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Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Paperback – September 1, 1997

by Legs McNeil (Author), Gillian McCain (Author)

4.7 1,995 ratings

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Artists, reporters, and groupies chronicle the emergence of punk music in New York's underground and give backstage accounts of drugs, sex, and power struggles

Print length

496 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

September 1, 1997
Dimensions

5 x 1 x 7.75 inches
ISBN-10

0140266909
ISBN-13

978-0140266900
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; First Edition (September 1, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140266909
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140266900
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 7.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #567,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #206 in Punk Music (Books)
- #1,280 in Music History & Criticism (Books)
- #5,313 in Music Theory, Composition & Performance (Books)

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4.7 1,995 ratings

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Legs McNeil
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Legs McNeil is the coauthor of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, a book widely hailed as the definitive work on the subject. The founder of the seminal magazine that gave punk its name, he is a former editor at Spin and editor-in-chief of Nerve. McNeil also wrote Marilyn Chambers's comeback film, Still Insatiable. He is also the author of the forthcoming The Other Hollywood : The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.
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Gillian McCain
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Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
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Legs McNeil
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Legs McNeil is the co-author of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, a book widely hailed as the Punk "Bible". One of the founders of the seminal Punk magazine that gave the movement its name, he is a former editor at Spin and editor-in-chief of Nerve. He is also the co-author of The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry, and co-wrote the book "I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir" with Mickey Leigh.
Legs currently writes articles for VICE, and is reveling in his and Gillian McCain's newest release: Dear Nobody, The True Diary of Mary Rose, which is a real life Go Ask Alice; it is a gritty, powerful, no-holds-barred Diary of a fifteen year old named Mary Rose as she goes on a search of unimaginable extremes to find love and acceptance that eventually costs her life.
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

1,995 global ratings

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Farley

A new favorite

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023

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A truly great read. I couldn't put it down. I devoured it, and my only regret is not getting a paper book I could lend out.

One person found this helpful

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Dirk Drudgler

Great Book - You Might Feel The Need To Bathe After Reading It

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015

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As crazily complete an account of a musical movement as you will ever read. I hate to say it, but this is my era and I was completely engrossed by the depraved and drugged out path Punk took through its all too brief lifetime.

The book is entirely made up of interviews from everyone who could possibly have anything to say about the seedy history of Punk music. There is no descriptive content other than these interviews which are carefully and cleverly woven together to provide a dynamic timeline of this ugly step child sub-genre of rock and roll. Everyone is interviewed, from musicians to producers to journalists to drug dealers to drag queens to groupies. This complete cast of characters from both sides of the Atlantic creates a narrative so seedy that sometimes you feel you have to bathe after reading it.

And that is as it should be because the story in its decadence is completely mesmerizing.

Everybody is here, The New York Dolls, MC5, The Dictators, The Dead Boys, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and that only gets you half way through the book. I am also happy to report that as a huge fan I was gratified to learn that the number one degenerate from which all Punk sprang (or, more appropriately, seeped) is the king himself, Mr. Iggy Pop; a man pretty much at the center of this descent into musical madness.

For me this is the definitive story, and by far the best overview, of the insane world of Punk music I've ever read.

53 people found this helpful

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Edward J. mccarthy Jr.

DECENT READ, BASICALLY A COMPILATION OF STORIES BY ALL ARTISTS THAT HAD ANYTHING TO DO W/ PUNK OVER 30 YEARS

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2018

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this is a very good read, what this basically is are a bunch of stories compiled by everyone from lou reed to the doors to jim carroll and it all begins in the mid 1960s and goes up to comments by those that where rocking the punk scene during the first part of the dreaded 90s, lots of stories, to many other reviews for all to read, i just wanted to let anyone know who is thinking of buying this book what they will be reading, i must say some of the stories are crazy.....................................

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Beardless Harry

And Then My Mind Split-Open

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2012

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Hardly anyone believed me back in the mid-late 80's -- I was in high school-- when I asserted that "Punk" was an outgrowth of 60's Avant Garde music and style . That groups such as The (East Village and Other) Fugs , The Velvet Underground , the mc5 , The Stooges , etc. , etc. , catalysed a movement toward REAL topics ; the return to REAL American Music (e.g. , "Garage"); and the realities of the streets of N.Y. , Detroit , et al. (Amphetamines , China White Heroin , 'Ludes , LSD ; the liberation of homosexuals and transvestites ; and outright thuggery ).

Legs McNeil has provided --through interviews and first-hand resources-- absolute raw data , just as his book's title suggests . And , this data is served in generous amounts ; no holds barred by its subjects . I must admit , my favourite "Superstars" from that era are : Sterling Morrison (1942-1995) , Ed Sanders (1938- ), Dennis "Machinegun" Thompson (1948- ), Ron Asheton (1947-2009) , and Jim Carroll.
Ostensibly , my favourite era is , say , '65-'73 .
But , the decadence continues ! After the V.U. , mc5 and Stooges dissolved , the next generation took the helm ! The New York Dolls' story is both delightful and tragic . Reading how Syl Sylvan recalls his youth and his brotherhood-friendship with Jim Mura (spelling?) , and the story which ended in a horrible manner.

Although I've never been much of a fan of the Sex Pistols , I certainly have enjoyed reading about them and their antics !

Thanks to Legs McNeil , et al. , the REAL story of "Punk" has been told , in all of its candid entropy .

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

11 people found this helpful

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fackchekur

A fantastic, informative read ... as long as you're not looking for confirmation of what you think you know

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016

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I found Please Kill Me insightful, informative and fascinating. It told me a lot of things I didn't know, even though I followed the punk era closely in the magazines of the time; caught the tail end of it when I moved to NYC in the '80s; and actually became acquainted with a few of the people mentioned in the book. From what I know, at least, it's pretty accurate.

Please Kill Me is not meant to be uplifting. It's a book about a bunch of mostly messed-up, at best semi-stable people of limited talent, who nonetheless came together to create something great. It's the story of those people, not the specific chords they played or the amplifiers they used. It's unusual in that it goes into great depth explaining the genesis of punk; this book makes it clear that the foundation was laid long before the Ramones ever played a note.

It's also a fantastic read. I started reading it on a cross-country flight and stayed up all night finishing it. It's especially compelling when you contrast it with the sanitized, glorified shopping mall that now calls itself New York City.

I wrote this review after seeing too many denigrate the book because it presented a different picture of the people and the music than they expected. This guy was right in the middle of it all, and earned his knowledge through personal experience. There are only a few other people who can match his depth of understanding on this topic, or his passion for it.

71 people found this helpful

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Sarah M Hesse

Hard to put down

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2021

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I’ve owned like 3 copies of this and they get lent out or lost during moves so I bought it again. This is such a good book and you can read it a few times and it never feels repetitive. It just flows so easily and feels like you’re one of the crew reminiscing about the good ol days. These stories and events are well before my time and before I read this book I didn’t even like punk but this book converted me many years ago lol. If you’re on the fence don’t hesitate, you will absolutely not regret the purchase. This would make a great gift for any music lover too, Legs did a great job of bringing it all to vivid life

2 people found this helpful

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Rajendhran Tp

Good

Reviewed in India on June 15, 2023

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Reading

Aldo M.

Excelente

Reviewed in Mexico on October 10, 2020

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Un gran libro, un gran trabajo de investigación que además narra todo el movimiento de una bella y fuerte manera

One person found this helpful

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Client d'Amazon

History. Simply.

Reviewed in France on September 24, 2020

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Diving into the history of punk. 90% very interesting stuff. Very lively. A must-have for all the fans of bands claiming to be Iggy Pop lovers.

Marco Conti

Excellent!

Reviewed in Italy on August 18, 2019

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A deeply insightful and sicerely moving account of American Underground Music from the mid 60's to the Early 80s! The authors are able to set Punk Music in its correct context by stressing the crucial importance of American Bands in the creation of this fundamental Musical and Cultural Phenomenon. Unfortunately, the Bohemian and Avant-Guard Music of the American Bands was totally eclipsed, overwhelmed and finally buried under the monstrously hyper-hyped British Invasion 0f Punk Bands which put an end to any creative process in a couple of years, and reduced Punk Music to a favourite of Gutter Press! To be read and discussed!

One person found this helpful

J. Spiri

Enjoyable even for non-punk readers

Reviewed in Japan on November 13, 2017

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I enjoyed this book. It has an unusual format, all quotes. Most of the musicians I knew, like Velvet Underground, I didn't think of as punk. I didn't even know the New York Dolls. The book would surely have a bigger impact on a punk fan, a more knowledgeable person. The depravity shocked me. But I like reading how others live, especially those who eschew the status quo (these characters go well beyond "eschewing"!). It was, despite my lack of context, still a good read.

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Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Paperback – September 1, 1997

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About the authors

Legs McNeil

Gillian McCain

Legs McNeil

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