When most of us think about the begining of what we know as "punk rock," we emidiatly think of bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. But little did we know, 1975 New York and London did not start the scene, only revamped what Ann Arbor had created.
In the article, they talk about a book written a few years back that revealed the true birthplace of punk rock.
Here are a few quotes from the article-
"a 1996 book called "Please Kill Me" - subtitled "the uncensored oral history of punk" - reveals the truth. This fascinating book strings together interviews with most of the principals of the punk rock scene, gathering reminiscences into somthing like a coherent narrative, with absolutly no additional exposition or explination. Then end result is a "warts and all" tale - and boy, were there ever warts - of the rise and fall of the music and the culture surrounding it. And aside from a prologue dealing with the Velvet Underground, the entire first section of "Please Kill Me" is about Ann Arbor."
"The whole approach of the book is to avoid taking positions on the countless debatable topics it raises. But simply by starting where it does, it ends up making a compelling case that ground zero for the punk explosion - which would reverberate around the world in the 1970s - was Ann Arbor in 1967."
I had always heard a few things here and there about Ann Arbor being a big part of the early punk rock scene, but I never knew that it was THE starting point. I picked up a copy of this book and it is a very good insight to the true history of the unspoiled punk scene, before it became a household name and a fashion statement. I would recomend it to anyone who is truly interested in the scene rather than just the image.
by Legs McNeil
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The Uncensored oral
History of Punk.