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| Steven BlushAmerican Hardcore [book]2001 Feral House Publishing ![Steven Blush - American Hardcore [book] (Cover Artwork)](/images/covers/american_hardcore.jpg)
  Review by: Moldy See others by this writer Feral House Publishing (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 Published on July 19th 2002
Writing about punk, especially hardcore seems to be a topic that has been passed over by most music writers. You see tons of books about the early days of punk and bands like the Ramones, Clash, Sex Pistols etc..(if you believed what those books said or VH1, punk ended they day Sid Vicous died), but very rarely do groups like Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and the hundreds others that followed in their wake get any coverage from a mainstream media. American Hardcore sets out to fill the missing piece of history that was the hardcore scene. This is an oral history of the scene as told by the author, who was a D.C. promoter and played in a band called No Trend, and interviews done by the author with the people created hardcore. He talks with some of the biggest names in the scene including: Milo Aukermen, Brian Baker, Jello Biafra, Dez Cadena, Glenn Danzig, Greg Ginn, Greg Graffin, Jack Grisham, Brett Gurewitz, Ian Mackaye, Mike Ness, Henry Rollins, Mike Watt, and many more both of larger and smaller bands spread throughout country. This personal accounts and the telling of many private and unknown stories gives the book a very intimate feel and by the end, I felt as if I understood some of the frequent contributors better and was better able to understand some of their more personal lyrics and songs. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
I give it a 2 - for the pictures and for the fact that he had the time to put it all together... as far as facts and timelines, whoa! not even close! Good book, cause well, there aren't any around like it, but the writer does throw in his opinion way too much. And the whole '80-'86 thing is lame. Yeah, those were the glory years, when it was pure and untainted, but I wouldn't go and say it's dead after that. Lot's of bands don't sound like Black Flag cause it was such a unique sound. I'm happy no band sounds like them cause only they could pull off that primitive sound and be great. And it's easier to sound like the Cro-Mags because they have a more current sound (Age or Quarrel came out in '86) Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not trashing black flag. but i still don't think that many modern hc bands take from black flag. that's not taking away from anything they've accomplished, they sure built it up, but in terms of influence? i don't agree with any of the "influence" bands from a few posts below. here's a review that i think sums up the book quite well actually i was discussing Black Flags influence at a party this weekend, with 2 friends of mine, one was a punk(ben), they other not really but he is interested(tim). I have to agree with the guy down there, the author was a bit pretencious about hardcore ending in 86 and whatever, but not about that black flag comment. Therwe wouldn't be hardcore without Black Flag. It all started in CA and it was Black Flag that went out and inspired all the kids over there to get in on this new thing happening. The Cro-Mags are great, but they came much later than Black Flag. hey, i'm the guy who wrote the NYHC comment before. I've NEVER READ THE BOOK. DC/NY/Boston=Olden day enemies and what's this about ian? i didn't know fear played SNL save it dorks, go get the motley crue book. that shit is dope! besides punks dont read anyway, dont' post book reviews. especially about hardcore. i though hc kids were to busy hating drugs and fighting each other and sucking e/o dicks. fuck sXe and hardcore. does anyone even care? Hardcore in the early '80's had more intensity and atmosphere than most current hardcore bands. It was more than just a bunch of screams put together- Black Flag during their Henry years is the best example of an ever growing hardcore band- both musically and lyrically. That is not to say that hardcore bands today cant be better- I hope they will, but as of now all i hear are screams and nothing else. Screams are great but you need more. Himsa is a great example of a current hardcore band that can hold it's own to past hardcore bands. But I think hardcore is gonna get better and evenmtually create a whole new form of itself hopefully, not rehashing the same stuff over and over. Uh, there is a whole section about New York. (Which is quite good) So don't complain about NYHC being left out. Some of the dates are off, but there aren't that many errors. The book is basically made up of quotes, so it's not really his fault if the quotes are wrong. also riddled with factual errors... can't any of these clowns get it right? "Terrible book written by a close minded buffoon who can only be accurately described as a 'snob'." Terrible book written by a close minded buffoon who can only be accurately described as a 'snob'. In this book he claims that hardcore and punk died in 1986 and that everything after it was a mockery of the original bands. The author is condescending and ill informed and quick to brag about all the shows and records he has instead of being an objective writer. In all honesty,this dick is just a 1980's version of the big mouthed, know it all hardcore punk kid of today who claims to know everything and shoots his/her mouth of about it all the time that you just can not stand to be around. Not that I've read this book, or that I'm knocking the author's personal account or any of the bands, but where's NYHC? I'd probably say that the NYHC stuff is arguably just as important to today's hardcore, if not the hardcore of yore... Moldy, great review. I'll definitely have to buy this. A shame it'll never be in my local library, eh? FUCK YEAH!!!! Black Flag? Misfits? Bad Brains? THINGS DONT GET ANY BETTER! i jsut got done reading this book today, after getting it yesterday afternoon. i couldn't put it down, and read it throughout last night. great book |
