The history of the cultural punk movement is explored and embodied by the tales told in the book “Please Kill Me.” The story is filled with first-hand accounts of leading punk figures spanning the 60s through to the 80s.
★★★★☆
To say that the punk movement is hard to describe would be quite an understatement. On its surface, punk style is quickly associated with generational angst, a multitude of piercings, and spiked hair or dyed mohawks. Yet when one looks beyond this stereotype at the differing scenes and variety of artists that make up the movement, trying to get a handle on what exactly punk is can be quite a challenge.
Over the past few years, tons of books, documentaries and articles have been written about various facets of this musical movement, but only one is considered to be the definitive source of information about the beginning of punk — “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” by authors Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.
The book’s role as a credible account of punk history arises from a unique layout that embodies the movement in its own way. It includes firsthand accounts from influential figures who took part in the shaping of an entire culture from its origins to its expansive peak, concluding in a decline as 80s moved music in divergent directions. Iggy Pop, Dee Dee and Joey Ramone, Danny Fields, Malcom McLaren, and Jim Carroll are among the punk stars that lend their names and stories to this diverse yet unified tale.
“Please Kill Me” does more than just chronicle a new genre and the bands that made it famous. It explores the turbulence of its time both within the actual music sphere and without. From the ’60s to the ’80s, the stories of punk pioneers are revealed and placed within the context of a drug-rampant culture and a conservative backlash that sought to restrict it.
On Nov. 10, McNeil and McCain visited the Georgetown campus and spoke to students in Anna Celenza’s “Music Industry” seminar and Benjamin Harbert’s “History of Rock” courses. During the 75-minute period of question-and-answer, the duo covered their thoughts on the term itself, the beginning of the genre, their aims with the book and what the future holds. The casual session enlightened the students about a part of musical history that is far too commonly neglected when people mention the greats.
At the start of the visit, students were hesitant to start asking questions, which was perhaps due to the intimidating nature of an artistic movement that many of us have never experienced firsthand. The duo joked that they would start reading off passages from the book, but once the students got more into the swing of things, they asked poignant and interesting questions that got to the heart of what the book was about.
McNeil and McCain tackled these tough questions with equally fascinating stories, McNeil, who was very close with The Ramones, told one student that he thinks the band would be happy with the validation that is has received today. Back then, no one paid their work any attention, and they were often not taken seriously.
The duo also spoke fondly about the idealized New York City of the past. Today, it appears that urban, musical and technological changes have restructured the social norm and removed what was so vital about the city, which has negatively restricted the kind of innovative artistic movements that can be birthed in the iconic city.
“Music reflects what is going on in the culture,” McNeil said.
The duo also touched upon their writing process. They were inspired to write the book as an oral history because of their experience reading “Edie: American Girl” by Jean Stein. They spoke about how an oral history is a great means to write about something that is as convoluted as punk, but that it is a “very, very delicate form.”
McCain added that it is very important for the “text to flow.” The book that they ended up writing is compiled from hundreds of hours of interviews with some of the biggest names in the genre. “Each line of every passage is meant to pull you in,” said McCain.
Toward the end of the session the two spoke about their new projects. McNeil and McCain are teaming up again to create a new music oral history. They’re currently conducting interviews for a book that will cover music of the 1960s and the effect it had in California. The book will range from “the Beach Boys to Helter Skelter,” due on shelves in about two years. If it’s anything like “Please Kill Me,” then it will surely be a must-read.
