Spoke: Images and Stories from the 1980s Washington, DC Punk Scene

by Scott Crawford

Overview

An oral and photographic history of the Washington, DC punk rock scene, including Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Fugazi, and more.

“The pictures, which include some posed portraits but are mostly concert shots, are the chief attraction. They freeze moments of adolescent release, vein-bulging intensity and sweaty communion that fuses performer and audience . . . Vivid and evocative.” —Washington Post

“A forthright testament to a kaleidoscopic community. This is a rounded collection, with surprises on every page . . . It’s a collection that rocks.” —Shelf Awareness for Readers

The Washington, DC punk music scene of the 1980s gave birth to influential bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Fugazi. Here that era is portrayed in its purest form: an oral history by the creators themselves, including nearly two hundred photographs capturing the power and spirit of this politically progressive corner of American underground music. This stunning and intimate collection features rare images from Jim Saah, Cynthia Connolly, Bert Queiroz, and many others who documented this vibrant community. Compiled by Scott Crawford—whose critically acclaimed film Salad Days provided an unprecedented exploration into the 1980s DC punk scene—Spoke delves deeper into one of the most dynamic movements in US music history.

Featuring: BAD BRAINS, THE TEEN IDLES, BLACK MARKET BABY, SOA, MINOR THREAT, GOVERNMENT ISSUE, VOID, IRON CROSS, THE FAITH, SCREAM, MARGINAL MAN, GRAY MATTER, BEEFEATER, KING FACE, RITES OF SPRING, DAG NASTY, EMBRACE, SOULSIDE, FIRE PARTY, SHUDDER TO THINK, IGNITION, FUGAZI, SWIZ, THE NATION OF ULYSSES, and JAWBOX.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617755002
Publisher:	Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	638,838
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Scott Crawford is a filmmaker, music journalist, and graphic designer. As a teenager, he founded Metrozine, a fanzine dedicated to the DC hardcore punk scene. In 2001, he launched Harp magazine and served as its editor-in-chief for over seven years. His documentary debut, Salad Days, played around the world and received critical accolades from the New York Times to Rolling Stone. He lives in Washington, DC.

Table of Contents

A photographic and oral history featuring the bands:

Bad Brains
SOA
Minor Threat
Faith
Black Market Baby
Scream
Government Issue
Void
Iron Cross
Marginal Man
Dag Nasty
Embrace
Beefeater
Rites of Spring
Gray Matter
Fugazi
Soulside
Ignition
Jawbox
Shudder to Think
Nation of Ulysses
Swiz
Kingface
Fireparty

Editorial Reviews

"Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Void, Swiz, Government Issue… Where would hardcore be without the ’80s DC scene? Spoke: Images and Stories from the 1980s Washington, DC Punk Scene features rare images from the photographers that documented the movement. Curated by Scott Crawford—the guy behind the superb Salad Days documentary—Spoke covers all of the usual suspects but also includes lesser-known yet important DC bands like Beefeater and Marginal Man. Its coffee table size is also a bonus, making any living room 100% cooler with it in it."

Included in the Holiday Gift Guide 2017 No Echo

"As a visual record, the coffee-table book succeeds commendably with page after page of gorgeous, oversized, black-and-white images of the prime movers in D.C. punk circa the Me Decade. So you get the expected – Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Fugazi – but also a hefty dose of the underdogs – Fire Party, Beefeater, Nation of Ulysses. The photos tell the story better than accompanying texts – all kinetic action, the pages are almost humid with sweat and spit."

Orlando Weekly

"Scott Crawford, the man behind the acclaimed documentary Salad Days, has given us another taste of the best-kept secret of 80s in his new book Spoke: Washington DC’s hardcore punk scene."

from a Q&A with editor Scott Crawford Dazed

"Spoke . . . adroitly uses both photographs and oral histories to capture the importance of what can best be described as a cultural revolution within the nation’s capital."

Shepherd Express

"Spoke...explores a dynamic music scene that could not be ignored. Each chapter reveals a different band, their oral history and photos with the same intensity of the documentary."
—Punk Globe Magazine

"Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Void, Swiz, Government Issue...Where would hardcore be without the '80s DC scene? Spoke: Images and Stories from the 1980s Washington, DC Punk Scene features rare images from the photographers that documented the movement. Curated by Scott Crawford—the guy behind the superb Salad Days documentary—Spoke covers all of the usual suspects but also includes lesser-known yet important DC bands like Beefeater and Marginal Man. Its coffee table size is also a bonus, making any living room 100% cooler with it in it."
—No Echo

"As a visual record, the coffee-table book succeeds commendably with page after page of gorgeous, oversized, black-and-white images of the prime movers in D.C. punk circa the Me Decade. So you get the expected—Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Fugazi—but also a hefty dose of the underdogs—Fire Party, Beefeater, Nation of Ulysses. The photos tell the story better than accompanying texts—all kinetic action, the pages are almost humid with sweat and spit."
—Orlando Weekly

"This book has been published to accompany the recent (and rather excellent) documentary Salad Days, which was directed by this book's creator, Scott Crawford. The core of the book features over 200 high quality photos from the likes of Jim Saah, Cynthia Connolly and Bert Queiroz. Most of these are monochrome (some with a sepia tone, a few others in full colour), several never published before and all strikingly clear and evoking the era perfectly. These images alone captivate, bringing this most influential and politically progressive Punk scene to life."
—Scanner Zine

"Features profiles of more than two dozen bands, beginning with the Bad Brains and including Fugazi, Minor Threat, Shudder To Think, Jawbox, Government Issue, and SOA (with a young Henry Rollins)."
—Bay Area Reporter

"This volume serves as a visual and narrative companion to Salad Days, a 2014 documentary, also by Crawford, that explores the 1980s Washington, D.C., hardcore punk scene. Like the film, the book sheds light on the ways in which the music coming out of the nation’s capital, by bands such as Bad Brains and Fugazi, served as a mode of political and economic critique."
—Publishers Weekly

"Loaded with photos (lots from photographer Jim Saah), the volume is a joy to thumb through, or read cover-to-cover. The images practically jump off the page and a reader can't but help be energized just looking at this."
—A Pessimist is Never Disappointed

Praise for the film Salad Days:

"Acts not only as a musical primer but as a monument to a moment: when punk was both a way to find kinship with like-minded oddballs and a tool for fighting issues like racism and economic disparity."
—Rolling Stone

"An enlightening documentary."
—New York Times

"A sharp exploration into what made DC punk tick, and how it continues to inspire."
—MTV News"

From the Publisher