The Encyclopedia of Punk - Softcover

Cogan, Brian

4.02

166 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402779372 ISBN 13: 9781402779374

Publisher: Union Square & Co., 2010

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When people think of punk they often think of outrageous fashion and iconic bands like The Ramones and the Sex Pistols. But the reality of punk stretches over three decades and numerous countries, with a history as rich and varied as it is shocking and daring. With this lavishly illustrated and authoritative A-Z guide, now in a new format, Brian Cogan leads readers through the fiery history of a furious, rebellious, contradictory, and boundary-redefining musical genre and cultural movement that remains as massively influential as it is wildly misunderstood. As The Encyclopedia of Punk clearly proves, punk music and culture has produced a rich trove of material, above and beyond the hundreds of bands, from books and films to incendiary political movements.

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About the Author:

Brian Cogan is a writer and professor and has written extensively on music and popular culture as well as music criticism. He received his Ph.D. in Media Ecology in 2002 from New York University. He teaches at Molloy College and has been a member of the punk scene for over 20 years and written for a variety of zines as well as journals, newspapers and magazines, and has performed and recorded with his band In Crowd since 1987.

From Booklist:

Punk rock is dead. Or is it? Pop-culture and media scholar Cogan believes that, although punk’s original founders are long gone, the punk ethic and punk music still live on in modified forms. Though these forms may be radically different than what the pioneers of punk had in mind, they still reflect what Cogan terms punk’s “loose overall precepts.” He has assembled this encyclopedia to help general readers get an idea of what those precepts might be. Entries are arranged alphabetically, and the bulk of them represent individual punk bands. Each band is given a date of existence; a breakdown of their history, including key members and personnel changes; and—at the very end of the entry—recommended albums for required listening, followed by a complete discography.Seminal bands may receive longer than the average entry length, which runs about two or three paragraphs. The book is unique in that it also has entries for punk’s subgenres, movements, personalities, terms, labels, pioneers, “svengalis,” and accessories. Nearly every inch is splashed with high-quality images, including iconic album covers, live-concert photos, publicity stills, magazine covers, ticket stubs, handmade flyers, and famous recording-session photos. There is a two-page world map dedicated to punk “scenes,” giving the locations of the scenes and listing the bands associated with them. The end of the book is stacked with “extras,” including a punk time line (starting in 1974), a list of the 100 essential punk albums, a list of the top 10 punk drummers, and great moments in punk television. Punk rock is not for everyone, and there is some extreme language and behavior highlighted in the book, but this will be appreciated by those who are curious about punk and its origins, and what punk’s been up to lately. --Jerry Eberle

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