Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

What Britain refined, America defined. Please Kill Me, assembled by two pivotal figures at the heart of the movement and narrated through the raw voices of musicians, artists, iconoclastic reporters, and entrepreneurial groupies, delivers the complete and decadent story of the American punk scene. From the early years of Andy Warhol's Factory to the gritty New York underground of Max's Kansas City and later, its vibrant heyday at CBGB's, the spiritual home of the Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, and Blondie, this book pulls no punches.

Please Kill Me ventures backstage and behind closed apartment doors to chronicle the sex, drugs, and power struggles that formed the very fabric of the American punk community. It takes us back to a time before piercings and tattoos were commonplace, when every concert, new band, and fashion statement marked an absolute first. From Iggy Pop and Lou Reed to the Clash and the Sex Pistols (in their initial incarnation), Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain meticulously document an era of glorious self-destruction and perverse innocence – arguably the last time so many indulged in such unrestrained fun in the pursuit of excess. This is a visceral and unforgettable account of a truly revolutionary musical and cultural moment.