We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk

I'm not sure if anyone else remembers a great VH1 show, Legends, from the late 90's in which, without narration, members of, say, The Clash or Led Zeppelin might sit around, be interviewed for a while, then intersperse video of a concert or event somewhere. I was reminded of that format reading We Got The Neutron Bomb which overlaps one interview after another. Reading the end notes, you get a glimpse of the method - age-old documentary transcripts, long gone fanzine interviews mixed with modern day recollections. The fact that someone took the time to compile all of this disparate work into one cohesive and at times mesmerizing, structured approach is a gift in itself. Yet something else grabbed me with We Got The Neutron Bomb, and that's the approach to what it means to be a "scene" and its lasting impact. Starting from the roots - a group of kids simply being stunned by David Bowie walking around town in a dress, which led to having a place to hang out and listen to music, to drugged-out apartment complexes, to people who never had any "talent" per se but felt what they wanted to express. Somewhere that spawned bands that eventually made music that's lasting, musicians that succeeded, and movements that never really went away. Reading these recollections as we are with one person after another, you almost become a part of the crowd - you're taken from a time when The Germs performed by stuffing a microphone in peanut butter, to Lita Ford terrifying her bandmates in The Runaways, to X playing the Whiskey on the night Exene Cervenka's sister died, to the Go-go's drug-binge-heavy recording of Beauty and the Beat. So many vivid personalities emerge, but truly the one that signifies the whole culture is Darby Crash, the poetic, self-destructive head of The Germs whose lifelong journey to a heroin overdose seemed predestined the moment he arrived. He's like Sid Vicious with a side of prostitution, and in compiling one recollection after another, Mullen and Spitz make him a true legend, someone who lived and was martyred for the world he helped create. This is a book that materializes a vital world that seemed to be made up on the spot, and lets you know why that process mattered.

The first time i read this book was in college and I loved it so much that I checked it out over and over again untill a few years down the road I eventually purchased it. Anyone who loves Fear, The Germs, X, The Go-Go's, The Screamers must read it, but I can guarentee you will want to read it again and again, like I did.

Fantastic read, lots of interesting memories from various players within and on the margins of the L.A. punk scene. I found it particularly interesting, since I'm from the same generation as many of the people interviewed for this book, although, growing up in New England I was oblivious of most of the up and coming L.A. punk or new wave bands at the time, save for The Runaways, X and the Go-Go's. Some, who were more familiar with the L.A. music at that time, may quibble over the amount of focus on different punk-related genres, but for someone like myself, who's not familiar with the scene, this book is a great overview. I had a hard time putting it down.

I anticipated this Book greatly before it's Release, I was Not disappointed at all. Such a Great scene, The Masque, Disgraceland, The Canterbury. Plungers Pit... So much Great music, The Germs, X The Screamers... Great Stars Excene, Darby, Tomata, Black Randy... Great People working from the ground up to build a world for themselves. Needed after the seemingly rejection by the rest of american society. The thought, today, of being able to create, not only a longlasting musical legacy, but an actually original lifestyle is simply amazing. One that was on the edge. One that was not without it's casualties. It's all here, the story, of a Pre-MTV Musical World!