Resident Punk: How I Smoked, Drank, and Stumbled My Way Through the '70s Punk Scene (and Beyond)

Legs McNeil, often called “the original punk,” takes us back to 1970s New York in this part memoir, part cultural history. Resident Punk captures the scene that came to be defined by Ramones, Blondie, Television, Heartbreakers, and Talking Heads.

In 1975, aged 19, Legs McNeil, John Holmstrom, and Ged Dunn cofounded PUNK magazine, accidentally documenting the birth of a movement. McNeil became its resident punk, living the chaos alongside musicians, artists, writers, and hangers-on.

Timed for the 50th anniversary of PUNK, this book digs into untold stories featuring Joey Ramone, William S. Burroughs, Patti Smith, Alan Vega, Martin Rev, the Dictators, the Dead Boys, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Poly Styrene. McNeil also traces his own life, from suburban childhood to a small Pennsylvania town.