This is HARDCORE..

AMERICAN HARDCORE: A Tribal History by Steven Blush
I've been looking for this book for a long time. Thanx to Rizman for giving me a copy of American Hardcore movie version. But this is the book version of American Hardcore. I've bought this book last week and its really worth my RM80. For me, passion is more important from everything. American Hardcore: A Tribal History not only recapitulates an important and influential scene, its provocative sociological snapshots reveal the apocalyptic desperation of a singular time in American history. Author Steven Blush was a prime mover in the scene he writes about; in the ’80s, he promoted many hardcore tours and shows, DJ’s in influential college radio show, and ran a record label. Later Blush published Seconds magazine, and wrote for Paper, Spin, Interview, Village Voice, Details and High Times magazines. The primary photographers included in this volume are Edward Colver and Karen O’Sullivan. Flyers, set lists, logos, and record covers have been provided by many collectors, and the book includes an extensive discography of Hardcore rock releases from 1980 to 1986. He talks with some of the biggest names in the scene including: Milo Aukermen, Brian Baker, Jello Biafra, Dez Cadena, Glenn Danzig, Greg Ginn, Greg Graffin, Jack Grisham, Brett Gurewitz, Ian Mackaye, Mike Ness, Henry Rollins, Mike Watt, and many more both of larger and smaller bands spread throughout country. This personal accounts and the telling of many private and unknown stories gives the book a very intimate feel and by the end, I felt as if I understood some of the frequent contributors better and was better able to understand some of their more personal lyrics and songs.
The book is divided into four parts, each with its own chapters. The first part takes a look at why hardcore happened, what were the major influences within and around the scene that prompted it to react the way it did. The second part is definetly the best part. This part was about the bands and the scenes from all over the country. The best thing is that this book isn't all about the west coast or the east coast, the author attempted and made a really good effort to cover every scene from every area around the country. The third part tends to drag on bit as it talks about the formation of labels, artwork, the d.i.y ethic, and media portray in movies and TV. The fourth and final section is about the demise of hardcore and why after 86 or so it became irrelevant, at least in this author's eyes, as most of the good bands quit or started new projects that were labeled "post hardcore" or "emo". A really interesting part at the end has many of the big names from the scene discussing punk/hardcore and its relevance today, and how today's scene differs from then.
A good source about hardcore history. But for me, I prefer more to read this book than watching the DVD version. The storyboards is more clear than the movie version. Can't wait to have MALAYSIAN HARDCORE book. hehehe...

Rating - 3 1/2