Gimme Something Better

Posted on 18 April 2017 by Jack Boulware

An oral history of the modern punk revival s West Coast BirthplaceOutside of New York and London, California s Bay Area claims the oldest continuous punk rock scene in the world Gimme Something Better brings this outrageous and influential punk scene to life, from the notorious final performance of the Sex Pistols, to Jello Biafra s bid for mayor, the rise of Maximum RocknRoll magazine, and the East Bay pop punk sound that sold millions around the globe Throngs of punks, including members of the Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Flipper, MDC, Green Day, Rancid, NOFX, and AFI, tell their own stories in this definitive account, from the innovative art damage of San Francisco s Fab Mab in North Beach, to the still vibrant all ages DIY ethos of Berkeley s Gilman Street Compiled by longtime Bay Area journalists Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor, Gimme Something Better chronicles than two decades of punk music, progressive politics, social consciousness, and divine decadence, told by the people who made it happen. Read Gimme Something Better Author Jack Boulware – kino-fada.fr I was expecting to really enjoy this book, seeing as this is exactly where I was at during the early 90s going to 924 Gilman St every weekend Ever since then, I ve held this kind of pride that said i was there when this all went down , and I watched all of my favorite bands go from playing that tiny club to becoming MTV mult millionaires.But after reading this book, I realize that what it really was, was a bunch of misguided people myself included desperately looking for something to belo I was expecting to really enjoy this book, seeing as this is exactly where I was at during the early 90s going to 924 Gilman St every weekend Ever since then, I ve held this kind of pride that said i was there when this all went down , and I watched all of my favorite bands go from playing that tiny club to be...Another great oral history in the tradition of We Got The Neutron Bomb and Please Kill Me, Gimme Something Better packs a serious punch The Bay Area music scene from the 70 s to today gets serious coverage from those who were there Bands like Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Nuns, Crime, etc are covered and just as expected as Green Day, Op Ivy Rancid, AFI, etc The thrill is reading about Negative Trend, Flipper, Fang and all the rest Especially considering this is an insiders view I dug that And Another great oral history in the tradition of We Got The Neutron Bomb and Please Kill Me, Gimme Something Better packs a serious punch The Bay Area music scene from the 70 s to today gets serious coverage from those who were there Bands like Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Nuns, Crime, etc are covered and just as expected as Green Day, Op Ivy Rancid, AFI, etc The thrill is reading about Negative Trend, Flipper, Fang and all the rest Especially considering this is an insiders view I dug that Andy Asp, singer guitarist for Nuisance a favorite of mine was interviewed, though I wish there would have beenabout Nuisance The Maximum Rocknroll and Gilman Street phenomena are covered and discussed thoroughly, as are labels like Lookout , zines like Cometbus and Outpunk and info on the squats, venues and people that made it happen in the Bay.Although the informatio...The 500 pages of this book flew by It covers quite a length of time, about 25 years from the late 70s to the present All of the text is from excerpts of interviews with participants in the various phases of the Bay Area scene.In some cases editing makes people appear to comment on other people in a way that the interviewees probably di...I thought I d like this better than I did, because I had such a strong reaction to We Got the Neutron Bomb The Untold Story of L.A Punk, because I like oral history as a format and because I m from the Bay Area And while it was fun recognizing all the venues mentioned in the book, there s only so many times I can read the same grouse about punk without losing interest To wit the first half of the book is really good, with the format being used to its best advantage to show the competing his I thought I d like this better than I did, because I had such a strong reaction to We Got the Neutron Bomb The Untold Story of L.A Punk, because I like oral history as a format and because I m from the Bay Area And while it was fun recognizing all the venues mentioned in the book, there s only so many times I ...So I loved this book I absolutely fucking loved it I loved itthan I loved Please Kill Me, which I loved very much I suspect my heart grew three sizes for generational reasons I m into the Ramones and it was awesome to read about the trainwreck that was Johnny Thunders, but none of the bands in PKM are my bands, it wasn t my scene, I m not old enough I found my way to Television and the Velvets and the Voidoids and the Dolls later in life, and so the book was basically an intellectual So I loved this book I absolutely fucking loved it I loved itthan I loved Please Kill Me, which I loved very much I suspect my heart grew three sizes for generational reasons I m into the Ramones and it was awesome to read about the trainwreck that was Johnny Thunders, but none of the bands in PKM are my bands, it wasn t my scene, I m not old enough I found my way to Television and the Velvets and the Voidoids and the Dolls later in life, and so the book was basically an intellectual exercise for me A fascinating one, to be sure, and one I recommend everyone engage in, but an intellectual exercise nonetheless.But Gimme Something Better I mean, I ve been to San Francisco maybe twice, but I was probably eight years old when I found the Dead Kennedys I drew that DK in sidewalk chalk all over my stultifying suburban neighborhood, and I sang to myself and danced in the driveway The las...Strange to read Gimmie Something Better, a book whose entirety is made up of quotes from all my friends and acquaintances from the good old days of the San Francisco punk scene For the first half at least it was invigorating to dive in deep to all the old tales It was almost as if there was still that lingering sense that we could go out and play for the sake of playing if only the people, clubs, and culture were still intact So yeah, it s 2018 and Green Day is was considered punk which is no Strange to read Gimmie Something Better, a book whose entirety is made up of quotes from all my friends and acquaintances from the good old days of the San Francisco punk scene For the firs...Maybe because I had the luck of growing up over the mountain from Gilman Street but something made me love this book and go back to listening to a lot of Op Ivy and FilthIlluminating for me because I didn t follow the Bay area scene closely growing up Makes me want to go out and listen to all the bands I haven t heard of.Gimme Something Better provides a deep, thought provoking look into the California punk scene and the seeds that were sowed by bands all the way from Crime to the Dead Kennedys to Social Distortion to Bad Religion, all the way to Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine, Isocracy and the beginnings of the 924 Gilman Street Project in California Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor both manage to cover almost every ounce of drama, controversy, and several stories about the scene and its ridiculous history from the 1 Gimme Something Better provides a deep, thought provoking look into the California punk scene and the seeds that were sowed by bands all the way from Crime to the Dead Kennedys to Social Distortion to Bad Religion, all the way to Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine, Isocracy and the beginnings of the 924 Gilman Street Project in California Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor both manage to cover almost every ounce of drama, controversy, and several stories about the scene and its ridiculous history from the 1970s to today, provided as an oral history, so you get the word straight from the horse s mouth, from every notable member of the punk groups covered Each chapter focuses on a specific moment in time, and everyone has something to say You ll hear about the infamous Dead Kennedys royalty trial in 2000, Operation Ivy s short but amazingly sweet rise to the top, a Misfits show gone horribly wrong, the sad tale of...Really a great book I grew up in the bay area and started playing in punk bands in the late 90s Before reading this I knew the stories behind bands like AFI, Green Day, Fugazi, etc, but this book really sets the foundation for how it all began with the less well known bands like Flipper, The Dils, and Christ on Parade I started writing down page numbers of quotes I liked about halfway through, I wish I had started earlier Here s a few with their respective Who s Who found in the back of t Really a great book I grew up in the bay area and started playing in punk bands in the late 90s Before reading thi...

English
18 April 2017

Jack Boulware