5 comments about The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk.

1. Like most music freaks, if you ask me where punk rock originated, I wouldn't hesitate to tell you that it happened in England. After all, the Brits lay claim to pogo dancing, safety pins as a fashion statement, and the Sex Pistols. The whole concept of punk rock is, essentially, very Clockwork Orange.
   
   Steven Lee Beeber's The Heebie Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk challenges that notion by showing us that punk began in New York -- and was heavily influenced and shaped by a variety of Jews from a variety of backgrounds. Beginning with the cutting-edge comedy of Lenny Bruce and the musical innovations that were Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, Beeber shows us how the music evolved. It is clear that without the involvement of Jews, there would have been no punk movement.
   
   Chapter by chapter, Beeber traces the bands and the people, focusing on the Jewish players who coalesced around the Jewish-owned punk mecca, CBGB. This is dense reading, best taken slowly so that all of the facts and details -- not to mention the personalities -- can sink in.
   
   One theme that Beeber refers to often is the link between the Holocaust and punk. His claims make perfect sense: the emotions invested in the children of survivors provided the fuel for punk's trademark anger. Yes, there is anger that so many people were eradicated, but one of the more surprising revelations is that some of the anger comes from and is fueled by the fact that the Jews allowed themselves to be victims. At the same time, though, there is an awareness that the word allowed is inaccurate. That anyone, faced with such a circumstance, would have done exactly the same thing. Ultimately, this isn't an emotion of victimization, but of helplessness and futility -- two strong emotions that run through the undercurrent of punk, both in its lyrics and its attitudes.
   
   Beeber takes us across the ocean for a visit with the start of British punk -- the Sex Pistols -- but focuses on the Jews involved in creating that scene. From Sex Pistols creator Malcolm MacLaren to the ill-fated Nancy Spungeon, lover of Pistols frontman Sid Vicious, it is obvious that here, too, punk music and the Jewish tradition are linked so closely that removal of the Jew removes the music.
   
   Many would argue that punk died out with the Sex Pistols, to be replaced by music from cities like LA and San Francisco, peopled with musicians and fans who shocked New York ex-pats with virulent anti-Semitic themes, attitudes, and lyrics.
   
   Beeber returns to New York to show us what punk evolved into: John Zorn's dissonant art and even, perhaps unbelievably, the Beastie Boys, perhaps the most punk of all the bands in the book.
   
   Even more than the Ramones, those poster boys for American punk?
   
   You be the judge. For any music fan, this is essential reading. It's not just that this is a clear evolution of the music scene over the span of forty-some years, from the late 1960s to the present. This book traces the shifts in our culture during this time period, and the shifts in attitude that allowed punk to be as vibrant as it was.
   
   Beeber's prose is smooth and charming, always focused on the topic at hand and never getting sidetracked like so many Jewish storytellers of old. He's also a master craftsman, showing his writer's roots in the construction of each chapter, bringing back points made in opening paragraphs, tying it all together with a neat black leather jacket and peppy beat.
   
   For the music lover, the historian interested in Jewish history, or for anyone intrigued by how someone as tall, skinny, and scary as Joey Ramone could become a pop icon, The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk is one of those books you won't want to miss. Certainly, my copy now occupies a space between Deena Weinstein's seminal Heavy Metal and Joe Berlinger's Metallica: This Monster Lives.
   
   To bring up one last point Beeber makes: Jews are people of the book. Heebie Jeebies is just one in a long line that proves this.



2. Punk was an assault on traditional western culture and society. No surprise here, that jews would be at the core of the punk movement. It chipped at the moral fabric of nations, embraced communism, and made them a boatload of money from gentile dupes. What's a jew not to like? And in the end, was as hypocritical as the people themselves. Nothing astounding here.



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. 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.

2 comments about Indestructible.

1. Reviewed by: Victor Schwartzman. Published courtesy of the ULA Book Review Blog.
   
   Victor has never met Cristy. He found out about her when he received a compliment about this site from Brooklyn Frank. Brooklyn Frank is a person and not a New York hot dog. Victor thanked him for his comment and asked Brooklyn Frank which books should be reviewed on this site. He mentioned Cristy. Victor contacted Cristy. She had never heard of Brooklyn Frank. But Cristy lives in Brooklyn, and Victor grew up in Brooklyn, so it all seems somehow connected, kind of like the circle of life from The Lion King, but without Walt Disney (who probably would not have liked this book).
   
   It ain't easy growing up in Miami as an Cuban overweight adolescent girl who starts out bisexual and eventually grows into being gay, at the same time an outcast in but a member of her high school, community and immediate family. It isn't easy growing up, but Cristy had more than her share of crap to deal with.
   
   This novel (that is not a novel) comes out of the zine world and looks it. The font is typewriter style, the layout cut and paste. The spelling and grammar would occasionally make White and Strunk fidget. The look of the book matches the troubled early life of the narrator, who appears suspiciously similar to the writer/artist, and whose name is, uh, Cristy Road.
   
   The writing style can be awkward. At times the vocabulary does not match an adolescent's--but then again, the story is told in retrospect and the awkwardness provides a realistic edge. Reading it feels like you are in the same room with Cristy as she tells you her early life story. The edge in the writing is matched by her bold black and white drawings--in your face art, using a blunt and somewhat cartoony style that effectively matches the writing style. The combination of words and art works nicely, playing off each other.
   
   If you want a plot you should read another book. The book covers Cristy's high school years, her `coming of age', with that being an operative phrase in so many ways--she is obsessed with sex, along with punk rock, being oppressed, stupid boys and interesting girls. More a collection of memories tied together chronologically than a novel, the book has a genuine narrative power stemming from Cristy's growth.
   
   Cristy's sexual growth mirrors her community situation as an outlaw. She hides who she is from her family, but can not abandon it.
   
   The book concludes with autographs and comments from her fellow students, as in a high school year book.
   
   Cristy has graduated.



2. You don't need to have followed Cristy's other zines to love this perfect little piece of adolescence.

5 comments about Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing.

1. The DC punk subculture that Elliot satires and critiques is much different from the one I knew. Elliot moved to DC about a decade too late - after the punk/hardcore underground had long been drained of its choler & fury, replaced by apathy and infiltrated by confused, bourgeois transplants with delicate ideas. Elliot, not surprisingly, btiches about the state of affairs in DC punk, lives and works in all the trendy spots, starts an emo band, rubs shoulders with aging sXe scensters, and then promptly leaves. Too bad. Underneath the camouflage of Elliot's DC is a tremendously interesting city; flavored with Go-Go music, endless summer heat, and some of the most eclectic, gritty neighborhoods on the East Coast. That's hardcore.



2. The unconventional form of the book - the mix of journals, zines, letters - works very well. That's no small accomplishment. Also, the characters are compelling, and it's great that someone has documented a fascinating music scene.
   
   I would have liked more. It's all over way too fast. It doesn't need a big dramatic conclusion, but I wish it were fleshed out a bit more.



3. I enjoyed the style this book was written in. It was a good read. Nothing phenomenal or life-changing, but definitely enjoyable if you are interested in the punk subculture.



4. Having worked in a number of health food stores over the years with riot grrrl feminists and more-vegan-than-thou punk rockers, I found this novel both fun and very realistic. (I also worked with many New Age hippy characters unfortunately absent from this book). Besides being a highly entertaining novel, it is also very creative. Rather than being structured around a traditional linear narrative, this novel is a collage of journal entries, letters, and zines. So if you're looking for a fun little novel about the punk subculture, activism, and granola, pour yourself a nice cold glass of carob soymilk, sit back, and enjoy.



5. Unorthodox writing making it a zine category in its self if that's at all possible.
   Story will grow on you.

3 comments about Riot Grrrl: Revolution Girl Style Now!.

1. Another perspective on a movement that still seems to shoot under the radar. A nice blend of first person information and the history of Riot Grrl. The name is taken from Bikini Kill's 1991 self released first album.



2. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as it had not been reviewed at the time I purchased it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's split into 4 sections: the first two cover the history of riot grrrl, the third riot grrrl writing and zines, and the fourth the movement's relevance to feminism at large. The book is very well designed, and is full of colour photographs of bands, flyers, zines, and more. I know this is a book that I will peruse often.



3. This is better than the Riot Grrrl film "Don't Need You" because this book also talks about the British Grrrls. I like Kathleen Hanna & Allison Wolf, but my favorite bands are the English ones. My favorite band coming out of the earth's core in the early 90's was Huggy Bear. They called out the revolution in a style and urgency than their American counterparts. Great read!!

5 comments about My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion---How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream.

1. As others have readily pointed out, the writing is quite mediocre. Somewhat repetitive in places. And often, just when a discussion about a band is getting interesting, and you are looking forward to more details, Diehl switches topics, and we are on another band. Very frustrating. Some hard core fans will decry what will seem (perhaps accurately) as superficial descriptions and accounts.
   
   I simply could not finish reading the book. Too tedious. But I also noticed the sheer lack of photos. The book could have been enhanced with a few well chosen photos of several of the bands. Possibly at concerts. The omission of these suggests a hastily prepared and very low budget text. Granted, it often costs more to get photos. But in the case of bands, often the bands or their agents might be willing to offer good shots, already taken, for no or nominal fee.
   
   Especially ironic considering his apparent infatuation with a female singer mentioned frequently in the text. She's very pretty, and a picture of her would have brightened the story for many readers.



2. Maybe he should of called the book "I love Brody". I pretty much skimmed over the whole suicide girls part. I mean let's get real, the Distillers have made some good music but that does not make them the idea of punk.
   There was no mention of some really good punk bands like Against Me or Misled citizen. The only reason I finished the book was because I can't stop reading a book in the middle no matter how bad it is. I have read some pretty terrible books and this one is in the top 5 of the worst books I have ever read. The tittle is definitely misleading. Also, I just want to point out that he got the Blink 182 video wrong, It was "All the Small Things" that made fun of boy bands, not "What's My Age Again". If you really love the Distillers then maybe you will like this book otherwise don't waste your money.



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. 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.

2 comments about Vicious: The Art of Dying Young.

1. i've read biographies in my lifetime, not nessesarily about sid, but about other icons and they seem to go on for days about very unimportant information. Though in this book every page has valuable information on it. The biography displays that yes sid did not live his life in the best of fashions, but it remains to be sympathetic to him at the same time. it is not a book written to simply trash on him while telling his life story, it seems like the author himself has a very keen interest in the subject and that shines through in this book. Overall i enjoyed it very much.



2. Despite pre-conceived notions within popular culture, John Simon "Sid Vicious" Ritchie was a pretty interesting character and this text sheds light on the life of the pop icon whose sole true talent was his utter self-destruction. "Vicious: The Art of Dying Young" analyses Sid very well, and we get to know him mostly through interviews that are full of great anecdotes about him, many of them very surprising. This book will reveal Sid Vicious to the curious who only know of him as a drug-addled freak who was accused of offing his girlfriend, only to fatally overdose soon after. This is a very good read. The only criticism I have is that it may be somewhat challenging for readers outside the UK. Some of the slang and phrases that are used merit a glossary.

5 comments about In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992.

1. These are brilliant essays, many of them indeed discussing punk's effect on mainstream culture, but some of them bother me. Marcus is original and insightful, but can be overly academic. That is, sometimes his theses take precedence to the truth, or even common sense.

   It's not uncommon for brilliant thinkers to be intuitive and obsessive. But Marcus tends to focus on one tiny wrinkle in a work, and to blow it up into an explanation for all the artist's motives, intentions, and finally the whole Western Dilemma. By the time he reaches the end of his inspired flight, we are miles away from the original subject.

   One example is his interpretation of the album "Los Angeles" by the band X as a Raymond Chandler story set to music. This approach is clever, and gives him a chance to indulge in some retro literary criticism, but the two works really have nothing in common besides their L.A. low-lifes.

   A more inexplicable example is his essay on the L.A. punk scene. In apparent (and inferior) imitation of a famous piece by Lester Bangs, he abandons all logic to portray the L.A. punks as proto-fascist. He describes the Black Flag song "White Minority" as racist, while ignoring the fact that the singer is Hispanic and the song clearly ironic. He interprets a punk's hostility to "hippies" as master-race thuggery, when it's clear that by "hippies" the boy means the long-haired metal fans who preyed on the punk minority. Both of these facts are established in the film Marcus is describing.

   There are other examples, many of them explicable by the vagaries of a powerful mind and the journalist's need to find an original "handle" on a subject. But if such a goal is pursued too far we get Yellow Journalism, which has caused physical harm in the past and will do so again.




2. A collection on punk and related matters from 1977 through 1992, including what was left out of Marcus' earlier book Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century. In the author's own words, it's about "records, performances, twists of the radio dial." It moves from the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy" to Nirvana's "Nevermind" in this illumined golden thread. Marcus writes about what moved, scared and disgusted him and what made him feel so privileged to be part of the punk audience. His views of punk encompassed a wide horizon, to include the likes of Bruce Springsteen, early Prince, Laurie Anderson and David Lynch's film Blue Velvet. His point is that punk made wonderful things like Anderson's "Superman" possible even though Superman itself isn't punk. In other words, punk's liberating effect caused sea changes in the perception of pop. A major weakness of the book is that it ignores the entire New York scene, because, as he puts it, "most [New York] punks seemed to be auditioning for careers as something else." So no Patti Smith, no Richard Hell, a cursory mention of Talking Heads, but you WILL find Blondie here. Fascist Bathroom follows many avenues (The Clash, Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello) but maybe its most precious contribution is rescuing from obscurity some lower-profile such as Laura Logic, The Mekons, Marianne Faithfull. It's a joy to read, chronologically arranged and ending with Nirvana and grunge in the 90s. The text swarms with relevant quotes from rock lyrics and references to other rock journalists like Lester Bangs. For anyone with a passionate interest in rock/pop music and youth culture, it's required reading.



3. I found this Book under it's original Title. I think it is a great collection of Greil Marcus's Writings of Music outside the mainstream. Not Pretentious, but not Dumbed down for some average Music Joe. Post Punk Groups are treated with the respect & relevance that they deserved, at the time of their exhistance! Less convuluted than Lipstick Traces, and more enjoyable. I sought out these different group's music with new insight. Made even more enjoyable by Greil's added depth of his words. I like my Rock writers to actually Love their Subjects, without Jealousy or rancor.



4. Marcus' writing on punk and its' effects may or may not be the smartest rock journalism out there. But this book is no mere compendium of record and show reviews.
   
   Marcus is obsessed with art history, and the social/historical contexts surrounding them, and in varied other works he draws links between dada, surrealism and punk, or invesitgates the social aspects of the conflicted American South that also spawned the primoridal forms of just about all forms of American music.
   
   In smaller doses, Marcus does the same here - these short essays were published initially in more mass-audience publications, but Marcus is fairly uninterested in simple reviewing. Instead he - in a fashion that occasionally seizes upon Zen-like epiphanies - scrounges through the depths of the most easily overlooked moments of anything from the Gang Of Four, The Mekons, X or The Buzzcocks to Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk." And then he elaborates what he's found in such moments, crafting Barthes-like meditations upon the more obtuse meanings of culture, art and commerce in the process.
   
   Marcus doesn't nail his varied theses 100% of the time - his write-off of New York (and Cleveland/Detroit) punk is the great, vast hole in this book. But I do agree with his take on the thuggishness of LA punk - a controversial contention open to much debate, though one could endlessly debate the ironic value vs. the ugly realities within the race and class tensions that floated through the work of X, Gun Club, Fear, et. al., especially in light of the early multi-ethnic and queer aspects of punk that have largely been written out of most official histories.
   
   -David Alston



5. "The facts we hate / you'll never hear us / I hear the radio is finally gonna play New Music / ya know, the "British Invasion" / But what about the Minutemen, Flesh Eaters, DOA, Big Boys and the Black Flag?..." -- X, "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts"
   
   Greil Marcus is engaged in an endless quest for the musical epiphany, and he's at his best when he's unravelling the mystery of why and how a particular song heard at a particular moment can crystallize into something with the power to forever change the life of the listener. And he is one of the few scholarly American music writers of his generation who (sometimes) looks to punk rock for those moments.
   
   Superficially, American punk has been about physical energy, naïve rage, and alienation, while its UK counterpart has often engaged more explicitly with political ideology. In these essays (originally published as "Ranters & Crowd Pleasers") Marcus gravitates toward the latter, especially bands that were on the Rough Trade label and their close relatives: Gang of 4, Mekons, Delta 5, Au Pairs, Essential Logic. Many of these were mixed gender groups, and they weren't afraid to seriously address issues of class struggle and sexual politics in their music or in their interviews. But while these bands may have given Marcus something to sink his intellectual teeth into, they also distracted him from important developments in his own backyard.
   
   There are some conspicuous gaps here. Marcus admits as much, but that doesn't excuse him. A self-proclaimed champion of the rant, it's odd that he has nothing to say about The Fall, who practically define the genre. But I'd especially like to know what he might have to say about American groups from the same time period, especially the many worthy smaller bands from the various regional scenes around the country: Avengers, Noh Mercy, Minutemen, Pylon, Neo Boys, Wipers, and plenty of other great bands are MIA. Sadly, he seems to use the distasteful violence that stigmatized some SoCal punk as an excuse to write off most everything that happened in the US scene. Instead there are awkward, unconvincing efforts to pull non-punk items into the discussion. Fleetwood Mac? Van Morrison? Springsteen? Granted, this is a collection of magazine articles, and one can only hear and respond to so much music, but I wish he'd cast his nets wider.
   
   Another issue is that Marcus writes about punk but never to it. In spite of his enthusiasm, he remains here a spectator, a pop anthropologist who maintains a careful, scientific distance from those he is studying. He pays attention, asks questions, takes notes, and then goes back and reports his findings to the civilized world - the readers of Rolling Stone, New West/California, Harper's, Artforum, the Village Voice -- none of them likely to reach a punk audience. Which is too bad, because Marcus has things to say that the punk community should hear; he has the right amount of critical distance and belief in the possibilities of the form to offer some useful observations. Of course, writing in punk zines won't pay the bills...
   
   Ultimately, this is flawed as a history of punk because like all histories it shares the blind spots of the writer. No matter how much empathy Marcus feels, he's still a 60s kinda guy looking for 60s-style rock heroes and gestures, clinging too much to the similarities he sees between the youth culture of his own generation and the one he's writing about, and not really dealing with the differences which are so important and interesting. Which perhaps explains his tendency to write about the same people over and over (Costello, Mekons, Springsteen, the Clash, Gang of 4, Dylan). This need to keep an eye on his heroes long after they've ceased to be worth watching occasionally turns up something poignant, as in his heartbreaking portrait of the meltdown of The Clash. But mostly it gives one the feeling that Marcus is caught up in his own obsessive hero worship -- exactly the sort of sentimentality which punk has always resisted (at least in theory). Still, Marcus does his best to take punk seriously on its own terms, and he's worth reading in spite of the flaws. Now it's up to the younger generation to produce some critics who can fill in the gaps and set the record straight. But I'd also be curious to see what would happen if Marcus were to write about the era in hindsight himself, and return to some of the stuff he skipped over the first time around.

2 comments about blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.

1. This book has amazing tabs! Blink just gets better and faster with their songs. Their slowest, Stay Together For The kids is 72 on the metronome, but is all sixteenth notes, so it's like 150, just the same! This book includes:

   Anthem Part Two: Great tabbing, sounds exactly like the song, alot of palm muting, in the verses, and at the beginning.

   Online Songs: This is a great song for tabbing, it's a little harder than their last one, but it shows that their getting better, and it's really fun to play!

   First Date: An easy song, and a nice beat to go with!
   
   Happy Holidays: Whoever thought you could tab a song as funny as this, and make it sound so serious! It's great, and very easy, probably the easiest song in the book, the shortest too!

   Story Of A Lonely Guy: The best one in the book, really fun to play! Especially the beginning, then the bass kicks in for the verses. The chorus is awesome for guitar, simple, yet great!!

   The Rock Show: Beginning takes practice, it's much harder than their last few attempts, alot of palm muting, even in the chorus, so watch were to start. The beginning is played very fast, so make sure you practice that part alot, cause it's in alot of the song.

   Stay Together For The Kids: Wow! The chorus is so easy, but the start is fairly difficult. The beginning has to ring, and I mean has too, or it doesn't sound good!

   Roller Coaster: The fastest song to date, and is faily tricky, but easy! Upbeat, punk and nice all at the same time!

   Reckless Abandon: The fastest song in the book! If you ever play at that speed, if you can get that fast(248 on the metronome), good for you, cause I can't! This song is fairly easy to play, but too fast!!

   Everytime I Look For You: It's easy, fast and upbeat, but makes a great song! Not too much palm muting in this one, good song!

   Give Me One Good Reason: Wow, this is tricky! Needs a capo, and tuning is different! This one's probably the hardest in the book! Although, it's a great song, punk!!

   Shut Up: The tabbing is great here, this one is one of the besT! It sounds so great on electric guitar, I love it! Twists and turns, it makes for a great song!

   Please Take Me Home: enough palm muting in this one. it's a nice song, upbeat and catchy. fun to play along with! Not too fast, which is in most cases, good!

   This book was great and every guitar player should have it! It's not as easy as Enema Of The State, but it is deffinetely as good! Buy this!!




2. This is a great book. the songs are really easy to play but really cool sounding. i've only had it for two days and i can already play four songs. buy it!!!

5 comments about New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation with Blondie, Iggy Pop, and Others, 1974-1981.

1. I've been a fan of the band Blondie for quite some time and I read everything I can get my hands on about this band. Gary Valentine's book is by far the best look at Blondie's early years. It's a witty, funny, insightful view of the New York rock scene of the 1970's. Since Gary was a member of Blondie during their early days he has all the stories you could hope for about life with the band when they were just beginning and he lends insight into the creativity that went into the writing of his two most notable Blondie contributions - X Offender and Presence, Dear. Just about everyone you'd be interested in from this time period makes some sort of appearance in this book - Johnny Thunders, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Captain Sensible, Tom Verlaine, etc. I will read this one over and over again. Gary takes a good long look at what differentiated the New York, London and LA punk scenes and it's one fun and fascinating read. If you are a fan of Blondie or the 70's glam or punk scene or the early 80's new wave scene then you must get this one!



2. Extremely readable memoir of Mr Valentine when he arrives to NYC as a young teenager. What's makes the book a worthy read is that he has a knack for offering interesting details about what it was like being part of the music scene in NYC in the late 70's. Even when he wasnt in a band he was a active "fan" and part of the scene. The book is well-edited and it moves along at a nice pace. As some of the other reviewers point out, the writer isnt particularly nasty in his opinions but he also doest shrink from saying what he feels about other folks he knew at that time. There was prodigious drug use going on around him and it was eye-opening for me that so many rockers where sticking needles in their arms in those days. If you like NYC Punk, this is quite an intersting and informative read.



3. Actually I'd probably give it 2 and a half stars. I did finish it. But inbetween I read a true crime murder story. I found the style of writing a bit elementary and hard follow. Especially the first 2 years with Blondie. Lots of blank spaces in this book, so maybe it really does live up to the title.



4. I got this book the other day here on Amazon and I couldn't put it down. Especially during his years with Blondie which were from my point of view the most interesting stories in this book. He has a lot of crazy, funny, scary, and sad stories to tell in this book and they are very entertaining and gripping to read. I couldn't put it down. I had to know more. I love his insight into the whole scene from that period. He links the glitter period to the punk period and back again very well.
   
   Read this book.



5. If you are one of the millions of Blondie fans who ever wondered what happened to Gary Valentine (the composer of Blondie classics "Sex Offender" and "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear") after mysteriously disappearing from the lineup in between the eponymous debut LP and Plastic Letters--and if you wondered why Valentine looked so uncomfortable being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next to Debbie Harry and Chris Stein -- then this is the book for you. Valentine spent ensuing years as a writer and it shows in this gripping, insightful and informative book. Though there are some awkward misspellings--like Ric Ocasek of the Cars' name-- this is an absorbing, entertaining and anecdotal account of the birth of punk, the malaise of latter-day new wave, and the rivalry within a classic band--by someone who lived it every step of the way.

No comments about The Rough Guide to Soul & R 'n' B 1 (Rough Guide Reference).