The Punk Reader

A serious reference and a good read. --Leonardo What this borderline scientific tome does is the examination of how punk relates to globalization and how it has contributed to how punk morphed from what it was to what it is perceived to be these days. --Scene Point Blank The examination of the scene in Groningen, Holland and their hunger for everything from Extreme Noise Terror to Dead Moon was an absorbing and refreshing read, as were the histories of scenes in Iran and Indonesia, too young to be infiltrated by scene politics. Over 40 years since all the filth and the fury, it's apparent punk means many different things to many different people. And like most cultures, you have to wade through a lot of bullshit in order to string together the definition which makes sense to you. Enjoy the trek and thank whatever deity you wish for such a predicament. --The Wire An insightful book. . . . To understand what it is to be punk in the 21st century, one has to become comfortable with double vision, looking at global cultural exchange while digging into local contexts. A group of scholars who, by and large, also identify as punks, have gathered their research into a book that embraces this double vision. . . . A valuable reference for anyone looking for granular details on certain scenes. Within its 300-plus pages, insights from many of the authors and their subjects reveal punk to be a constellation of values and trends that arises from many uneasy histories. . . . The Punk Reader encourages prudence on the part of the reader when it comes to evaluating a scene and offers many instances where there are multiple sides to the subculture's story. --Hyperallergic