If anyone has the credibility to really document a scene, it's Holly George-Warren. She has had her hand in about 8 billion books documenting various musical scenes to all levels of depth. Even with her scholarly knowledge of music history, though, I'm glad her latest release, Punk 365, while comprehensive and in depth in scope, doesn't try to be a scholarly work.
Comprised of 365 photos documenting the history of punk music, Punk 365 manages to capture the feeling of the punk scene and the wide scope of its players, without trying to read too deeply into it. It's about the whos, and it leaves the whys to you. It's given more cred by a forward from Richard Hell, and while I guess it's intended to supply you with a photo a day for a year, impatient folks like me will pick it up over and over again to flip through it.
The range of bands chosen is comprehensive and genre-spanning. Of course The Ramones, The Clash and Sex Pistols, but there are also your personal favorites that may have not been that big, or had more of a cult appeal. Wayne/Jayne County is there, as are Wendy O. Williams, the Dead Boys and the Dictators. She remembers the real pioneers, like Patti Smith, Iggy, the MC5, and the Velvet Underground. She even gives cred to those who took it elsewhere, like REM, Cyndi Lauper, the Cure, Bow Wow Wow and Sonic Youth. Really, I am amazed at this compilation, and I think the only absence I noticed at first flip was Crass and the Dead Milkmen. It's even fun to guess who should be in there, then look in the index to find the photos (I just did it to see The Cramps, Minutemen and Mission of Burma).
Punk 365 is a late-breaking addition to my list of punk rock gift ideas. Long-time fans will dig its comprehensive quality, and a youngster just getting into punk will dig this quick glimpse into everything that's come before, and realize they need to get listening.
