While a punk encyclopedia seems like an oxymoron, music writer and musician Cogan nicely succeeds in producing a useful resource illustrating the urgency and importance of punk rock from its mid-1970s start to the movement’s vitality in the present day. A plethora of great photos—from the Clash and the Sex Pistols to newcomers Groucho Marxists and the Shemps—accompany knowledgeable, fascinating and fast-paced entries that illuminate punk bands’ struggle to survive (the Ramones were paid only $5,000 for their starring role in Rock ‘n’ Roll High School in 1979) while avoiding being co-opted by the mainstream music biz.
Cogan has basically compiled the end-all, be-all list of punk bands you should know about… Basically it’s the punk fan’s holy bible.
The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists features over 200 of the funniest, craziest lists from the Most Offensive Songs to Stupidest Band Names, from Punk Sell-Outs to Fashion Don’t s culled from historical archives and generated by celebrity guests. Contributors include rock stars and punk luminaries, from members of Guns N’ Roses and the Ramones to Little Steven Van Zandt, Nick Tosches, Lenny Kaye, Debbie Harry, and every other big-name punk from the last 30 years of rock history. Wicked caricatures, by noted underground artist Cliff Mott, of punk rock stars are peppered generously throughout the book, which is already being hyped as the most fun music book of all time.
It was only a matter of time before punk rock got the Aye Jay treatment. The artist-author, whose books have previously tackled hip-hop (”Gangsta Rap Coloring Book”), the Pitchfork crowd (”Indie Rock Connect the Dots”) and Dirtheads (”Heavy Metal Fun Time Activity Book”), sets his sights on the mohawked masses in his latest volume, “Punk Rock Fun Time Activity Book.”
The foreward was penned by Steven Blush, the director of the documentary “American Hardcore,” based on his book of the same name, and the 46 pages of puzzles that follow range from word searches based on punk legends (you try finding GBH) to coloring Darby Crash (suggestion: it’s more punk to color outside the lines) to drawing on Henry Rollins’ tattoos (bummer: no exposed back on which to draw that giant search & destroy sun). Our personal favorites are the two Punk Libs, one set to the Dead Kennedys’ “California Uber Alles,” and the other set to “I Wanna Be Your Dog” from the Stooges.
With the exception of Green Day, modern punk is notably absent (where’s NOFX?), which means punk fans below the age of about 40 may have a tough time with some of the games (unless of course they’ve done their old school homework). But the book fits nicely alongside the series’ other volumes and the publisher is racking up quite a nice set of releases, which makes us wonder which genre will get the treatment next. Reggae? Jam bands? Jazz?
And good news for you gutter punks hoping to buy the book by sparing for change on Telegraph Ave: It costs less than $10. And honestly, what would you rather have — a book that guarantees you at least 20 minutes of entertainment, or a half dozen 40s of King Cobra?
