NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980–1990

If you’re old enough, the scene you came up in helped shape who you are - the people you surrounded yourself with and the music you listened to and the drugs you took (or didn’t take). I was shaped by the early 2000s in Morgantown, WV. There were various scenes there, centered on one of the hippie bars, or the 123, which drew some national acts but was filled most nights with local bands. The punks centered on a house on Pearl Street, that burned down under mysterious circumstances. I was part of all this, and the bands and the people went their way, with no real hit on the national consciousness.Some scenes stick though. One of those was the birth of Hardcore music out the of the refuse of the punk scene in New York in the early 80s. Some of the bands that came out of that scene still have national relevance today, like Agnostic Front and Sick of It All, and it helped shaped other scenes national from Chicago and DC to LA. In NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980-1990, Tony Rettman explores that scene in considerable depth, bringing the reader the memories of the people who were in the scene and in the bands and worked at the clubs and radio stations.The chapters are structured as brief conversations about certain aspects of the scene, so there are chapters on a band or a club or a record store. It gives the fan who was not there context for the music as it was developed and the people who put it together. There are also a lot of nice visuals from show pictures to flyers to illustrate the total artistic aspect of the Hardcore scene. It is an amazing document, but it does have some weaknesses. It was as if the writer interviewed the participants in depth, but he cut those interviews up to apply directly to the topic that was being covered. I haven’t read much oral history of music, but I am a big fan of the oral history as Studs Terkel did them, allowing the people he interviewed to share their full stories. I think the method here eliminates some depth of the experience.A second concern is that when people are interviewed, they are identified only on their first appearance. This means that if you don’t recognize how they fit in the broader narrative the author is trying to create, you have to page back and try to figure it out for yourself. There is a listing in the back, but I only found that out after I finished the book.Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, and I bought a couple of similar titles, hoping that they can deepen my appreciation of the music I listen too. One odd bit that didn’t fit anywhere: Vinnie Stigma comes off as a very flat character. He just loves being Italian and eating Italian food. There’s got to be more to him than that.

As a long time fan of the NYHC scene , I eagerly anticipated reading this book . NYHC is a fun and enjoyable read , though it comes off more like a fanzine than an extensive biography . It chronicles the scene from 1980-1990 with a brief history of each hardcore heavyweight and is abundant with interviews from an exhaustive list of prominent band members . Many great photographs that capture the essence of the scene are provided . There is nothing too revealing or groundbreaking about what Rettman has to offer but it's a nostalgic trip down memory lane . All the essential bands that spearheaded the scene are acknowledged : Cro-mags, Raw Deal , Killing Time , Bad Brains , Breakdown, Sick Of It All , Sheer Terror, Agnostic Front , Gorilla Biscuits, Madball , Leeway, etc ,etc . All true fans of the scene should own a copy of this , if not only for the entertaining interviews and sentimental value .

Lots of great info here, especially about the earliest days of the scene. I would've liked more coverage of the '85-'90 years myself, but it could be the author felt that that time period has already been well documented. A couple of funny and/or notable omissions:1. The Beastie Boys. They're only mentioned a few times in passing, and are heavily dissed when brought up.2. Billy Milano. There's a few quotes mentioning him here and there, and neither S.O.D. nor M.O.D. get mentioned. The S.O.D. absence is interesting, as there's several quotes from bassist Dan Liliker, and there's a picture of his main band Nuclear Assault in the "metal" chapter. Maybe Billy didn't want to participate?Overall a great book, done in the "oral history" style as "Please Kill Me", "Detroit Rock City", etc.

I have loved NYHC since 1986, saw a a lot of the classic bands and recently started pulling out my CDs of the old stuff. When I saw this book I knew I had to have it. It’s almost like an encyclopedia of NYHC! This is such a fantastic mammoth of a document and incredible document of an incredible decade.

If you were a fan of the history and never before heard stories of the book American Hardcore, you will love NYHC. The old characters and band members that the author was able to track down are what makes this book stand out. There were a few bands I was surprised didn't get much or any coverage like Token Entry, Life's Blood, Underdog, Sheer Terror (although they get talked about in several chapters, they didn't get their own chapter), but that doesn't take away from the overall greatness of this book. It's a trip down memory lane and a time machine back to a magical time. A must for fans of New York Hardcore.

As a big 80s hardcore fan I was delighted to find this book and to my surprise it delivered the goods. Great stories from the very beginning and also found out about early bands that I've never heard of which was very cool to go listen to them now. If you liked NYHC hardcore like i did then you must read this book.

Loved this book. Just got it and read it in one day. This is a great oral history of the New York Hardcore Scene by the people who made it/were there. The first half of the book helped fill in the gaps for the years I missed, the second half was a great walk down hardcore memory lane. If you're a NYHC fan this book is a must have....and now tops a list of great NYHC books including: Radio Silence, Making A Scene, Schism Fanzine Book, Everybody's Scene and Evolution of a Cromag-non. Buy it. Buy it now.

Who would have thought that there'd be a book like this back in the mid 80s heyday? Great to read about the stories behind all the thank you lists in the liner notes. The cross-pollination of personalities and bands were interesting to delve into.High quality paper stock. The book is no cheap paperback.

Really comprehensive on NYHC. There are many acts worthy of books of their own. The story is told by folks from the scene and bands involved. It doesn't cover the bands whole histories in a lot of cases, some it does, but that leaves it open which is clever as this makes you want to go check out more. It isn't overly opinionated as some books on Hardcore, which is refreshing. It's also one of those books that could easily be republished and expanded out another 10 or more years. It's main plus that it pays homage to many dead and forgotten people in the scene.

Not as fun as I thought it would of been

Dieses Buch lebt nicht davon, dass eine Person etwas beschreibt, sondern dass viele Personen dies tun. Dies ist chronologisch einwandfrei geordnet und zeigt sowohl positive,- als auch negative Sichtweisen der Protagonisten auf.Ich war zu Beginn skeptisch ob des vielen Textes von so vielen unterschiedlichen Menschen, doch wie bereits erwähnt, lebt die Geschichte der Szene genau von eben all den Erinnerungen dieser Menschen.Hat man dieses Buch gelesen, versteht man diese Stadt, diese Szene viel intensiver, als dass es “nur“ der Soundtrack unzähliger Veröffentlichungen vermittelt.

Essential for any fan of NYHC, even if your exposure is limited to the "big" bands that came out of the scene. The stories from the players about the bands, the club, and New York when it was still a dangerous place to be.

Un très bel ouvrage pour en apprendre plus sur la culture hardcore de New York. Des anecdotes croustillantes sur tous les groupes ayant participé à cette mouvance, certaines venant de grands nom du milieu.Je le recommande fortement pour les gens qui souhaiterais connaitre d'avantage cette scène ou alors la découvrir d'une facon originale.