The History of Punk We are not going to go into DETAILS here because most of this has been covered quite well in several GREAT books about the history of punk. At the bottom of the page we have listed some really unusual records that came out between 1976 - 1986 that we are sure have gone undocumented in the assorted punk history books. Many of these are bands that many people really didn't know about. The kind of bands that were unusual, obnoxious and offensive before the word punk was being used. Punk History: American Hardcore: A Tribal History 352 pages Pretty much covers all US hardcore from 1980-1986 You know... Black Flag, Misfits, etc... Some of the lesser known bands are not covered, but this is a good starting place to learn more about the music. There was just so much going on that the history of punk would have to be more like a set of encyclopedias. Now THAT would be cool! This book covers all the usual 'scenes' like: The LA scene, Texas Punk, DC scene, NY scene, etc... George Hurchalla tells us we need to mention his book: Going Underground: American Punk, 1979-1992 300 pages, with lots of cool pix. "Just wanted to see if you wanted to mention my book "Going Underground" on your site, the distributor is AK Press, the website for direct sales of the book is www.zuopress.com. Just trying to get the word out . It's widely considered a great improvement on "American Hardcore" for documenting the era." Best, George Hurchalla There you go George! We mentioned it! At the bottom of the page we have listed some really unusual records that came out between 1976 - 1986 that we are sure have gone undocumented in the assorted punk history books. Many of these are bands that many people really didn't know about. The kind of bands that were unusual, obnoxious and offensive before the word punk was being used. We Got The Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk 320 pages Massive book on the history of the L.A. Scene starting from the late 70's. A not as good book on the same scene is: Make The Music Go Bang! - The Early L.A. Scene 192 pages Our Band Could Be Your Life - Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 528 pages The title is from a song by the band (er.., if you don't know the song, you need to do some serious searching). Bands mentioned in this book include: Black Flag, Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, and Hüsker Dü. I guess you just HAD to be there... The History of Punk - Unusual Records Early punk records that get overlooked in the punk history books: 1976: PS - A band called PS released a 2 track record.... This page is in the works.. We will have sound samples and some record covers here soon. Punk CD reissues we currently recommend: P.E.A.C.E. / WAR 2xCD compilation  60 songs from 1984   Bands include: Articles of Faith, BGK, False Prophets, Septic Death, Proletariat, MDC, Vicious Circle, Negazione, and a TON of others. Probably one of the all time perfect early 80's punk compilations. Not So Quiet on the Western Front 47 Bands on Alternative Tentacles  47 songs from 1982 Bands include: Social Unrest, Rebel Truth, Pariah, Section 8, Angst, Crucifix, and a TON of others. Another perfect comp like the P.E.A.C.E./WAR 2xCD. As far as old punk music goes these 2 comps are essential. This was originally released as a LP vinyl set with a GREAT booklet/zine insert which is the 1st issue of MRR. All bands are from the Northern California scene. The CD comes with a CD sized booklet with the same info.   Post Punk Diary : 1980-1982 384 pages Covers over 900 bands. Some of the best sounding bands created music during this time. Bands include: The Gang of Four, The Birthday Party, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, etc.. The book covers releases and shows that happened during that time. This includes a CD which has sound samples and clips from interviews.