Putting those arguments aside for a moment, there can be no denying that the punk-rock explosion born out of the seventies did forever change things. And I would have to say that it mostly changed things for the better. I'm just not sure that bands like the Dead Boys, X-Ray Spex, and the Adverts would have ever imagined themselves the subject of a beautiful coffee-table book designed to sit on a glass table next to a bottle of vintage chardonnay.
Yet, here it is.
Removed from the original arguments that defined punk-rock, Brian Cogan's The Encyclopedia of Punk is nothing short of amazing. It is in fact, pretty much the definitive word on the whole subject. The book also features a foreword written by Penelope Spheeris, who directed the defining punk-rock documentary The Decline of Western Civilization.
Exhaustively researched and beautifully illustrated (including hundreds of rare, never-before-seen photographs), Cogan's book pretty much tells the whole story. From the Accused to Youth Of Today, Cogan's book not only covers something like 500 bands - it also goes deeper into the sub-culture by covering the clubs, zines, labels, and personalities that defined the movement.
All of the usual suspects are covered here - from the Pistols, Clash, Jam, and Stranglers in England, to the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, and Patti Smith in New York. Equal attention is paid to the provocateurs like Malcolm McLaren, clubs like CBGB's, and the latter scenes and sub-genres like Seattle's early-nineties grunge phenomena.
If there is any minor complaint here, its only that the book doesn't take the lineage quite far enough. While obvious early influences like the Stooges, David Bowie, and the Velvet Undergound are given their rightful due, it would have been nice to see more on the sixties garage rock bands that had equal influence on the punks. I mean, if the Sonics, the Electric Prunes, and even Blue Cheer didn't influence bands like Mudhoney every bit as much as Iggy Pop did, I must be missing something here.
That said, at least at this point in time, I haven't seen anything that touches The Encyclopedia of Punk in terms of its completeness.
Until something better comes along, this is the definitive reference guide on punk.
Article comments
1 - Rodney Welch
Glen, Can't comment on the book, but you are totally right on Mudhoney. To hear the opening riffs on "Touch Me I'm Sick" is to hear all of garage rock boiled down to one sizzling shot of raw sonic heroin, laced with a dose of Iggy.