addiction to recovery Dharma Punx. He eventually started Refuge Recovery out of frustration with AA and its dependance on a higher power and how that affected recovery.

RR is adamantly as secular as it can be, while relying on the path that is followed in Buddhism, related to the four noble truths. Belief in reincarnation is not a prerequisite and most people I've met in RR do not believe in it.

Finally, I'll say that most of the people I met during my time in RR were pretty cool. They are stubborn in their resistance to AA and any kind of submissive rehab, but they have been through enough suffering to know they need a group of like-minded people. Give it a try. I only wish I'd written sooner so you could possibly make the 8:30pm meeting tonight.

Meetings here: http://www.refugerecovery.org/meetings-in/texas/

There's so much out there. I came of age on post-punk and all the bands that that followed, and I'm always discovering another band I missed.

Have you read Simon Reynold's book? It talks about a TON of bands beyond the obvious ones.

NOFX kicks ass. Have you read their new book?

First off, I'd just like to say sorry for all your troubles. Secondly, I read a book once that might help you somewhat. It's called Dharma Punx. Long story short - the guy lived a pretty bad life and was doing hard drugs by the age of 13 and tried killing himself at 17(maybe 18, it's been a few years since I read it). His father, while he was in lock up, introduced him to Bhudism and meditation. He's stated that it helped him out a lot, maybe meditation might be something that you might want to look into.

I found that Everett True's book offers the most insight on what exactly transpired during that last European tour. Things didn't go wrong all of a sudden, they were pretty bad in 1993 in terms of his addiction and not wanting to go on tour and then became even worse in 1994. Kurt wanted to cancel the European tour many times during that month of February. He even asked his management what would happen if he did cancel it and their response was "you're financially liable". Not good.

He also missed Courtney a lot as she was away in London and LA. He would call up Cali Dewitt (he was with Courtney) and constantly ask him if Courtney is cheating on him. He ultimately canceled the tour after Munich (his voice was gone by that time anyway) and then flew to Rome with Pat so he could finally meet up with Courtney. He didn't get the warm welcome he wanted, he felt emotionally rejected by her, so he tried to kill himself. After Rome various people felt that the coma affected his personality. I believe it was Krist who called him as being monochrome after the whole Rome ordeal.

​

He had the following things on his mind during March of 1994:

​

-- Was Courtney cheating on him or not? I'm pretty sure he was convinced that yes.

-- The lawsuit over the Heart-Shaped Box video (he felt that he could go bankrupt because of it and this terrified him yet he still canceled the tour and lost a ton of money, which shows you how paradoxical his personality could be at times).

-- The pressure of doing Lollapalooza. Everyone in his circle (especially Courtney) was pressuring him to do it. They would have earned $6M from that single concert, more than their entire European Tour. He just didn't want to do it. I'm sure the other bandmates really wanted to do it since they weren't getting royalties from songs and the In Utero album sales were nowhere near Nevermind's. And this further fostered the toxic environment in the band. By that point he barely even communicated with Dave and Krist.

-- There was also the infamous intervention which quite a few people mention in their books, Danny Goldberg especially. They all tried to get him to quit drugs, clean up and do Lollapalooza. He didn't want to hear any of it. His response was pretty much "If William S. Burroughs can lead a life as a junkie for 20 years, why can't I?". Which goes to show he had no intention of quitting heroin, he just wanted to disappear.

​

March 94 was the tipping point for Kurt Cobain. I wish he had the clarity to quit the band, get away from home, cancel all touring and just do nothing for a year or two... But when you're in the thick of it, it's easy to lose sight of the good things in your life.

Anyone who believes that the early punk scene was a safe space is dead wrong. Gangs sprouted up around local bands and would frequently engage in acts of violence. Rape, assault, and murder were rampant in these early days. The idea that punk rock was an inclusive community is 100% a falsehood. You were liable to be murdered for so much as looking at someone the wrong way (this is not an exaggeration) If anyone wants to know how bad it really was in the early days, I recommend reading "The Hepatitis Bathtub" by NOFX. https://www.amazon.com/NOFX-Hepatitis-Bathtub-Other-Stories/dp/0306824779 They go into everything about the scene and some of it is truly disgusting