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.
