I first read Please Kill Me: An Oral History of Punk by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil soon after it came out in 1996. I was very interested in the environment and people in it, but I don’t recall thinking about it much as a piece of writing.
Having just reread it in an e-copy of the 20th Anniversary Eidtion (with an updated index of names) because my friend Adam Deutsch was reading it, it now strikes me as one of the best books about rock and roll that I know, constantly fascinating and energetic. It doesn’t have much to say about the music as such, but it captures the personalities and the culture of U.S. East Coast (and some British) punk with a level of perceptiveness that comes from the people involved in that culture.
I was making a lot of lists in my head as I read it, just for my own fun and interest. So here are the people in the book who are my Award Winners in various categories. Like all lists, don’t even try to take it too seriously.
BIGGEST JERKS
