''We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of LA Punk'' is an oral history of the Los Angeles punk scene written by

Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''The New York Times' ...

and

Brendan Mullen Brendan Mullen (October 9, 1949 – October 12, 2009) was a Scottish nightclub owner, music promoter and writer, best known for founding the Los Angeles punk rock club The Masque. Through Mullen's support at various nightclubs in Californ ...

. It was released in 2001 by

Three Rivers Press Three Rivers Press is the trade paperback imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. It publishes original paperback titles as well as paperback reprints of books issued initially in hardcover by the other Crown imprints ...

. The story begins around 1971 with an exploration of the impact that the UK

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

scene was having on American rock at the time, specifically through the efforts of promoter Rodney Bingenheimer to help sell

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

to the American public. There is then an examination of the impact of various bands that were contemporaneous at the time, including

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

and

The New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

before looking at the roles of bands and key figures that followed including

The Screamers The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary '' Punk: Attitude'' ( ...

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, X, Black Randy,

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

Darby Crash Jan Paul Beahm (better known by his stage name Darby Crash, formerly Bobby Pyn; September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980) was an American punk rock vocalist who, along with longtime friend Pat Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg), co-founded the punk ro ...

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belind ...

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

, Black Flag,

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

and

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

. The book finishes around 1981 with the perceived 'selling out' of the LA punk scene, including The Go-Go's having their mainstream breakthrough on MTV,

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

' documentary ''

The Decline of Western Civilization ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a ...

'' and the death of Darby Crash, foreshadowing in

Greg Hetson Greg Hetson (born June 29, 1961) is an American guitarist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has lived in the Los Angeles area since he was 2 years old. Active since 1979, Hetson is best known as the guitarist for the influential hardcore pu ...

's words "the dark years of punk" from 1984-1990.

Reception

Punknews.org gave the book four and a half stars out of five. '' The Stranger'' called it "required reading" for those with "interest in L.A.'s budding pre-punk culture, or fringe-music culture in general."

References

External links

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

"Animal Boy" excerpted from ''We Got the Neutron Bomb''
2001 books Three Rivers Press books {{music-book-stub