[.ca] Forming: The Early Days of L. A. Punk (ISBN 1889195448)

Put this one on the top of your list!:
One of my personal favorite punk books. There are great photos of the Screamers, Go-go's, Germs, Weirdos, and X, just to name a few. The old flyers will make you wish you were at those legendary shows. The time line of L.A. punk facts is very informative. This single book is more important to any punk book collection than all the hundreds of Sex Pistols' books combined. A definate must.

I'm not a big X fan, so...:
A collection of essays, photos, album covers, and assorted flotsam; Forming doesn't know what it wants to be. For every insightful look at the state of performance art at the dawn of the Punk Rock scene in Los Angeles, there's a glamour shot of Exene Cervenska. The apparent Queen of Punk Rock, Cervenska dominates the book in content. When other writers aren't tossing about her name, pictures of her dominate the page. Meanwhile, she and John Doe basically interview themselves for the fifth and final essay of the book. For those who are unimpressed with X and all things Cervenska, there are still a few fun facts to know and tell provided in this book. However, Forming is not the documentation of this crucial musical/cultural "scene" that it pretends to be. (ISBN: 1889195448)

I'm not a big X fan, so...:
A collection of essays, photos, album covers, and assorted flotsam; Forming doesn't know what it wants to be. For every insightful look at the state of performance art at the dawn of the Punk Rock scene in Los Angeles, there's a glamour shot of Exene Cervenska. The apparent Queen of Punk Rock, Cervenska dominates the book in content. When other writers aren't tossing about her name, pictures of her dominate the page. Meanwhile, she and John Doe basically interview themselves for the fifth and final essay of the book. For those who are unimpressed with X and all things Cervenska, there are still a few fun facts to know and tell provided in this book. However, Forming is not the documentation of this crucial musical/cultural "scene" that it pretends to be. (ISBN: 1889195448)