Ten Essential Books About Punk
Punk has never lacked for books, but a lot of them are either hagiography or recycled press releases. This is a short, honest list of ten that are worth the shelf space, with notes on what each does well and where it stumbles.
The oral histories
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain (1996) is the one most people start with, and for good reason. It covers the New York scene from the Velvets through the Ramones, with detours to London and Los Angeles, and it is built almost entirely from interviews. The effect is gossipy, contradictory and often very funny. The weakness is that it leans hard on the New York mythology and some of the voices are unreliable narrators with axes to grind. Still, as a portrait of a scene rather than a tidy history, it holds up. Wikipedia
American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush (2001) does the same job for US hardcore in the early Eighties. It is narrower and more argumentative than Please Kill Me, and Blush has strong opinions about what counted and what did not. The interviews are valuable, especially on scenes that never got much coverage, but the book can feel like a list of bands and fights after a while. Useful as a reference, less so as a narrative. Wikipedia
The scene studies
England’s Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock and Beyond by Jon Savage (1991) is the most ambitious book on this list. Savage places punk in the context of British post-war youth culture, politics and the music press, and the result is dense but rewarding. It is not a quick read, and some readers find the theoretical passages heavy going, but it is probably the best single book on punk as a cultural moment. Wikipedia
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991 by Michael Azerrad (2001) covers thirteen bands from Black Flag to Fugazi. It is not strictly punk, but it is the best book on the DIY touring circuit that punk built. Azerrad did extensive interviews and the chapters on Minutemen and Husker Du are particularly good. The format is repetitive by design, and some bands get more depth than others, but it is an essential document of how independent music worked before the internet. Wikipedia
The politics and the theory
The Story of Crass by George Berger (2006) is the main book on Crass, the Essex band who took anarchism, pacifism and DIY ethics further than almost anyone. Berger had access to the band and the book is detailed on their printing press, their commune and their refusal to play the game. It is sympathetic but not uncritical, and it is a useful corrective to the idea that punk was only ever about fashion and speed. Wikipedia
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century by Greil Marcus (1989) is the odd one out. It starts with the Sex Pistols and jumps back through Dada, Situationism and various heretical movements. It is brilliant in places and maddening in others, and Marcus is not shy about stretching connections. If you want a straightforward history, look elsewhere. If you want a book that argues punk was part of a longer tradition of refusal, this is it. Wikipedia
Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 by Simon Reynolds (2005) is technically about what came after punk, but it is essential for understanding how quickly the moment fragmented. Reynolds is strong on the music and the ideas, and he takes bands like Gang of Four and The Pop Group seriously as political thinkers. It is long and occasionally overstuffed, but it is one of the best books on the period. Wikipedia
The memoirs and the margins
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. by Viv Albertine (2014) is a memoir by the Slits guitarist, and it is one of the most honest books about being a woman in punk. Albertine is funny, angry and unsentimental about the scene and about her own choices. It is not a history of punk, but it is a valuable first-person account of what it felt like. Wikipedia
Punk Rock: An Oral History by John Robb (2006) is a broad, UK-centric oral history that covers a lot of ground. Robb is a musician himself and he gets good material out of people. It is less stylish than Please Kill Me and sometimes feels like a compilation, but it is useful for the sheer number of voices, especially from the regions. Wikipedia
Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus (2010) is the best book on riot grrrl, and it is careful about the tensions within the movement. Marcus does not pretend the scene was unified or easy, and she gives credit to the people who did the work. It is a good corrective to the way riot grrrl is often reduced to a few names and a fashion. Wikipedia
A note on what is missing
There is no book here on the European scenes outside the UK, and nothing on the recent wave of punk from outside the Anglophone world. That is a gap in the publishing market rather than a deliberate choice. If you want to go deeper on any of these, the Discogs pages for the labels and bands are often more reliable than the books for discographical detail. Discogs
These ten are not the only books worth reading, but they are a good start. They disagree with each other, which is part of the point.
FAQ
What is the best book on punk as a cultural moment?
Jon Savage's England's Dreaming (1991) is described as probably the best single book on punk as a cultural moment, placing it in the context of British post-war youth culture, politics and the music press.
Which punk book covers the American indie underground 1981–1991?
Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life (2001) covers thirteen bands from Black Flag to Fugazi and is described as the best book on the DIY touring circuit that punk built.
Is there a book about riot grrrl?
Sara Marcus's Girls to the Front (2010) is called the best book on riot grrrl, and it is noted for being careful about the tensions within the movement.
What punk book is best for discographical detail?
The article suggests that Discogs pages for labels and bands are often more reliable than the books for discographical detail.