Punk

I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir

When the Ramones recorded their debut album in 1976, it heralded the true birth of punk rock. Fast and frenetic in their leather jackets and torn jeans, the Ramones gave voice to the disaffected youth of the seventies and eighties, influenced countless bands, and inspired the counterculture for decades to come.

Born Jeffry Hyman of Queens, New York, Joey Ramone was the quirky, extraordinary lead singer and cofounder of the band. Hiding his face behind signature sunglasses and a mop of dark hair, he helped define punk's early image, and his two-decade-plus tenure as the Ramones' front man made him unforgettable. Told by Joey's brother, Mickey Leigh, I Slept with Joey Ramone provides an intimate look at the turbulent life of one of America's greatest -- and unlikeliest -- music icons.

With honesty, humor, and grace, Mickey shares the fascinating, sometimes troubling story of growing up with an emotionally distressed brother who becomes a rock star and the effect it had on their family. He shows how Joey used music to cope with mental illness; embraced the glam nightlife of the New York scene; launched CBGB alongside bands like the Talking Heads and Blondie; and brought punk to Britain, clashing with the Sex Pistols and changing music history.

Ultimately, betrayal and infighting would end the band. While the music lives on for new generations to discover, I Slept with Joey Ramone is the enduring portrait of a man who struggled to find his voice and of the brother who loved him.

Misery Obscura: The Photography Of Eerie Von (1981-2006)

From the deepest depths of punk rock's 1970s primordial wastelands, through the stygian goth swamps of the 1980s, and on into the bloodstained arenas of 1990s heavy metal, Eerie Von witnessed it all. Beginning as the unofficial photographer for punk legends The Misfits and later taking charge of the bass guitar as a founding member of underground pioneers Samhain and metal gods Danzig, the evil eye of Eerie Von's camera captured the dark heart of rock's most vital and bleeding-edge period, a time when rock and roll was not only dangerous, but downright menacing. Eerie Von's lens has documented everything from The Misfits' humble beginnings in Lodi, New Jersey, to the heights of Danzig's stadium-rock glory alongside metal superstars Metallica. As well as an essential visual document of music history, Eerie's road stories of triumph and damnation bring to life an era the likes of which will never again be seen.

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (An Evergreen book)

Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag

They were the pioneers of American hardcore, forming in California in 1878 and splitting up 8 years later leaving behind them a trail of blood, carnage and brutal, brilliant music. Throughout the years they fought with the police, record industry and their own fans. This is the band's story from the inside, drawing upon exclusive interviews with the group's members, their contemporaries and the groups who were inspired by them. It's also the story of American hardcore music, from the perspective of the group who did more to take the sound to the clubs, squats and community halls in American than any other.

Only Death Is Real: An Illustrated History of Hellhammer and Early Celtic Frost 1981-1985

In the early 1980s in the rural outskirts of Zurich, Switzerland, author Tom Gabriel Fischer assembled the groundbreaking heavy metal band Hellhammer a dark, dramatic force that flew in opposition to his surroundings in every way, even the flashy party-hearty hard rock music of the day. Slowly, Fischer pulled together an ever-larger legion of similar-minded outcasts and adventurers. In a few short years, Hellhammer vanished and Celtic Frost was born, and in this remarkable volume the tale is told with vivid photographs and exacting narrative detail. Only Death Is Real is essential for hundreds of thousands of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost fans worldwide, followers of heavy metal history, and anyone who has ever wondered about the dark, artistic side of metal music. Without a doubt, Fischer is a singular figure responsible for untold innovation, and his book is sacred scripture for understanding the origins of underground heavy metal. Here he explains in intimately human terms how extreme metal was born, detailing the hardships and triumphs he faced bringing Hellhammer and Celtic Frost to reality.

Pretty in Punk: 25 Punk, Rock, and Goth Knitting Projects

Another boring scarf? More mittens? We're not gonna take it! And neither should you!

Pretty in Punk salutes counterculture fashion with 25 entirely original designs inspired by fashion icons Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, and punk legends. Indulge your girly side with the Ready Steady Go mini skirt, rebel with Feel the Pain wrist cuffs, or channel your inner rock star with the very same Mohawk hat Depeche Mode's Martin Gore wears on stage. Whether you're new to knitting or a veteran desperately seeking patterns with an edge, you'll find projects here for every mood and every genre. With step-by-step instructions, helpful technical illustrations and intarsia graphs, plus high-fashion photos of all the finished projects, Pretty in Punk is the only authority on anti-authority knitting.

Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day

An oral history of the modern punk-revival's West Coast Birthplace

Outside of New York and London, California's Bay Area claims the oldest continuous punk-rock scene in the world. Gimme Something Better brings this outrageous and influential punk scene to life, from the notorious final performance of the Sex Pistols, to Jello Biafra's bid for mayor, the rise of Maximum RocknRoll magazine, and the East Bay pop-punk sound that sold millions around the globe. Throngs of punks, including members of the Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Flipper, MDC, Green Day, Rancid, NOFX, and AFI, tell their own stories in this definitive account, from the innovative art-damage of San Francisco's Fab Mab in North Beach, to the still vibrant all-ages DIY ethos of Berkeley's Gilman Street. Compiled by longtime Bay Area journalists Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor, Gimme Something Better chronicles more than two decades of punk music, progressive politics, social consciousness, and divine decadence, told by the people who made it happen.

The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon

In his new autobiography, NYHC legend John Bloodclot Joseph recounts his hard times and spiritual redemption. A traumatic childhood in foster homes was just the beginning of John's evolution. Before fronting one of the most important bands in the underground punk scene, the Cro-Mags, John faced homelessness, addiction, betrayal and insanity. Still, even his success couldn't save him from a relapse that set him back to square one - rock bottom. The book is a raw and unapologetic autobiography about his life. Consider yourself warned.

Swedish Death Metal

Sweden is a small country in freezing northern Europe, with less than nine million inhabitants and a reputation for Volvos, hockey players, cheap furniture, vodka, and blonde women. Since the late 1980s, however, Sweden has produced over a thousand extreme heavy metal bands, creating one of the most respected regional music scenes in the world. This is the improbable history of how a marginalized teen movement crawled from Sweden s small towns and suburbs, and found a lasting place on the world stage. Daniel Ekeroth captures the epic tale with enlightening detail, beginning with Sweden s violent loss of innocence in the 1980s, through the metal s virtual chokehold on the country during the 1990s, into the lasting legacy and global influence in the turbulent 2000s of the Sunlight guitar tone, the Gothenburg Sound, and the countless offshoots of Sweden s most lethal cultural export. Bazillion Points has extensively revised and updated a classic for this expanded edition. The ultimate insider's account of the rise of Sweden's legendary extreme metal scene, the book boasts over 450 pages, over 500 images, and scores of exclusive interviews with members of Nihilist/ Entombed, In Flames, At the Gates, Dismember, Grave, Hypocrisy, Opeth, Unleashed, Marduk, Morbid, Mob 47, Deranged, Edge of Sanity, Merciless, Therion, Liers in Wait, Carnage, Carcass, Tiamat/Treblinka, Afflicted, Repugnant, the Haunted, and other central characters. Original cover artwork by Nicke Andersson. Introduction by U.S. death metal pioneer Chris Reifert of Autopsy/Abscess/Death. Includes 120-page A-Z of Swedish Death Metal with hundreds of band histories and discographies. Rare photos and galleries of logos, band art, demo tapes, and classic Swedish death metal fanzines. Specs: 7 x9.5 x1.5 , 3lbs., 101% addictive.

American Hardcore: A Tribal History

Angrier and less pretentious than the drug-addled punk and new wave music genres, hardcore was an underground tribal movement created with passion but ultimately destroyed by infighting and dissonance. Among the important figures who emerged from hardcore are Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and Foo Fighters), Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi), and the Beastie Boys. Hardcore's legacy, however, continues to influence the do-it-yourself anticommercial trend of independent record labels and touring networks. The author experienced hardcore firsthand as a promoter, record label owner, and radio DJ, and he intersperses the book's oral histories with his informed commentary. Also included are photographs, discographies, and a complete national perspective on the genre.