Tony Rettman

An extensive oral history of New York City's 1980s hardcore punk scene traces the evolutions of key contributors and rivalries as well as the influences of such factors as moshing, heavy metal and Krishna consciousness. Original.

New York Hardcore 1980-1990

NYHC

Tesco Vee

In the early 70s, Detroit was the musical hub of America, but by the early eighties, it was a wasteland. It took a group of skateboarders, a teacher and a census clerk to wake the city up and start one of the first hardcore punk scenes in America. Why Be Something That You're Not chronicles the first wave of Detroit hardcore from its origins in the late 70s to its demise in the mid-80s. Through oral histories and extensive imagery, the book proves that even though the California beach towns might have created the look and style of hardcore punk, it was the Detroit scene - along with a handful of other cities - that cultivated the music's grassroots aesthetic before most cultural hot spots around the globe even knew what the music was about. The book includes interviews with members of The Fix, Violent Apathy, Negative Approach, Necros, Pagans, Bored Youth, and L-Seven along with other people who had a hand in the early hardcore scene like Ian MacKaye, Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson.

Detroit Hardcore 1979-1985

Why be Something that You're Not

"Starting in 1981 via Minor Threat's revolutionary call to arms, the clean and positive straight edge hardcore punk movement took hold and prospered during the 1980s, earning a position as one of the most durable yet chronically misunderstood music subcultures. Straight edge created its own sound and visual style, went on to embrace vegetarianism, and later saw the rise of a militant fringe. As the 'don't drink, don't smoke' message spread from Washington D.C., to Boston, California, New York City, and eventually, the world, adherents struggled to define the fundamental ideals and limits of what may be the ultimate youth movement." --Backcover.

Tony Rettman

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