Punk Women – Vol. 1, David Ensminger

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In this book Ensminger writes 40 profiles of women bands or bands that have a female member. In the introduction the author writes: „I did not attempt a tightly segmented, linear, compartmentalized organization (which my publishers inherently desired for the sake of convention and sales). I mix and match eras, genres, generations, people and places: hopefully, through such random association, new linkages, bridges, and relationships can arise. Think of the text as a sort of cut-up method in sections, or a stream of consciousness, or an estrangement effect on-the-go… in an effort to prove history is messy and multy-layered.“

He definitely succeeded in doing this. So if you are a friend of text that describes the band, single songs or what they where about from the perspective of the author – in very creative writing style. This is for you. It was not my cup of tea, because I rather read facts instead of review-like-drivel and I also do prefer some organization (for example a good photo of each band/person that are involved) and more documentation. After a while it was a real drag for me to read on… Anyway, it is not my book, so if you are interested in finding out more about some known (Sonic Youth, Blondie, The Avengers, Melt Banana, Fire Party, The Cramp’s, Gun Club, Vice Squad, Bad Cop/Bad Cop…) or not so known (Delta 5, Youth Code, The Dishrags, Slant 6, Sarge, Something Fierce, The Lewd, The Voids….) bands you can check this out. It is a wild drive layout wise also, photos, flyers, black, white, big, small – there is even some interviews thrown in – a mixed bag. Lets hope the second volume is a bit more structured and gives more info and less authors perspective. 100 pages, paperback 13,00 $ US (dolf)

[Trust # 187 December 2017]