Punk Avenue
Inside the New York City Underground, 1972-1982
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Description
An intimate account of Paris-born author Phil Marcade's first ten years in the United States, where-after drifting from Boston to the West Coast and back-he wound up in New York City and became deeply immersed in the fledgling punk rock scene. With brilliant, often hilarious prose, Marcade's book is, according to revered radio personality James "The Hound" Marshall, "historically important, invaluable in fact, but also a fun, fast, nasty read."
Product Details
| Publisher | Three Rooms Press |
| Publish Date | May 02, 2017 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781941110492 |
| Dimensions | 8.2 X 5.5 X 0.8 inches | 0.8 pounds |
About the Author
Phil Marcade left Paris in his late teens to begin "a few months" of travel that led to a 40-year stay in the U.S., mostly in New York City. He was at the center of the origins of the punk rock explosion and was founder and lead singer of punk/blues band The Senders. Along the way, he formed intimate friendships with key artists and musicians including Johnny Thunders, Nan Goldin, Cookie Mueller, Wayne Kramer, Debbie Harry, Nancy Spungen, and Willie DeVille. In addition to writing, he works as a painter and graphic artist.
Debbie Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known as the lead singer of the new wave band Blondie.
Legs McNeil is an American music journalist. He is one of the three original founders of the seminal Punk that gave the movement its name; as well as being a former editor at Spin and editor-in-chief of Nerve Magazine. His regular column in Vice is read by over two hundred thousand readers each week. He is co-author (with Gillian McCain) of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk.
Reviews
Finalist, 2017 Indie Book Awards for Autobiography/Memoir, Foreword Reviews
"Beautifully observed memoir from key early CBGB / Max's Kansas City player . . . A suave evocation of a lost, grittier New York." -Mojo Magazine
"The best book on the New York punk scene since Please Kill Me!"-Rockerzine
"Recommended reading 2017." -Stereogum
"Punk Avenue is the story of a naïve young man looking for simple fun, accidentally fumbling through a music revolution, and in the meantime becoming a symbol for the rise and fall of a scene." -Pop Matters
"Phil Marcade is a fun and fascinating memoir set during one of New York City's most unique era. This book takes you back to the time when Punk was ruling-even if it was just on the underground." -New York Trend NYC
"Nowadays, when punk aesthetics and ideologies are studied, archived and presented in curated museum shows, Marcade's new memoir, Punk Avenue, is a timely gem. His words fill the page with meaning but never overstay their welcome, illuminating untold stories, different scenes, and missing links between the hippies and the punks, between black American music and the reclamation of a three-minute sonic spike to the vein. This is uncluttered, unordained prose." -The Observer
"An incredibly informed and informative biography of a man that includes the rise and fall a unique genre in American music history, Punk Avenue: The New York City Underground 1972-1982 is a truly riveting read from cover to cover."-Midwest Review of Books
"Lucid, grimly humorous and gripping. . . . Truly a perspective from the inside. Highly recommended." -I94 Bar
"A fun, funny, and f**king fast read." -Stomp and Stammer
"A quick, engaging read. It is chock full of great anecdotes and tales of shenanigans while also adding some color and flavor to a scene that too often suffers anymore from over-analyzation and the icy, sterilizing eye of academia. His is a leaving breathing world where those "names" are real people doing real people shit, good and bad, and he is one of them." -Jimmy Alvarado, Razorcake
"A fascinating and amusing book . . . deservedly belongs next to your copy of Please Kill Me and New York Rock." -Shake Some Action
"A must-read for all Punk Rock fans and those looking to be entertained while getting a personal look at the birth of the NYC punk movement." -The Punk Site
"Even if Punk Avenue isn't likely tell you anything about the '70s Downtown NY scene you didn't already know, it's just insanely entertaining stuff and a must read for anyone whose copy of Please Kill Me is in tatters from over-reading." -Midnight to Six
"The real noteworthy feat is not simply remembering stories, but weaving them together in a way that is fun and funny and sad and personal and gripping, whether you're a fan of early the early NYC punk scene or not. Marcade not only does exactly that in expert fashion with Punk Avenue, but he does it in a language that's not his first." --Dying Scene
"PUNK AVENUE is relatable for me in a way no other book about that era has been. . . . I do not need to be part of the scene to feel a spirit of inclusion when I read PUNK AVENUE. That is what the best books are, the ones where we are welcome into the story." -Rock NYC
"Punk Avenue throws in an outsider's perspective on the scene-author Marcade came to New York from Paris. Throw in contributions by Debbie Harry and Legs McNeil, and you have a decidedly interesting work on your hands." -Vol.1 Brooklyn
"The Fren
"Beautifully observed memoir from key early CBGB / Max's Kansas City player . . . A suave evocation of a lost, grittier New York." -Mojo Magazine
"The best book on the New York punk scene since Please Kill Me!"-Rockerzine
"Recommended reading 2017." -Stereogum
"Punk Avenue is the story of a naïve young man looking for simple fun, accidentally fumbling through a music revolution, and in the meantime becoming a symbol for the rise and fall of a scene." -Pop Matters
"Phil Marcade is a fun and fascinating memoir set during one of New York City's most unique era. This book takes you back to the time when Punk was ruling-even if it was just on the underground." -New York Trend NYC
"Nowadays, when punk aesthetics and ideologies are studied, archived and presented in curated museum shows, Marcade's new memoir, Punk Avenue, is a timely gem. His words fill the page with meaning but never overstay their welcome, illuminating untold stories, different scenes, and missing links between the hippies and the punks, between black American music and the reclamation of a three-minute sonic spike to the vein. This is uncluttered, unordained prose." -The Observer
"An incredibly informed and informative biography of a man that includes the rise and fall a unique genre in American music history, Punk Avenue: The New York City Underground 1972-1982 is a truly riveting read from cover to cover."-Midwest Review of Books
"Lucid, grimly humorous and gripping. . . . Truly a perspective from the inside. Highly recommended." -I94 Bar
"A fun, funny, and f**king fast read." -Stomp and Stammer
"A quick, engaging read. It is chock full of great anecdotes and tales of shenanigans while also adding some color and flavor to a scene that too often suffers anymore from over-analyzation and the icy, sterilizing eye of academia. His is a leaving breathing world where those "names" are real people doing real people shit, good and bad, and he is one of them." -Jimmy Alvarado, Razorcake
"A fascinating and amusing book . . . deservedly belongs next to your copy of Please Kill Me and New York Rock." -Shake Some Action
"A must-read for all Punk Rock fans and those looking to be entertained while getting a personal look at the birth of the NYC punk movement." -The Punk Site
"Even if Punk Avenue isn't likely tell you anything about the '70s Downtown NY scene you didn't already know, it's just insanely entertaining stuff and a must read for anyone whose copy of Please Kill Me is in tatters from over-reading." -Midnight to Six
"The real noteworthy feat is not simply remembering stories, but weaving them together in a way that is fun and funny and sad and personal and gripping, whether you're a fan of early the early NYC punk scene or not. Marcade not only does exactly that in expert fashion with Punk Avenue, but he does it in a language that's not his first." --Dying Scene
"PUNK AVENUE is relatable for me in a way no other book about that era has been. . . . I do not need to be part of the scene to feel a spirit of inclusion when I read PUNK AVENUE. That is what the best books are, the ones where we are welcome into the story." -Rock NYC
"Punk Avenue throws in an outsider's perspective on the scene-author Marcade came to New York from Paris. Throw in contributions by Debbie Harry and Legs McNeil, and you have a decidedly interesting work on your hands." -Vol.1 Brooklyn
"The Fren
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
