I love seeing all the discussions about "punk" here -- punk as a style or political statement is so hard to pin down because it's the DIY, you-don't-have-to-be-good-to-start-a-band ethos that really unites them. What's even more interesting than what happened in the first few years of the "punk movement" is what happened when the next wave of bands (like Pere Ubu, Talking Heads, Devo, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Wire, Public Image Ltd, etc) pushed the limits and experimented with different styles. There aren't many books that document this stage, but "Rip It Up & Start Again" tries as hard as it can to capture the whole thing, along with the emotion and mood of the time. While I already loved "post-punk" music, this book turned me on to a lot of cool bands I had no idea existed.
Check it out!
- Scott