What do you think?
Rate this book
Punk House: Interiors In Anarchy
The punk house may come in any number of forms. The most common type is often where a large group of like-minded punks cram into a house usually intended to accommodate two or three people, resulting in low rent and, thus, extended hours of leisure for the residents to pursue their true interests.
"Punk House" features anarchist warehouses, feminist collectives, tree houses, workshops, artists studios, self-sufficient farms, hobo squats, community centers, basement bike shops, speakeasies, and all varieties of communal living spaces. In over 300 images of fifty houses in twenty-five cities in the US, photographer Abby Banks finds the already weathered face of a seventeen-year-old runaway; the soft hands of a vinyl junkie (record collector); the mohawked show-goer; the dirty dishes in the sink; silk screened posters on the wall; and many other revealing glimpses of these anarchist interiors.
"Punk House" features anarchist warehouses, feminist collectives, tree houses, workshops, artists studios, self-sufficient farms, hobo squats, community centers, basement bike shops, speakeasies, and all varieties of communal living spaces. In over 300 images of fifty houses in twenty-five cities in the US, photographer Abby Banks finds the already weathered face of a seventeen-year-old runaway; the soft hands of a vinyl junkie (record collector); the mohawked show-goer; the dirty dishes in the sink; silk screened posters on the wall; and many other revealing glimpses of these anarchist interiors.
269 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2007
1 person is currently reading
171 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 12, 2007
The long version: Fuck this fucking book. There was an incredible opportunity here to talk about the activism of punk houses, how they're run, how to run one, chronicle past and present "alternative living collectives," mention/analyze significant ones such as fort thunder or something like c-squat, the content of who lives in these houses and why, etc. etc. Abby Banks seems to have politely declined and instead chose to make something real boring. There is very little text--no communication as to what goes on in these houses, what makes them punk, or anything else beyond "Look how filthy this toilet is!" "Look at all these show flyers on the wall!" "Look at how they store all their records!"
"But Lola," you ask. "This is a photo book, it doesn't need lots of text." Okay, fair. But the photos are flat. They are seriously uninteresting. Oh, and Banks didn't even get rid of the JPEG distortion on some of these shots. Embarrassing!
The short version: Excuse me, sir, I don't mean to be rude about what you choose to read, but I'd like to point out that URBAN OUTFITTERS gave this book a five starred review.
"But Lola," you ask. "This is a photo book, it doesn't need lots of text." Okay, fair. But the photos are flat. They are seriously uninteresting. Oh, and Banks didn't even get rid of the JPEG distortion on some of these shots. Embarrassing!
The short version: Excuse me, sir, I don't mean to be rude about what you choose to read, but I'd like to point out that URBAN OUTFITTERS gave this book a five starred review.
August 8, 2021
3,5 stars.
A photo book full of American houses where a large number of young people live. Their main interest seems to be music, done in a rebellious manner, often played within the houses. Anarchists, feminists, artists. You get to view these houses, both inside and outside, with many details, plenty of DIY stuff, quite cluttered, and one might want to keep one’s shoes on.
The names of the houses and where they are/were are in the contents. Over 6000 photos were taken in September-November 2004 on a through-USA trip. The spirit of grunge/alternative of the 1990s still lingers here. The importance of music shows in the posters, equipment lying around, the tapes/CDs/vinyl. One might want to also looks closely at the books found in pictures (used, worn, of great variety, in and on crates/shelves…). Bikes appear. A lot of knickknacks decorate the rooms (fe. skulls, a figurine of Tetsuo from Akira, prphaned remotes, seashells), and so does art, including sprayed/painted/stuck to the ceiling-things, slogans (“do not trifle with us”, “I am all tomorrow’s broken hearts”…).
We get to meet some of the people living there – young adults without kids of their own, creating, playing, etc. All the rooms get their turn, attics, cellars, even bathrooms. Some stuff must be also found-things, like some furniture we see outside and inside. There’s a bus, pets (cats, dogs, birds), unmade beds, skateboards, (always) decorated fridges and stoves, tree houses.
The photos show a well-decorated, colorful, living your truths, life that might be temporary for some, a way of life to stick to for others, but interesting to us viewers, and not going on too long reading-wise. The book’s smell was a bit odd, but the size it was in was just right to see all that was interesting. I may have had it in TBR for a while, but it was really great to read it right now.
A photo book full of American houses where a large number of young people live. Their main interest seems to be music, done in a rebellious manner, often played within the houses. Anarchists, feminists, artists. You get to view these houses, both inside and outside, with many details, plenty of DIY stuff, quite cluttered, and one might want to keep one’s shoes on.
The names of the houses and where they are/were are in the contents. Over 6000 photos were taken in September-November 2004 on a through-USA trip. The spirit of grunge/alternative of the 1990s still lingers here. The importance of music shows in the posters, equipment lying around, the tapes/CDs/vinyl. One might want to also looks closely at the books found in pictures (used, worn, of great variety, in and on crates/shelves…). Bikes appear. A lot of knickknacks decorate the rooms (fe. skulls, a figurine of Tetsuo from Akira, prphaned remotes, seashells), and so does art, including sprayed/painted/stuck to the ceiling-things, slogans (“do not trifle with us”, “I am all tomorrow’s broken hearts”…).
We get to meet some of the people living there – young adults without kids of their own, creating, playing, etc. All the rooms get their turn, attics, cellars, even bathrooms. Some stuff must be also found-things, like some furniture we see outside and inside. There’s a bus, pets (cats, dogs, birds), unmade beds, skateboards, (always) decorated fridges and stoves, tree houses.
The photos show a well-decorated, colorful, living your truths, life that might be temporary for some, a way of life to stick to for others, but interesting to us viewers, and not going on too long reading-wise. The book’s smell was a bit odd, but the size it was in was just right to see all that was interesting. I may have had it in TBR for a while, but it was really great to read it right now.
October 4, 2008
Having been in many of the houses featured in the book, I felt it focused a lot on the grunge aspect and missed many key elements of alternative living that these houses offer. For example, at collective a go go it failed to depict the beautiful huge garden, the wood burning cook stove, the bike shop, the diy shower, the compost toilets, the library, art averywhere... smashing the state is only half the fun, the other is constructing different interactions and ways of living. The book seemed to show the social rubble but not what was built on top of/instead of it.
Read
January 25, 2008Me swamps and princess went to some sellout neo-liberal, bookstore in berkeley to see if it was true that somebody would actually do this to our already challenged (sexist, politically despondent)community, I couldn't read any of the words mostly I just looked at the art that this person photographed (and didnt credit the artists)I got hella pissed and wait i STILL AM. If anyone knows a good reason why our filthy lives should be on the pages of some $30 coffee table book in some yuppie house let me know so I can stop talking mad SHIT. and what the fuck is an anarchist interior gawd damnit
April 30, 2022
When you have a book called "Interiors in Anarchy", you would expect (the 'you' being I, here) some collection of interior art that represents communal living, solidarity, and some honestly cool art and music. I am not an anarchist, I'm a Communist, but when I think of anarchism, I think of some of the aforementioned attributes. This fails spectacularly. Alternatively, I'd love to read a log of Abby Banks' trips to all of these punk houses and what she encountered in them. Photos should tell a story of that, but a lot of these don't.
My bias in this is that, despite my political views and my belief in a collectivized world where everyone's needs are met communally, I could not ever live in a punk house or in a communal space. I did it in college, lived in a communal dorm, and I hated it. I am a solitary person who enjoys my privacy, and that is best manifested in my home. I had a revolving door of roommates from ages 17 to 25 -- I'm now 28 and have not had a roommate in a little over 2 years, and I don't plan on ever having any again (my boyfriend excluded, obviously).
I read a lot of other negative reviews of this book and people complained that many of the photos were blurry and that is what affected their opinion. I do and don't agree with the notion that blurry photos are bad; some blurry or distorted photos are beautiful. Powerful. Or just fun. Admittedly, some of the blurry photos in this book aren't bad, but a lot are. I get the aesthetic appeal, but even with disjointed, distorted photos, there has to be a certain threshold and these don't make it.
Many of the photos don't make sense and you can tell Banks was trying to be artistic and abstract in her photos, but it just falls short, because punk and punk culture isn't necessarily abstract, the books of Sartre on many of the bookshelves in these photos aside.
Some of the photos are beautiful and many evoke a sense of nostalgia. I enjoyed seeing cassette tapes of hardcore punk bands that probably only existed for 8 months back in 1998 and were local celebrities in their respective areas, fun fliers for shows that welcomed all ages and asked for nothing more than $2 or $3 to pay the touring act with, potlucks and homemade libraries, etc. I enjoy things like that; in the respect of capturing permanently, a fleeting moment in time, Banks does a great job.
But where this fails is in the notion that it tells a story, because it doesn't. It could. Picture books have to work overtime because you're communicating an entire narrative, regardless of how abstract you may want it, through photos. You could, for example, open Madonna's controversial coffee table book "Sex", and get a whole story out of those photos. A narrative is constructed there. Here, it just...falls short. There's very little emphasis on what makes a communal living space work and thrive for everyone involved, and everyone outside of the home. It is a community within 4 walls, that must be emphasized.
Living near 309, a punk house in this book, I was pretty disappointed at the photos of it; I recognized some friends and acquaintances in the picture from ages ago; Scott, Lauren (who will probably definitely read this review), the late Kent Stanton (RIP), etc. But the photos don't really capture the essence of what makes 309 so great. In one photo, a bed frame partially blocks a "FREE PALESTINE" sign; punk houses are political and 309 especially, as a former (it's been mostly converted into an awesome museum and exhibition space which was necessary to save it from the clutches of gentrification in downtown Pensacola) communal anarchist/Communist living space in the middle of a conservative, pro-imperialist hornets nest. The political is absolutely personal, and vice versa. This doesn't exemplify that.
All in all, I can appreciate the effort and work in here. In the foreword, it is mentioned that 6000 photos were taken -- here we see only a small portion of that. I would hope that the others were better. But ultimately this book winds up being underwhelming.
My bias in this is that, despite my political views and my belief in a collectivized world where everyone's needs are met communally, I could not ever live in a punk house or in a communal space. I did it in college, lived in a communal dorm, and I hated it. I am a solitary person who enjoys my privacy, and that is best manifested in my home. I had a revolving door of roommates from ages 17 to 25 -- I'm now 28 and have not had a roommate in a little over 2 years, and I don't plan on ever having any again (my boyfriend excluded, obviously).
I read a lot of other negative reviews of this book and people complained that many of the photos were blurry and that is what affected their opinion. I do and don't agree with the notion that blurry photos are bad; some blurry or distorted photos are beautiful. Powerful. Or just fun. Admittedly, some of the blurry photos in this book aren't bad, but a lot are. I get the aesthetic appeal, but even with disjointed, distorted photos, there has to be a certain threshold and these don't make it.
Many of the photos don't make sense and you can tell Banks was trying to be artistic and abstract in her photos, but it just falls short, because punk and punk culture isn't necessarily abstract, the books of Sartre on many of the bookshelves in these photos aside.
Some of the photos are beautiful and many evoke a sense of nostalgia. I enjoyed seeing cassette tapes of hardcore punk bands that probably only existed for 8 months back in 1998 and were local celebrities in their respective areas, fun fliers for shows that welcomed all ages and asked for nothing more than $2 or $3 to pay the touring act with, potlucks and homemade libraries, etc. I enjoy things like that; in the respect of capturing permanently, a fleeting moment in time, Banks does a great job.
But where this fails is in the notion that it tells a story, because it doesn't. It could. Picture books have to work overtime because you're communicating an entire narrative, regardless of how abstract you may want it, through photos. You could, for example, open Madonna's controversial coffee table book "Sex", and get a whole story out of those photos. A narrative is constructed there. Here, it just...falls short. There's very little emphasis on what makes a communal living space work and thrive for everyone involved, and everyone outside of the home. It is a community within 4 walls, that must be emphasized.
Living near 309, a punk house in this book, I was pretty disappointed at the photos of it; I recognized some friends and acquaintances in the picture from ages ago; Scott, Lauren (who will probably definitely read this review), the late Kent Stanton (RIP), etc. But the photos don't really capture the essence of what makes 309 so great. In one photo, a bed frame partially blocks a "FREE PALESTINE" sign; punk houses are political and 309 especially, as a former (it's been mostly converted into an awesome museum and exhibition space which was necessary to save it from the clutches of gentrification in downtown Pensacola) communal anarchist/Communist living space in the middle of a conservative, pro-imperialist hornets nest. The political is absolutely personal, and vice versa. This doesn't exemplify that.
All in all, I can appreciate the effort and work in here. In the foreword, it is mentioned that 6000 photos were taken -- here we see only a small portion of that. I would hope that the others were better. But ultimately this book winds up being underwhelming.
February 21, 2020
I thought there'd be more text, there's only 8 or so pages of text. Almost all the photos are underwhelming. The most interesting ones are of the people living there. But it's usually just the clutter of the houses. It would've been good to see more action shots or group shots. Maybe some short interviews with the people they meet. You don't really feel any of the trip. Given it's a cool concept, but the expression of it is really lackadaisical. Someone could say that's a "punk" approach, but honestly it's just lazy or lacking in vision.
Quotes:
Thurston Moore, 2007:
The punk scene across Europe, very informed by the anarchist politics of post-hippie communal-punk legend Crass, bought heavily into the option of living outside of social norms. My experience with that scene is that it was a crusty utopianism, its energy made manifest by its youth. Twenty-plus years later you see old punks with their old punk dogs camped out on the streets of Europe, stuck in the death rattle of anarchist confusion. As Mike Watt reflected when touring and crashing at all the punk squats across Europe on the Black Flag / Minutemen tour of the mid-80s and sleeping in frozen cat-piss-saturated rooms, "Those dudes had the wrong idea about freedom."
Moore: What differentiates punk in regard to communal living is not a policy of escapism and devotion to nature [like hippies] but a destruction/construction process as a learning period for genuine adult survival.
Timothy Findlen: When I woke up on the morning of September 20, 2004, I was riding a skateboard down a street in Portland, Oregon's 5th Quadrant wearing a cow costume and holding a piece of fried chicken. I didn't have a history of sleepwalking, but if every morning promised this kind of excitement then I hoped to have one soon. We were staying at a house called the Fuckpit. And I remember thinking that if staying at punk houses meant living more
moments like this, then my next three months could be life changing.
Abby Banks: As a teenager I had a hard time. In 1994, I was failing high school, and failing at life as I knew it. Every one who knew me thought I was a moron. I felt lesser than alien. Luckily, I discovered punk rock with my best friend Belisa, and that made me feel human again. // I think punk embraces imperfection. // By the time I turned eighteen, I was very interested in alternative economies and I wanted my friendships to be as strong as family. I valued freedom, beauty, anarchy, and peace. I visited Berlin alone, and met hundreds of people who lived in squats. After that trip I was obsessed with the idea of living art. And I suspect that was the beginning of this project.
Quotes:
Thurston Moore, 2007:
The punk scene across Europe, very informed by the anarchist politics of post-hippie communal-punk legend Crass, bought heavily into the option of living outside of social norms. My experience with that scene is that it was a crusty utopianism, its energy made manifest by its youth. Twenty-plus years later you see old punks with their old punk dogs camped out on the streets of Europe, stuck in the death rattle of anarchist confusion. As Mike Watt reflected when touring and crashing at all the punk squats across Europe on the Black Flag / Minutemen tour of the mid-80s and sleeping in frozen cat-piss-saturated rooms, "Those dudes had the wrong idea about freedom."
Moore: What differentiates punk in regard to communal living is not a policy of escapism and devotion to nature [like hippies] but a destruction/construction process as a learning period for genuine adult survival.
Timothy Findlen: When I woke up on the morning of September 20, 2004, I was riding a skateboard down a street in Portland, Oregon's 5th Quadrant wearing a cow costume and holding a piece of fried chicken. I didn't have a history of sleepwalking, but if every morning promised this kind of excitement then I hoped to have one soon. We were staying at a house called the Fuckpit. And I remember thinking that if staying at punk houses meant living more
moments like this, then my next three months could be life changing.
Abby Banks: As a teenager I had a hard time. In 1994, I was failing high school, and failing at life as I knew it. Every one who knew me thought I was a moron. I felt lesser than alien. Luckily, I discovered punk rock with my best friend Belisa, and that made me feel human again. // I think punk embraces imperfection. // By the time I turned eighteen, I was very interested in alternative economies and I wanted my friendships to be as strong as family. I valued freedom, beauty, anarchy, and peace. I visited Berlin alone, and met hundreds of people who lived in squats. After that trip I was obsessed with the idea of living art. And I suspect that was the beginning of this project.
July 29, 2008
Most of the bad reviews seem to be from people who are butthurt that their crew/house/free range dirtclod collective was not included. I guess I am just as guilty; I like it and MY crew is totally in it. There are some very fascinating, tender, and funny images included. I really love all of the kitchen photos. Overall, the photo quality is not so hot. I am not a photographer, and I could probably do better with my 1970s SLR. Also, what the hell did Thurston Moore have to do with this project? Did he bankroll it? His introduction is short, abstract, kind-of unrealted, and overall not worthy of having his name on the spine.
December 8, 2009
I requested this book from the public library and loved it so much, I might just buy a copy for my personal shelves. So many beautiful photos of punk habitats from across the country, it made me want to get in a van and go on tour, just so I could crash on some of their floors and meet some of their occupants. While I understand that the author wanted the photos to speak for themselves, I would've liked more commentary and back story on each of the abodes (even just a few anecdotal captions)...especially since many of these homes have been a recording space, living space, party space, or one night flop house for so many musicians over the years.
October 22, 2012
The problem with this book is that it doesn't show the things that make these houses the most magical. And the photography isn't anything special, either. But I still got some nostalgic pleasure when I saw it in the staff-picks area of the library, in part b/c I've spent time in some of the very houses Abby portrays and with some of the people who show up in her pictures. And, well, because, you know, nostalgia. It just is.
March 5, 2008
not meant to be a political critique, just pictures of punk houses from around the country. you get what she says is there: documentation and some pretty awesome images. she's a photographer, this is a photography book. for anyone who has always been totally intrigued by the insides of other people's houses.
March 25, 2009
I wasn't actually impressed by this coffee table photo book, and was particularly confused by the totally out of place introduction by Thurston Moore. Admittedly, I only gave it four stars cause I thought it was a novelty to see friends/acquantainces, houses I've been to, and flyers for shows I've played. I'm especially sentimental about the Farmhouse in Mississippi.
May 7, 2008
A detailed analysis of contemporary experiments in living, examining origins and workings, is a vastly different project compared to a photographic road-trip inventory of American punk houses. This book is the later, and in its defense, makes you long for the former.
May 6, 2022
This book inspires me. I love the aesthetic. It's pretty much all color illustrations of images of people's living spaces. The photos are visceral & gritty, which matches the content.
March 19, 2008
The photographs are amazing. It's a very interesting look at interiors based on punk subculture. A lot of the spaces are super chaotic, messy, filthy, and alive.
April 1, 2019
Barley a read, but a great picture book! I can relate to the scenes captured as residences of my youth. A great coffee table book, everyone who has come through my home has had to pick it up and thumb through it.
July 22, 2024
Early 2000s cross country crust trek. Some good examples of vintage band posters and intentionally subversive housing. Referenced for set design! Heavy on visuals with minimal text background aside from locations.
February 18, 2020
Satisfied a craving I didn’t know I had.
April 7, 2022
Really insightful, though it is a tad over dramatic at times. “You’re Heart is a Muscle!”
February 18, 2023
Unique interesting pictures.
December 11, 2009
Abby Banks, Punk House: Interiors in Anarchy (Abrams, 2007)
Ever since I began to be aware of them, I've had a very strong desire to live in a punk house. I'm long-married now and full of all those silly responsibilities, so it's probably not going to be happening any time soon, but the longing is still there. Thus, this was pretty much the perfect book for me, a photoessay covering a number of punk houses around the country. I mean, how cool is that?
The best thing about the book, by far, is that Abby Banks gets it. This isn't your mama's book of architectural photographs, this is DIY madness. While the book is as professionally-produced as you'd expect from Harry N. and company, the photographs themselves have an appealing variance in quality that speaks directly to the punk-house mindset without ever calling into question Banks' competence as a photographer. In other words, they're not just photos of places, they're photos of philosophy, of attitude, of worldview. How cool is that?
This is obviously something of a vertical-market book. If you don't get it, you won't get it. But if you do, this is something you'll leaf through time and again. Fascinating and beautiful. ****
Ever since I began to be aware of them, I've had a very strong desire to live in a punk house. I'm long-married now and full of all those silly responsibilities, so it's probably not going to be happening any time soon, but the longing is still there. Thus, this was pretty much the perfect book for me, a photoessay covering a number of punk houses around the country. I mean, how cool is that?
The best thing about the book, by far, is that Abby Banks gets it. This isn't your mama's book of architectural photographs, this is DIY madness. While the book is as professionally-produced as you'd expect from Harry N. and company, the photographs themselves have an appealing variance in quality that speaks directly to the punk-house mindset without ever calling into question Banks' competence as a photographer. In other words, they're not just photos of places, they're photos of philosophy, of attitude, of worldview. How cool is that?
This is obviously something of a vertical-market book. If you don't get it, you won't get it. But if you do, this is something you'll leaf through time and again. Fascinating and beautiful. ****
November 6, 2008
i am not a visual person by any stretch of the imagination (i even dream in words more than images), but i really liked the phptographs in this book. maybe the only thing that really ttracts my attention visually is lots of bright, contrasting colors, & color-saturated photographs of unkempt punk houses fit the bill. i also had fun trying to figure out if i was looking at houses i have been in, houses of my friends, if i could see zines or tapes i recognized in the background. good times! i wasn't into all the photos in here--some of them were boring, or focused too much on a person instead of a room or atmosphere, & a lot of the bathroom photos were just icky. i like the style & messiness of a punk house as much as the next guy, but i don't like feeling like i'm about to drop dead from typhoid or something just by looking at a photo. (& full disclosure--my own house is almost completely clutter-free, clean, & organized at all times because it's the only way i can really actually live. my punk house days are behind me.)
March 8, 2021
I felt that this coffee table photo book was an adequate if a bit uninformative collection of images attempting to illustrate the beauty and quirkiness of the "punk house." Including vibrant pictures of houses and people across the United States, urban and rural, from coast to coast, capturing the cool, the weird, and the downright grody. Interesting but not very informative, other reviewers have certainly covered the book's shortcomings (a superficial, even exploitative look at the subculture for the amusement of "outsiders" that does very little to explain the whos, whys, or hows of these experimental living spaces). To make matters worse, the images themselves are often rather fuzzy and of low resolution with poor organization, making it difficult to separate the specific locations, or even where the photos themselves begin or end. Still, I did enjoy flipping through the book, and as a quick read, it might be worth a check out from the library.
April 17, 2008
I wish that there was more to this book than nameless and faceless punks with dirty houses. I wish that there were pictures of some of the amazing dance parties at 19th street. Or of bike club. Or of the screen printing projects that would go on for 72 hours straight, only to be broken up by practicing breakdancing moves and more coffee. Or the amazing random acts of food and feeding. I wish that I could have submitted some of my pictures of the diary reading/burnings in the backyard, or the pictures from the roof of the 100+ people who showed up for the show. The book was a good idea in theory, but it failed to show the community and creativity that make these places so inspiring and amazing. On the other hand, theyre probably best kept secret.
August 10, 2008
They have this at the Purple House. I told Abby that we didn't want Hellarity in it unless she agreed to not use the image for commercial purposes aside from promoting the book and that some of the proceeds would go to charity (we discussed efforts to rebuild New Orleans)
Later she told me she decided to not use the pictures, but then when it came out a picture of a mural and art installation by Paula Ruiz was in the book. THe photo stated it was the Bat Cave which had been evicted many years before. I haven't discussed it with her and don't know if any proceeds are going to charity, but the book appears to be selling rather well...
Later she told me she decided to not use the pictures, but then when it came out a picture of a mural and art installation by Paula Ruiz was in the book. THe photo stated it was the Bat Cave which had been evicted many years before. I haven't discussed it with her and don't know if any proceeds are going to charity, but the book appears to be selling rather well...
July 28, 2010
Torn on what I think of this..I think it's a sign that I am old. I could pretty much smell the cigarettes and skater surprise while leafing through the pages. No disrespect to those who live in these homes.... it's just my tastes have changed a lot as has the way I like my living space to feel and this is not it.
On one hand, I would have thought this really really cool about 20 years ago, and in fact, I have resided in similarly looking places, as have many of my friends. On the other hand, it seems less cool to me now and all I can think is I am glad I don't live there any more.
On one hand, I would have thought this really really cool about 20 years ago, and in fact, I have resided in similarly looking places, as have many of my friends. On the other hand, it seems less cool to me now and all I can think is I am glad I don't live there any more.
March 8, 2008
I'm really excited to see this book! It's awesome seeing punks document what we've created. It brought a big smile to my face to see friends faces in this book as well as houses that I've stayed in. I think, for those who have never identified with punk and only have a mainstream idea of what it means, this is eye opening. My only regret is I wish there was something like this that came out every 5-10 years or so! There are so many amazing punk houses that would be awesome to capture.
August 5, 2009
Sat on a floor of a bookstore recently and paged through the whole book. Interesting, but not enough text! I wanted more of the history of punk houses, more testimonials from the people who lived in these photographs. Being Olympia bred, I'm pretty familiar with this setup, but it just seemed like a "pretty" coffee table book.
March 24, 2014
I agree, this book brought back smells.
And, reminded me of that freezing ass garret I inhabited in Rochester. Or was it the sweltering ass garret in San Antonio? At any rate, every city has an 'Art House' or 'Punk House' as it's called here. usually a step away from demolition. P.S. It's just a book of pictures. Where is Pt. 2?
And, reminded me of that freezing ass garret I inhabited in Rochester. Or was it the sweltering ass garret in San Antonio? At any rate, every city has an 'Art House' or 'Punk House' as it's called here. usually a step away from demolition. P.S. It's just a book of pictures. Where is Pt. 2?
July 29, 2008
My house was photographed, but not used for this book. I got this book because of my other friends' homes which were featured in this book, especially the Robot House [RIP]. my brain is shot, this is going to help me keep memories in my head of people and places i have known.
December 14, 2012
I look at this book as a photo collection of different punk houses. Being a punk means something different to everyone who uses the title. It is full of lovely images and is a very striking conversation starter.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews