# Good movies/books on punk rock scene? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670 "2010-08-09T03:09:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/1 "2010-08-09T03:09:03Z")
I’m interested in learning more about punk rock. I’ve listened to a bit–not a huge amount…some Sex Pistols and Ramones. It’s not a genre I really know a lot about, but I would like to. I’m not really sure where to start. I’d be interested in reading about both the New York and London scene. What would be some good books and movies to check out? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/2 "2010-08-09T03:25:49Z")
Book - Please Kill Me - it’s the history of punk rock, told in interview snippets. I’ve heard Sid and Nancy is quite good on the film side, but I couldn’t get through more than 20 minutes of it myself. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/3 "2010-08-09T03:25:49Z")
“England’s Dreaming” by Jon Savage. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi\_m1316/is\_n4\_v24/ai\_12129687/](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n4_v24/ai_12129687/) ---
**Author:** ![lexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/4 "2010-08-09T03:28:29Z")
The Ramones documentary _End of the Century_ is one of the better documentary films on punk rock you’ll find. As far as books go, the definitive book on the New York punk scene is Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain’s _Please Kill Me._ It’s an oral history, made up of interviews with musicians, promoters, club owners, fanzine writers, and fans. While it’s outside the New York/London scope, my personal favorite book on punk rock is Michael Azerrad’s _Our Band Could Be Your Life._ It profiles a batch of influential 80s indie rock bands, beginning with hardcore punk bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat, on up through the more experimental acts like Sonic Youth and the Butthole Surfers, before landing on Mudhoney and the birth of the grunge scene. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/5 "2010-08-09T03:36:29Z")
I have actually seen–and enjoyed–Sid and Nancy, though I don’t know if it’s all that accurate. I mean, it might be. I have heard people complain that parts of it seemed way too romanticized (the scene where they’re kissing with garbage falling in the background, for example). I’ll definitely put Please Kill Me on my to be read list. Just requested it from the library. I’ll check out Our Band Could Be Your Life after I’m finished with that one, **lexan**. And England’s Dreaming, too. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/6 "2010-08-09T03:53:16Z")
How about [The Decline of Western Civilization](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decline_of_Western_Civilization)? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/7 "2010-08-09T03:55:32Z")
First thing that comes to mind is [24 Hour Party People](http://allmovie.com/work/24-hour-party-people-260399). mmm ---
**Author:** ![lexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/8 "2010-08-09T03:58:54Z")
Another documentary film worth checking out is _American Hardcore._ I’m not sure what era or style of punk rock you’re interested in, but if you’re at all interested in the 80s hardcore, it’s outstanding. It mostly focuses on LA, DC, and Boston, but has a brief overview of the rest of the nation. It’s worth a look for the Bad Brains footage alone. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/9 "2010-08-09T04:16:54Z")
I’m not too sure myself, **lexan** –a bit of everything, I suppose. American Hardcore sounds worth checking out. I was thinking of netflixing the movie “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains.” Not really a documentary but it looked pretty good. Is it? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/10 "2010-08-09T04:44:32Z")
Decline and fall of western civilization chronicles the LA hardcore scene. ---
**Author:** ![lexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/11 "2010-08-09T05:59:29Z")
I haven’t seen _Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains_ so I can’t speak to that. Regarding _Decline of Western Civilization:_ It’s certainly a classic, but is it even possible to get a legitimate copy? I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been released on DVD, and VHS copies aren’t easy to come by. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/12 "2010-08-09T06:08:23Z")
Not a documentary but Repo Man would get my vote. Has the look and the music down pat. It’s directed by Alex Cox who also did Sid and Nancy. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/13 "2010-08-09T14:04:00Z")
I would recommend Deborah Spungen’s “And I Don’t Want to Live This Life,” her bio about her daughter Nancy. ---
**Author:** ![Juntas\_Doorman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@Juntas\_Doorman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juntas_Doorman)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/14 "2010-08-09T15:15:29Z")
Shots From The Hip by Charles Shaar Murray and Dispatches From The Frontline Of Popular Culture by Tony Parsons are collections of journalism that both contain a number of articles at the coalface of the London Punk scene. It might not be worth it to you to fork out for two complete books, but you could search the authors’ names online and you might turn up some of the pieces. Just last night BBC4 showed Once Upon A Time In New York - The Birth Of Hip-Hop, Disco & Punk, of which all but the last twenty minutes was about Punk as far as I could see (show was one hour total). Also, Repo Man, mentioned above, is a lot of fun, but the soundtrack is what we would have called American Hardcore, not Punk per se. The only difference as far as I could ever see was that the American bands (as a general rule, there are exceptions) tended to be tighter and more proficient that their British counterparts, but there are people who’d take a bite out of you for confusing the two. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/15 "2010-08-09T15:40:39Z")
_Please Kill Me_ and _Our Band Could Be Your Life_ are essential. _England’s Dreaming_ is a more serious read, but well worthwhile. Along those lines, I’d recommend Greil Marucs’s _Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century_. Gets into the philosophy and sociology of punk and links it to (failed) revolutionary movements in art, politics and philosophy from the past. Another good book to try is Simon Reynolds’s _Rip It Up And Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984_. Also, the best rock autobiography I’ve ever read was _Head On/Repossessed_ by Julian Cope, if you can still find it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/16 "2010-08-09T15:51:05Z")
Derek Jarman’s [Jubilee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_(film)) is a very oblique look at Britain at the birth of Punk. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/17 "2010-08-09T15:51:40Z")
_We Are DEVO!_ [http://www.devobook.com/](http://www.devobook.com/) _Punk Rock and Trailer Parks_, Derf’s graphic novel about Akron’s punk scene: [http://www.amazon.com/Punk-Rock-Trailer-Parks-Derf/dp/1593621353](http://www.amazon.com/Punk-Rock-Trailer-Parks-Derf/dp/1593621353) Includes the Ramones, Klaus Nomi, Joe Strummer, Lester Bangs. ETA: _Diary of a Punk_ by The Pagans’ front man Mike Hudson, now editor of a Niagara Falls rag. [http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Punk-Mike-Hudson/dp/0979769310](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Punk-Mike-Hudson/dp/0979769310) ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/18 "2010-08-09T17:30:05Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’m not too sure myself, **lexan** –a bit of everything, I suppose. American Hardcore sounds worth checking out. > > I was thinking of netflixing the movie “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains.” Not really a documentary but it looked pretty good. Is it? It’s a movie punks see, not a movie one would see to understand punks, if that makes sense. And a good one. Not a realistic one, but that’s just the way it goes, and it does have several actual punk and ska musicians in it. Other fiction movies you are apt to see if you hang out with punks: - [Suburbia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburbia_%28film%29). Pretty much the end all be all of punk movies. Even today I meet young punks with TR burns. And everyone knows the lines. “I said I’d like to fuck your brains out, but it doesn’t look like you have any.” “Have you seen my shirt? Has anybody seen my shirt?” - [Repo Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repo_Man_%28film%29), as mentioned above. - [Times Square](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_%28film%29), which is not easy to find a copy of and not quite as actually punk as the others, but still counts. Especially for girl punks/former riot grrrls/queercore punks. - [Rock n Roll High School](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_%28film%29), mostly because it has the Ramones in it. (Call me crazy, but I prefer the sequel.) And then there’s stuff like Tank Girl, Clockwork Orange, Boston Beatdown, This is England, pretty much anything from Troma Entertainment, Valley Girl, that have even less to do with the actual scene except that punks watch them over and over and over obsessively. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/19 "2010-08-10T11:45:14Z")
The Filth and the Fury is a great documentary of the rise and fall of the Sex Pistols. Surprisingly touching interviews, especially with John Lydon. Control is a great movie about the life of Ian Curtis lead singer of Joy Division. There was a companion documentary that came out the same time. Can’t remember what it was called. I’ll second 24 Hour Party People as well, for an interesting, if stylized look at the Manchester scene. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670/20 "2010-08-10T14:29:16Z")
It’s been years since I’ve read it, but **Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie** , but I liked it. Written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, the pre-disco portion of the book covers their early years in the NY punk scene pretty well, with extensive photos. The glory days of CBGBs! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-movies-books-on-punk-rock-scene/549670.md?page=2)