Best of
Punk

2008

The Clash: Strummer, Jones, Simonon, Headon


The Clash - 2008
    It is the music book of 2008.From "White Riot" to "Rock The Casbah", The Clash were a band like no other. Part of the original wave of British punk bands to emerge in the 1970s, their skilled musicianship, intelligent songwriting, boundless energy, definitive style and passionate idealism caught the spirit of the times and made them a worldwide phenomenon. "Rolling Stone" magazine declared "London Calling" one of the greatest albums of all time, and their music has only become more resonant over the past thirty years. Their story is steeped in mythology. Many people have their own opinions about what made them tick - but now readers can hear the full story from the band themselves.This is the long-awaited, first official book by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. Lavishly produced, "The Clash by The Clash" brings together for the first time remarkable, previously unseen personal and professional photos of the band at home, on stage, in the studio and on the road. The result is more than a book - it is an event.

Nothing Nice to Say


Mitch Clem - 2008
    Enter Nothing Nice to Say. Mitch Clem's Nothing Nice to Say leaves no mohawked, leather-jacket-clad stone unturned in its mission to expose the awesomeness and the absurdity of punk culture. Sometimes esoteric and always hilarious, Nothing Nice is so punk you'd think the book was bound with safety pins.

Punk Rock and Trailer Parks


Derf Backderf - 2008
    Punk Rock & Trailer Parks conjures up the oppressive insanity of growing up in a small town, the day-to-day weirdness of the trailer parks tucked away therein, the magic allure of sex and the necessary comforts of friendship, the mystical power of the counter-culture to turn outcasts into heroes and, most of all, the transcendant power of music, specifically the punk rock of the late 1970's which redefined, transported, and ultimately, perhaps, disappointed a generation.

Radio Silence: A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music


Nathan Nedorostek - 2008
     Hardcore music emerged just after the first wave of punk rock in the late 1970s. American punk kids who loved the speed and attitude of punk took hold of its spirit, got rid of the “live fast, die young” mind-set and made a brilliant revision: hardcore. The dividing line between punk and hardcore music was in the delivery: less pretense, less melody, and more aggression. This urgency seeped its way from the music into the look of hardcore. There wasn’t time to mold your liberty spikes or shine your Docs, it was jeans and T-shirts, Chuck Taylors and Vans. The skull and safety-pin punk costume was replaced by hi-tops and hooded sweatshirts. Jamie Reid’s ransom note record cover aesthetic gave way to black-and-white photographs of packed shows accompanied by bold and simple typography declaring things like: "The Kids Will Have Their Say", and "You’re Only Young Once." Radio Silence documents the ignored space between the Ramones and Nirvana through the words and images of the pre-Internet era where this community built on do-it-yourself ethics thrived. Authors Nathan Nedorostek and Anthony Pappalardo have cataloged private collections of unseen images, personal letters, original artwork, and various ephemera from the hardcore scene circa 1978-1993. Unseen photos lay next to hand-made t-shirts and original artwork brought to life by the words of their creators and fans. Radio Silence includes over 500 images of unseen photographs, illustrations, rare records, t-shirts, and fanzines presented in a manner that abandons the aesthetic clichés normally employed to depict the genre and lets the subject matter speak for itself. Contributions by Jeff Nelson, Dave Smalley, Walter Schreifels, Cynthia Connolly, Pat Dubar, Gus Peña, Rusty Moore, and Gavin Ogelsby with an essay by Mark Owens.

New York Dolls: Photographs by Bob Gruen


Bob Gruen - 2008
    Comprised of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, drummer Jerry Nolan, and bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, the Dolls are the acknowledged influence of bands as diverse as Blondie, the Ramones, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Morrissey, the Smiths, and the Sex Pistols. Legendary photographer Bob Gruen has compiled the first photography collection devoted to the New York Dolls and their iconic and unprecedented style.  Featuring over two hundred unforgettable images New York Dolls: Photographs by Bob Gruen celebrates one of the most important bands in music history.

The Smiths: The Early Years


Paul Slattery - 2008
    A lavishly produced photo book of the band acclaimed by many as the most important UK act of the 80s.

Punk Pioneers


Jenny Lens - 2008
    From 1976 to 1980, Lens took early shots of groups that would go on to be legendary: the Germs, the Go-Gos, Blondie, the Ramones, the Damned, the Clash, Iggy Pop, and many more. Punk Pioneers chronicles the music scene as it raged from stadium and glam rock to punk, steadfastly archiving early pioneers, followers, writers, fans, and performers at shows, backstage, and at parties. Lens reveals untold stories with rare and candid images: Joey Ramone poolside before a show in San Francisco; Debbie Harry tearing off her wedding dress on stage in L.A.; Iggy Pop painting on a whim in the Hollywood Hills. This book stands alone as a record of punk legend, capturing the energy and brilliance, passion and frustration, and most importantly the fight for music and art that embodied the punk movement. Featuring a foreword by renowned photographer Glen E. Friedman, this is one of the most important and most beautiful collections of photography of the least documented era in punk.

Becoming The Media: A Critical History Of Clamor Magazine


Jen Angel - 2008
    Clamor published 38 issues and featured over 1,000 different writers and artists. The mission statement was:Clamor is a quarterly print magazine and online community of radical thought, art, and action. An iconoclast among its peers, Clamor is an unabashed celebration of self-determination, creativity, and shit-stirring. Clamor publishes content of, by, for, and with marginalized communities. From the kitchen table to shop floor, the barrio to the playground, the barbershop to the student center, it's old school meets new school in a battle for a better tomorrow. Clamor is a do-it-yourself guide to everyday revolution.This analysis is presented as a case study on how movement projects and organizations deal with vital but rarely discussed issues such as management, sustainability, ownership, structure, finance, decision making, power, diversity, and vision.