"Punk Rock Hora spans 13 years of covering edgy Jewish culture, with comedic behind-the-scenes anecdotes, insightful analysis of the songs, and unparalleled access to the artists. Read a revealing account of how Michael fell in love with Jewish punk, interviews with thought-provoking Jewish outcasts, playlists for Jewish holidays, and introductions to new bands. Connecting the dots of Michael's adventures in Jew-Punk Land, Punk Rock Hora is part memoir, part collection of articles, and part punk rock hodgepodge!"--Page [4] of cover.

Step inside a fascinating world of Jews who relate to their Jewishness through the vehicle of punk—from prominent figures in the history of punk to musicians who proudly put their Jewish identity front and center. Why did punk—a subculture and music style characterized by a rejection of established norms—appeal to Jews? How did Jews who were genuinely struggling with their Jewish identity find ways to express it through punk rock? Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk explores the cultural connections between Jews and punk in music and beyond, documenting how Jews were involved in the punk movement in its origins in the 1970s through the present day. Author Michael Croland begins by broadly defining what the terms "Jewish" and "punk" mean. This introduction is followed by an exploration of the various ways these ostensibly incompatible identities can gel together, addressing topics such as Jewish humor, New York City, the Holocaust, individualism, "tough Jews," outsider identity, tikkun olam ("healing the world"), and radicalism. The following chapters discuss prominent Jews in punk, punk rock bands that overtly put their Jewishness on display, and punk influences on other types of Jewish music—for example, klezmer and Hasidic simcha (celebration) music. The book also explores ways that Jewish and punk culture intersect beyond music, including documentaries, young adult novels, zines, cooking, and rabbis.

Based in part on the recent interviews with more than 125 people —among them Tommy Ramone, Chris Stein (Blondie), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group), Hilly Kristal (CBGBs owner), and John Zorn—this book focuses on punk's beginnings in New York City to show that punk was the most Jewish of rock movements, in both makeup and attitude. As it originated in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the early 1970s, punk rock was the apotheosis of a Jewish cultural tradition that found its ultimate expression in the generation born after the Holocaust. Beginning with Lenny Bruce, &“the patron saint of punk,&” and following pre-punk progenitors such as Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman, Suicide, and the Dictators, this fascinating mixture of biography, cultural studies, and musical analysis delves into the lives of these and other Jewish punks—including Richard Hell and Joey Ramone—to create a fascinating historical overview of the scene. Reflecting the irony, romanticism, and, above all, the humor of the Jewish experience, this tale of changing Jewish identity in America reveals the conscious and unconscious forces that drove New York Jewish rockers to reinvent themselves—and popular music.

Listen to Punk Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre discusses the evolution of punk from its inception in 1975 to the present, delving into the lasting impact of the genre throughout society today. Listen to Punk Rock! provides readers with a fuller picture of punk rock as an inclusive genre with continuing relevance. Organized in a roughly chronological manner, it starts with an introduction that explains the musical and cultural forces that shaped the punk genre. Next, 50 entries cover important punk bands and subgenres, noting female punk bands as well as bands of color. The final part of the book discusses how punk has influenced other musical genres and popular culture. The book will give those new to the genre an overview of important bands and products related to the movement in music, including publications, fashion, and films about punk rock. Notably, it pays special attention to diversity within the genre, discussing bands often overlooked or mentioned only in passing in most histories of the movement, which focus mainly on The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Ramones as the pioneers of punk.

This is a true-crime story of the murder of an art form: punk rock. Gina Arnold has been witness to this gradual annihilation, and she's not shy about pointing out the perpetrators: Tipper Gore, Rolling Stone, Geffen Records, Miller beer, and even the progenitors of punk themselves, the Sex Pistols, are all implicated in the demise of independent music. In Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana, Gina Arnold gave us a road map to the defiant fury that shaped punk's harsh, musical bloodletting. But now Kurt Cobain is dead. And Courtney Love is playing shows sponsored by beer companies, MasterCard is financing the Monsters of Rock tour, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are sporting free Airwalk sneakers. Arnold knows something has gone terribly wrong. Bad Religion, Metallica, Rancid, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Pearl Jam, the Fastbacks, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails--find out who sold out, who stayed real, and what independent music must do now to regain its lost edge. In 1978 Sid Vicious mocked a Sinatra classic with his version of "My Way." Well, it's 1997, and punk has lost its way. In Kiss This Gina Arnold just may show it the way home.