Based in part on the recent interviews with more than 125 people—among them Tommy Ramone, Chris Stein (Blondie), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Grou...
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Jan 19, 2012
Jon-Christ
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Starts out making a somewhat interesting argument about the influence of Jewish culture on Punk before devolving into all sorts of speculation and some fairly insulting, preposterous notions (Nazi-obsessed Ramones Johnny and Dee Dee are de facto Jews because they grew up in as minorities in a largely Jewish enclave...according to Beeber, being alienated or marginalized in any way is synonymous with Jewdom). The turning point comes when Richard Hell (ne Myers) objects to being included (he was r
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Feb 10, 2009
I've just begun the book...although I have already flipped through it. Fascinating to see what musicians "real" names are. I'll be back...:)
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Jan 25, 2012
Techrtr
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The best thing about this book is the title - it's quite witty. Trying to convince readers that if it wasn't for Judaism, Lenny Bruce or Hitler, there wouldn't have been punk rock, or that if he hadn't been Jewish, Joey Ramone wouldn't have become the Godfather of punk is a real stretch. In fact, most of the book reads like a compendium of castoff lines from Seinfeld or Shecky Greene - "it's our musicality and punkishness that has sustained us as a people for 2000 years. . . " The Yidd
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Jul 10, 2008
Ben
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Be you Jew, punk, or neither, a terribly entertaining and muscular read.
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Sep 10, 2011
Sam
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Steven Beeber interviewed scores of NY punk/new wave scenesters (including pre-, post-, etc.) about the influence of Jewish-American culture. This is good stuff: it turns out that for some of these people there was an influence, & it's been little-discussed previously. Now for the book's flaws...
The editing is sound as far as grammar & fact-checking goes but readability would have been improved by simply crossing out the many repetitions of anecdotes, descriptions, phrases & quotes, More...
The editing is sound as far as grammar & fact-checking goes but readability would have been improved by simply crossing out the many repetitions of anecdotes, descriptions, phrases & quotes, More...
May 21, 2008
Xysea
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I like punk, but I'm not Jewish. Let me start off my review that way.
I've read a good deal about being Jewish, and I have many friends who are Jewish, but it's hard to see punk being the domain of anyone other than the socially, or emotionally, alienated, regardless of ethnicity.
The foundation of this theory is a bit shaky - The Ramones were undeniably punk, but others he cites as 'major' influences were minor; or rather, they were major influences in the New York punk s More...
I've read a good deal about being Jewish, and I have many friends who are Jewish, but it's hard to see punk being the domain of anyone other than the socially, or emotionally, alienated, regardless of ethnicity.
The foundation of this theory is a bit shaky - The Ramones were undeniably punk, but others he cites as 'major' influences were minor; or rather, they were major influences in the New York punk s More...
Feb 25, 2009
Sean
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i really tried to like this book, especially since the subject matter is very near and dear to my heart! but frankly i was very disappointed, most of the material seems like a rehashing of what i had read in Please Kill Me except this author is trying to convince you of his theory that Judaism played a key role in the creation of punk. of course i want to buy into this theory with every ounce of my heart, but the poor writing, repetitiveness of each chapter and some sort of naivete that comes fr
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Jan 24, 2010
Nycdreamin
rated it: 
A great book that details how Jewish culture played a significant part in the shaping of the early punk scene in NYC. With chapters on Lenny Bruce, Lou Reed,Danny Fields, Suicide, Jonathan Richman, Lenny Kaye, Hilly Kristal, the Ramone, Dictators and Chris Stein and more, this is a very interesting read and should definately be on the bookshelf next to your other punk history books.
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Jun 17, 2009
Jennifer
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Thought I knew a lot about punk 'til I read this book. It's fascinating, but the last few chapters lag compared to the earlier ones. The book inspired me to rummage through itunes trying to find those albums/artists that interested me most. A must-read for music fans!
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Jan 02, 2012
Emily
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It was kind of like a punk game of Jew-not-a-Jew. Loved it.
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May 08, 2009
Jenna
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You know that feeling you have when, say, you know someone well, but then you meet their family and they make sense, have a context? I felt like this book did that for the New York (ans a bit of the British) punk scene. It showed how many of these people were already apart from mainstream society before they ever became musicians. Plus, I loved the quotes from these rockstars where they used Yiddish.
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Aug 29, 2011
Rebecca
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The title kicks ass over the content. Hilly was the most interesting chapter in the book.
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