Punk '77

Book excerpt: More than just a new direction in music, punk rock ignited a cultural revolution. Its intense, exciting emergence in the Bay Area is captured in Punk 77. In more than 100 searing, fully-captioned photos -- including early shots of The Damned, The Ramones, Blondie, Nico, and Devo -- the book traces the punk movement in San Francisco from its earliest days through the January 1978 Sex Pistols concert. Interviews and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the Dils, Penelope Houston, Negative Trend, the Nuns, Dirk Dirksen, V. Vale, and others provide insights and illumination into both the music and the social, political, and economic factors punks rebelled against. While many of these colorful early adopters have died, their influence is still felt in the music of East Bay artists like Green Day and Rancid, and their incendiary thoughts live on in this inspiring, essential historical document -- a counterculture manual for subversion.