Customer Reviews

Radio Silence: A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For the masses who felt slighted by Stephen Blush's American Hardcore, Radio Silence is the cure. The book's success lies not in achieving what it has set out to do, but in the fact that it never claims to set out to do anything at all but take snapshots of various facets of the US hardcore scene from the early 80's through the early 90's. By no means is Radio Silence a history book on hardcore, but every page has a history lesson that comes across as much more valuable than Blush's broad sweep of hardcore's past. Radio Silence touches on straightedge, skate rock, screamo (the real screamo that was big 15 years ago), Krisha-core and investigates the localized styles of hardcore that came from Boston, DC, New York, Orange County, Connecticut, San Diego, etc. As the subtitle explains, the content is mainly visual - live photos, demo tape inserts, skateboards and worn out t-shirts take the place of "you had to be there" nostalgic banter. There are some great surprises in the book - a handwritten letter from Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies to Pat Dubar of Uniform Choice; a handmade mockup of Youth of Today's Disengage 7" layout; and a great selection of record covers and t-shirts in the back of the book organized by design content. This is a flip-through book - not a book to read cover-to-cover - and every time I open it I find a new picture or quote I hadn't seen before. I was a little bit worried that this book was going to be another punk rock history lesson but the collection of items on display inside have given me more information than any written account could ever have done.

Radio Silence: A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music

This is a beautiful book!
I showed it to a friend who said "you can see how loud it was just looking at the photos", and I think that summarizes it very well. The power and passion shine on every page, but the layout is subtle, and the paper quality is exceptional, which leads to an overall pleasure of a book to leaf through.
This would make a great gift for anyone who has ever loved American punk rock!

I should confess right off the bat that the main thing that made me decide to shell out $20 to purchase this book sight unseen was the sheer number of contributors to it from my beloved Orange County, California hardcore scene. Over the years, I've read quite a few books on hardcore but none of them did a very good job of covering the O.C. hardcore scene to my satisfaction. When I stumbled upon the Radio Silence website via an email from a friend, I was elated to FINALLY see a book about hardcore on the market that employed so many O.C. scenesters, many of whom are just as relevant to me and my life now as they were back in my early 20s (I'm 38 now). Needless to say, after giving it a day's worth of thought (hey, $20 ain't chump change after 8 years of George W. Bush), I made the order on Amazon.

Best $20 I ever spent.

As someone who got heavily into punk and hardcore music in the mid '80s and was actively involved in the early '90s O.C. hardcore scene, Radio Silence is nothing less than the ultimate yearbook of that bygone era. Jam packed with over 500 mostly previously unseen color and black & white photographs of all things hardcore (literally ALL things hardcore, folks) from 1978-1993 and anecdotes from over 100 participants of every hardcore scene that existed during that period of time, the book serves as both an extremely satisfying trip down memory lane for the people who were there and a very thorough sort of introductory time capsule for current hardcore fans who are interested in finding out more about the deep history of this genre of music. Add to that the fact that the pages of this coffee table book (again, I mean that literally) were printed on thick and sturdy paper stock and you've got yourself a timeless document that you will no doubt refer to many, many times throughout your life.

Radio Silence is a real keeper.

With the rash of books hitting the shelves these days to document the punk hardcore scene(s), the truth is that almost all of them reflect the rag-tag and aspirational style of the scene without really forming a true, cohesive assembly of thought or theory. And the web just helps fuel this patchwork collection of history.

But Radio Silence doesn't try to be more than what it is- a collection of great visuals spanning a wide range of hardcore's lifetime. Modest yet still cool at the same time, I really just like this book. It is fun to look at, represents the scene(s) well. The mix of photos, record covers, layouts, t-shirts, etc. is a great one.

Seriously, you should own this.

This book combines the oral story telling of "Banned.." with the visual impact of "My Rules". Like the title says it is a Selected history and the writers have chosen to keep the scope of the book to east coast and socal bands of the late 80s to early 90s with particular interest paid to edge bands. To truly appreciate this book it would help to come from a record collector's background--but if you really want to have a feel for a bye-gone era absolutely pick this up---also see how many of the records from the back of the book you have---CDs don't count!!!

I bought the book for personal reasons as I know so many of the people in the bands that were highlighted. It's cool to be able to show my son and daughter the 7inch cover from my own band that is featured.

I might be a parent and a corporate cog these days but my docs are still flat laced, the Fred Perry's still look good and straight-edge is the way to live.

Buy the book, enjoy the visuals.

If you're into hardcore music, this is the book for you.
You can almost hear music coming from the pages.
So many great photos, interesting stories and interviews.
Makes a perfect gift too. Large size is nice...almost coffee table sized.
Love it...I bought 3...after I got my first copy.

Well put together! Of all the videos / books referencing the Hardcore scene from that era, this is the only one that depicts it properly.

For example, there's a lot of talk about how DOA and Black Flag basically created the alternative touring circuit in 1978-80, but there isn't one photo of DOA. They found room for photos of Drive Like Jehu and Quicksand, though. Lots of Dischord, lots of late 80s-early 90s Youth Crew, SxE and "post hardcore", and some New York and Boston. There's also a couple courtesy photos of early Black Flag, Circle Jerks, DKs and Crucifix. Sorry, but bands like Nation of Ulysses and Swiz telling you they're "jazz" wasn't and isn't HC. On a brighter note: there's no '90s pop-punk, no Berkeley, no "women in the scene", and the word "vegetarian" only appears once or twice. It's also a beautiful and well put together book, hence the four stars.

Historical commentary of a movement that those lucky enough to have been around for can relive and cherish through this work. To those who missed the boat, Sorry, but it was a magical time. Now stop wearing your sister's pants!