Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk is also good, and covers "punk" from the Velvet Underground through the Sex Pistols (thus putting the Pistols into a broader context). But maybe it focuses too much on the self-destructive punk folks....

But maybe it focuses too much on the self-destructive punk folks....

Heh.

Yeah, I don't want to send the kid cliff-diving. I don't need sanitized pseud-punk, but on the less terrifying end of the spectrum is probably a good call.

If the kid is all smart and intellectual, Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century is a good one. It puts punk's drive for negation of societal norms into a much broader context (eg. Dada, the Situationists, etc). Fascinating book. But some have found it hard to get through.

Kid IS smart.

Boucher and I saw a stage production of Lipstick Traces yonks ago. Good times, good times...

Another rec for "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk". I didn't find it too focused on the self-destruction, and I definitely didn't think it glorified it. The way strings a narrative from the Velvets through the early Punk era really helped me get a better grasp of the context in which all that great music took place. Jon B says, "Check it out!"

For DXM, Corwood and others: The Ugly Things zine guide to recent Kinks reissues

For Rio, Scrappy, erinaceous and others: newish They Might Be Giants rarities collection.

(both links ganked from Datapanik's cool LJ)

Trudy, all book recommendations seconded. I was going to suggest one of those punk box sets that came out in the last couple of years, but I can't remember the name of the one that covered the relevant period. No Thanks!, maybe? Or just get any of these albums: Wire - Pink Flag, Gang of Four - Entertainment!, Dead Boys - Young Loud & Snotty, the Damned - Damned Damned Damned, Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady, X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents, Minor Threat - Complete Discography, the Adverts - Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts, or the Slits - Cut.

Jandek tribute at Perfect Sounds Forever, including a horrendous review of one of the NYC shows by two vapid jerks and a review of the Austin show that appears to rip off my own review in several places. Oh, and a great interveiw with Loren Mazzacane Conors and an album-by-album review of his catalog that I almost completely disagree with (I'd rate every single album differently except the first one and White Box Requiem, both of which are rated exactly correctly).

You guys RAWK. Thank you SO much.

You guys RAWK. Thank you SO much.

Hey, anytime we can get the chance to warp someone's fragile wittle mind....