100 books like Punk Rock Blitzkrieg

When I got into the Ramones as a teenager in 1984, I already knew that despite seemingly sharing the same surname, they weren't actually brothers.

What I didn't know for a long time was how dysfunctional this ersatz family really was, as epitomised by the fact that the two most visible members – Joey and Johnny – couldn't have been any more different as people... and didn't even talk to each other.

This book adds another layer to an already incredible tale by also delving into the story of Joey's real-life family, as it was penned by Joey's brother Mickey, hence the title. It also adds something that is sorely missing from the books written by Johnny and Dee Dee: tenderness and warmth.

Monte Melnick was the band's tour manager for a staggering 22 years, but his book is not the first-person, behind-the-scenes account you might be expecting.

Oh, it does look behind the scenes – pulling only few punches in the process – and is written in the first person, or rather persons. See, Monte collected accounts and anecdotes from a great many people, not just band members. It makes for a very lively, fast-paced, and effortless read, like all the best oral-history books do.

Of course Monte nicked the concept from Please Kill Me (which in turn stole it from the baseball classic The Glory Of Their Times), but there's nothing wrong with borrowing a good idea. Ten years after this came out, I did my own oral-history book.

The first proper book about the Ramones came out in 1993 and was written by Jim Bessman.

It's not without merit, but as an authorized biography, produced in collaboration with the band, it fails to cut really deep. Ten years later, when the respected English journalist Everett True (not his real name, which lends a nice touch to this tale of four fake brothers) put pen to paper, things were very different.

The band had broken up and two founder members were dead. Maybe that's why it's such a harrowing read in parts – the details of Joey's death are particularly poignant, not least because True is clearly in his camp, not Johnny's. I think definitive is the unavoidable term here.

There are many more books about the Ramones than I have listed or mentioned, from a small tomé about Joey by a Finnish super fan called Heaven Needed a Lead Singer to a 630-page volume (that weighs 5.5 pounds!) by a German super fan. And still this biography took everyone by surprise when it suddenly landed in bookstores five years ago.

Despite playing more than five hundred shows as a Ramone, Richie "has remained a mystery, his tale untold", as the dust jacket has it. Well, not anymore, of course. Now we know who was the only Ramone who had the guts to stand up to Johnny.  

I absolutely love this book. The main characters, two teenage girls, who are total opposites, develop a friendship based on peer counseling together. They learn from each other and give each other comfort, advice, and more help on how to resolve their problems. It’s a great insight into what goes on in young adults’ lives. 

I recommend this book because it pulls no punches. It’s not easy to get sober, and it’s not glamorous. Jack Grisham--lead singer of the punk band T.S.O.L., has 33 years of sobriety at the time of this writing. He shares that journey honestly with a heart for those needing to hear of his struggles. It’s a good read that teaches what’s behind the 12 steps of recovery. 

Loser girl turned punk rock superhero... Those six words should sell you on The Gospel According to St. Rage alone. But that still doesn't do this book any sort of justice because this isn't really a superhero book. Sure, Barbara may have the powers to cause flocks of birds to release their...um...payload onto her enemies with the simple flick of a finger, but she's not out to save the world, she's just out to finally live the life she's been hiding from.

Eisenbrey brought me back to my own high school days with this book that feels like a punk rock song. To those days of trying to make friends, of trying to define who I am. And she does so with rock star class.

In her life and in her writing, Lydia Lunch is able to alchemize the agony of existence into euphoria more effectively than any artist that I can think of. I could have put any of her titles (Paradoxia, Will Work for Drugs, The Gun is Loaded, etc.) on this list. Her narratives – all true stories from her past – hit like a ton of bricks and leave your own blood on the page. Lydia views the world through carnage visors and takes no prisoners on her journey, weaponizing the abuse she experienced in childhood against authority as an adult. The seamy underbelly of her world is black and white with thunder strokes of red. While reading this collection of personal essays and interviews, you can viscerally hear her spooky, cigarette-burned voice as if she is whispering the prose directly into your ear from behind.

From Martin’s expansive look at things, let’s move onto a more granular approach – Fournier’s Double Nickels. Fournier focuses on just one band and an album (albeit a double record album and one of the best to come out of punk in the 1980s). The Minutemen played a fast, discordant music that sounded like jazz as much as hardcore thrash music. Fournier’s examination turns up something few people consider, that punk wasn’t all about blistering music but rather sophisticated in its nature. Fournier documents how the bassist in the band, Mike Watt, had extended conversations with one of the most important artists associated with 1980s punk – Raymond Pettibon (who as of now has made his way into accomplished art museums and galleries). They talked about everything from Ludwig Wittgenstein to James Joyce. Band members supposedly got into heated debates about history and would stop at public libraries while… show more.

Clair Johnson is determined to prove herself and find out what really happened to her mother. Neither of those things happen the way she expects. 

This is an easy read, with interesting world building, and a realistic set of characters. I enjoyed the setting, the friend group, and the intrigue a lot!