Legs McNeil releases new book on 1970s punk rock history

Author Legs McNeil has released a new book, ‘Resident Punk: How I Smoked, Drank, and Stumbled My Way Through the ’70s Punk Scene and Beyond’, chronicling the origins of the punk rock movement.

Fifty years ago, punk emerged as a distinct musical and cultural force on both sides of the Atlantic. While the movement in the United Kingdom was characterized by political rebellion and an assault on the class system, the New York City scene was driven more by art, poetry, and painting. The epicenter of the New York movement was the CBGB club.

McNeil, who was present during the era, describes his writing style as a series of snapshots, similar to Polaroids, intended to capture the lived experiences of those who were actually in the room during the movement's inception. This follows his previous work, the 1996 oral history ‘Please Kill Me’.