Gimme Something Better : The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day

by Boulware, Jack (Author); Tudor, Silke (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780143113805
• ISBN10: 0143113801
• Edition: Original
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-29
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

'WHEN PUNK BROKE IN THE BAY AREA, WITH THE CLAMOR AND THE RAGE, THE SEX AND THE SAFETY PINS, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, YOU WERE EITHER THERE OR YOU WEREN'T. IF YOU WERE THERE YOU'RE PROBABLY IN THIS BOOK. IF YOU WEREN'T YOU SHOULDN'T READ IT.'-DANIEL HANDLER, AUTHOR OF ADVERBSFROM THE ART-DAMAGE OF SAN FRANCISCO'S FAB MAB IN NORTH BEACH TO THE STILL VIBRANT ALL-AGES DIY-ETHOS OF BERKELEY'S GILMAN STREET, GIMME SOMETHING BETTER CHRONICLES OVER TWO DECADES OF BAY AREA PUNK, INCLUDING THE SEX PISTOLS' NOTORIOUS FINAL PERFORMANCE, JELLO BIAFRA'S BID FOR MAYOR, THE CREATION OF MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL, AND THE RISE OF THE EAST BAY POP-PUNK SOUND THAT TOOK THE WORLD BY STORM.THIS DEFINITIVE ORAL HISTORY EXPLORES THE MUSIC, PROGRESSIVE POLITICS, DIVINE DECADENCE, AND SMARTASS WIT OF BAY AREA PUNK THROUGH THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO WERE THERE - WITH MEMBERS OF DEAD KENNEDY'S AVENGERS, FLIPPER, MDC, GREEN DAY, RANCID, NOFX, AND AFI.'JACK BOULWARE AND SILKE TUDOR HAVE MANAGED TO DOCUMENT PUNK WITHOUT GETTING IT WRONG - WHICH PUTS THEM IN A CLASS OF ABOUT ONE PERCENT OF THE WRITERS ON THE SUBJECT. GIMME SOMETHING BETTER IS A GREAT READ, AND A GREAT SERVICE TO A SCENE THAT HAS MOSTLY BEEN UNDERREPORTED OR MISREPRESENTED.' - JESSE MICHAELS, OPERATION IVY'PART HILARIOUS, PART TOUCHING, DEEPLY RESEARCHED ORAL HISTORY.' - PENELOPE HOUSTON, THE AVENGERS'SOMETIMES IT WAS MORE OF A 'SCREWMENT' THEN A MOVEMENT, BUT THE BAY AREA PUNKS ALWAYS OFFERED UP SOME DAMN THING TO PUZZLE OR MARVEL OVER.' - IAN MACKAYE, FUGAZI AND MINOR THREAT

Author Biography

Jack Boulware is the author of San Francisco Bizarro, and was a columnist at SF Weekly throughout the 1990s. His writing has appeared in many publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Playboy and Mojo.

Silke Tudor was born in the Bay Area and reared on punk. She was a columnist at SF Weekly and the Village Voice.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction	p. xiii
Prologue: Turds on the Run	p. xv
I Gave My Punk Jacket to Rickie	p. 3
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue	p. 7
Baby, You're So Repulsive	p. 9
Teenage Rebel	p. 23
Giddyup Mutants	p. 31
Holidays in the Sun	p. 36
You Are One of Our Lesser Audiences	p. 42
Kick Out the Jams	p. 55
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables	p. 64
No One's Listening	p. 96
Ha Ha Ha	p. 100
Beer-Drinking Brothers from Different Mothers	p. 113
Thank You, Good Night, Get Out	p. 119
We Are the Kings Now	p. 125
Better Living Through Chemistry	p. 130
Grandma Rule	p. 136
Blitzkrieg Bop	p. 142
Gimme Something Better	p. 153
Berkeley Heathen Scum	p. 158
Dan with the Mello Hair	p. 175
Goddamn Motherfucking Son of a Bitch	p. 178
High Priest(s) of Harmful Matter	p. 185
Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?	p. 207
Beers, Steers and Queers: The Texas Invasion	p. 210
Welcome to Paradise	p. 222
Island of Misfit Toys	p. 227
Crossover	p. 233
Let's Lynch the Landlord	p. 240
Fucked Up Ronnie	p. 246
White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean	p. 255
A Chronology for Survival	p. 263
Sleep, What's That?	p. 272
Journey to the End of the East Bay	p. 280
10 Seconds of Anarchy	p. 285
Two Blocks Away	p. 291
Ever Fallen in Love	p. 302
You Put Your Chocolate in My Peanut Butter	p. 305
Ripped from the Headlines	p. 311
Rise Above	p. 321
All I Know Is What I Don't Know	p. 324
Unity	p. 338
White Picket Fence	p. 356
Up the Punks!	p. 361
Going to Pasalacqua	p. 365
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith	p. 395
Runnin' Riot	p. 403
Outpunk	p. 408
My Boyfriend's a Pinhead	p. 420
Shield Your Eyes	p. 425
...And Out Come the Wolves	p. 429
I Wanna Get a Mohawk (But My Mom Won't Let Me Get One)	p. 441
(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone	p. 449
Longview	p. 460
He Who Laughs Last	p. 463
Rock 'n' Roll High School	p. 466
Who's Who	p. 471
Source Index	p. 485
Acknowledgments	p. 491
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.