They had a violin player. They came from Portugal, Spain, and England. Their anarchy was poetic. Working with the iconic Rough Trade Records at its radical beginnings, they were the first group of punk women to actively call themselves feminists.In this short book—the first on The Raincoats—author Jenn Pelly tells the story of the group's audacious debut album, which Kurt Cobain once called “wonderfully classic scripture.” Pelly builds on rare archival materials and extensive interviews with members of The Raincoats, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Hole, Scritti Politti, Gang of Four, and more. She draws formal inspiration from the collage-like The Raincoats itself to explore this album's magic, vulnerability, and strength.

    From backrooms of Max’s and CBGB’s to the Tropicana Hotel in Los Angeles and back, Punk Avenue is a tour de force of stories from someone at the heart of the era. With brilliant, often hilarious prose, Marcade relays first-hand tales about spending a Provincetown summer with photographer Nan Goldin and actor-writer Cookie Mueller, having the Ramones play their very first gig at his party, working with Blondie’s Debbie Harry on French lyrics for her songs, enjoying Thanksgiving with Johnny Thunders’ mother, and starting the beloved NYC punk-blues band The Senders. Along the way, he smokes a joint with Bob Marley, falls down a mountain, gets attacked by Nancy Spungen’s junkie cat, become a junkie himself, adopts a dog who eats his pot, opens for The Clash at Bond’s Casino, opens a store named Rebop on Seventh Avenue, throws up in some girl’s mouth, talks about vacuum cleaners with Sid Vicious, lives thru the Blackout of 1977, gets glue in his eye, gets mugged at knife point, plays drums with Johnny Thunders’ band Gang War, sets some guy’s attache-case on fire, listens to pre-famous Madonna singing in the rehearsal studio next to his, gets mugged at gun point, O.D.s on heroin, gets saved by a gentle giant named Bill, lives at night… Never sleeps…  A very funny book.

    Straight edge created its own sound and visual style, went on to embrace vegetarianism, and later saw the rise of a militant fringe. As the 'don't drink, don't smoke' message spread from Washington, D.C., to Boston, California, New York City, and, eventually, the world, adherents struggled to define the fundamental ideals and limits of what may be the ultimate youth movement.

    In the suburban shadows of New York City, Jack Tortis crawls through his adolescent struggles. He's an introvert in search of home, but he's been branded a punk on an island with little opportunity for redemption. Set in the 1980s and '90s with a soundtrack of tunes in the background, Jack and his friends try to find their way through love, hate, dysfunction, and illusion. In a battle for survival, they must overcome the violence, drugs, and apathy that infects their community. As winter approaches, Jack finds himself alone at the crossroads and must choose his fate. This is a coming of age story with perspective framed by an ancient tale of wisdom that reminds us how reality is not always what it seems.

    Punk rock was a life-changing discovery. The buzz-saw guitars, the messed-up clothing and hair, the rejection of society and the DIY approach to building a new one: in their gray surroundings, where everyone’s future was preordained by some communist apparatchik, punk represented a revolutionary philosophy—quite literally, as it turned out. But as these young kids tried to form bands and became more visible, security forces—including the dreaded secret police, the Stasi—targeted them. They were spied on by friends and even members of their own families; they were expelled from schools and fired from jobs; they were beaten by police and imprisoned. Instead of conforming, the punks fought back, playing an indispensable role in the underground movements that helped bring down the Berlin Wall. This secret history of East German punk rock is not just about the music; it is a story of extraordinary bravery in the face of one of the most oppressive regimes in history. Rollicking, cinematic, deeply researched, highly readable, and thrillingly topical, BurningDown the Haus brings to life the young men and women who successfully fought authoritarianism three chords at a time—and is a fiery testament to the irrepressible spirit of revolution.

    Thirteen years later, he came back, demanded that his bandmates reunite so they could become “bigger than the Beatles,” and promptly dropped dead. Though he was a founding member of the band and played on three of their best albums, Rogerson was lost to history.Woven from interviews of people who knew him, The Prodigal Rogerson explains what happened to Rogerson, where he went, and who he was—all against the backdrop of the Los Angeles punk scene in its prime.

    Their third album The Holy Bible (1994) is generally acknowledged to be their most enduring and fascinating work, and one of the most compelling and challenging records of the nineties. Triptych reconsiders The Holy Bible from three separate, intersecting angles, combining the personal with the political, history with memory, and popular accessibility with intellectual attention to the album's depth and complexity.

    She struggles to have a relationship with her brother Peter, whose self-destructive drug addiction makes that nearly impossible—death by overdose is a constant threat, and Peter's irresponsible, erratic behavior often disrupts any attempt to spend time together. And yet, despite the pain of navigating a distressing sibling relationship and the havoc it wreaks on her emotional life, Paloma's outlook is generally playful and irreverent. Ruminating on the human condition as she daydreams about becoming a stand-up comedian, she offers up her philosophy on life: "Why can't we humans be more like dogs … wouldn't it be great if all a mother wanted was a butt scratch?"When she lands a job with a local landscaper, Paloma finds herself enjoying the work and the casual, friendly relationship with her new boss. But Peter has connections with a pot grower in Humboldt County, and when he offers to bring Paloma into the operation she quits her job and begins to shine in her new role as a weed broker for celebrity clients. Making good money for the first time in her life, she suddenly has the freedom to consider her dream.Tara Jepsen is a writer and actor living in Los Angeles. She's appeared in the award-winning series, Transparent, and her writing has been published by The Believer and elsewhere.

    Interviews include musicians, performers, journalists, photographers, DJs, fans, and scenesters.