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A review by acciohannah
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
5 stars
I’ve always loved proto-punk/punk music. I discovered The Stooges around age 12-13, I would watch hours of grainy footage of their late performances and was mesmerized. As it turns out, many other people had the same reaction to Iggy and The Stooges. I’ve been into (mostly) the 70s New York punk scene ever since. (of course I like some of the British stuff too)
I’d never heard of this book until I listened to a podcast called No Dogs in Space, hosted by Marcus Parks and Carolina Hidalgo. They cited this as a source on a Stooges series they did, and I immediately picked this up to read it. I’d heard of Legs McNeil and Punk Magazine, but somehow never came across this book. This oral history is told chronologically in five parts from the proto-Punk of the mid to late 60s through the waning years of the movement in the late 80s, with an epilogue that touches on the impact of punk on the world, both musically and societally. The narrative is concise and easy to follow with both recognizable names, and characters I’d never heard of but became acquainted with immediately. It’s a true oral narrative, the stories told in each individuals own words, contradictions and opinions in all. I think that makes it so much more authentic.
Of course this book’s focus is the history of the music and the rockstars, but I found it to be such an amazing record of a New York City that we don’t often see. The real New York City. A dirty, lively, hard, queer, exciting, dingy, caring scene that people really lived in, that real people were a part of. The good, the bad, and the ugly. No rose tinted glasses here, only some dark shades.
True to form, this book is kind of punk in terms of a narrative nonfiction story, it’s not telling you what’s the truth, who’s right or wrong - it’s simply letting you sit in a room and listen to what everyone has to say. Draw your own fucking conclusions.
I loved this book. I absolutely will reread this again and again.
I’ve always loved proto-punk/punk music. I discovered The Stooges around age 12-13, I would watch hours of grainy footage of their late performances and was mesmerized. As it turns out, many other people had the same reaction to Iggy and The Stooges. I’ve been into (mostly) the 70s New York punk scene ever since. (of course I like some of the British stuff too)
I’d never heard of this book until I listened to a podcast called No Dogs in Space, hosted by Marcus Parks and Carolina Hidalgo. They cited this as a source on a Stooges series they did, and I immediately picked this up to read it. I’d heard of Legs McNeil and Punk Magazine, but somehow never came across this book. This oral history is told chronologically in five parts from the proto-Punk of the mid to late 60s through the waning years of the movement in the late 80s, with an epilogue that touches on the impact of punk on the world, both musically and societally. The narrative is concise and easy to follow with both recognizable names, and characters I’d never heard of but became acquainted with immediately. It’s a true oral narrative, the stories told in each individuals own words, contradictions and opinions in all. I think that makes it so much more authentic.
Of course this book’s focus is the history of the music and the rockstars, but I found it to be such an amazing record of a New York City that we don’t often see. The real New York City. A dirty, lively, hard, queer, exciting, dingy, caring scene that people really lived in, that real people were a part of. The good, the bad, and the ugly. No rose tinted glasses here, only some dark shades.
True to form, this book is kind of punk in terms of a narrative nonfiction story, it’s not telling you what’s the truth, who’s right or wrong - it’s simply letting you sit in a room and listen to what everyone has to say. Draw your own fucking conclusions.
I loved this book. I absolutely will reread this again and again.