In this rare, unpublished interview from 2001, Jim Carroll talks about The Basketball Diaries, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Harmony Korine, Sherman Alexie ...
Interview by Gillian McCain - A contemporary of Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, and Francesco Scavullo, William “Bill” Helburn was at the top of his profession from the early 1950s through the 1960s, with bylined covers and editorial images in the pages of such magazines as Harper’s Bazaar, Life, and McCall’s. Helburn also worked extensively in advertising. Throughout his career Helburn strove to grab the viewer’s attention, “Shock value was a term that was used. And I meant to shock people as much as I could.” ...
by Amy Haben - I don't know about you, but I cringe when someone invites me to see a tribute band. So when my friend invited me to see Bootleg Blondie, (a Blondie tribute band) while in London, I wasn't sure how to feel....
Alice Cooper is one of the sweetest guys on earth. That's why it's hard to believe him when he talks about how 'dangerous' Alice is. Obviously, he's talking about his alter ego, but the sweet, and intelligent Vincent Furnier would never hurt a fly. That's probably why he acts out his dark fantasies on stage....
As authors of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History Of Punk, Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil influenced a lot of people on several levels. Now regarded as the best-selling book on punk rock of all time, Please Kill Me first and foremost described what the heyday of the New York City punk scene was like as according to people that were around it. It cleared up myths about key players in the scene, and also helped readers pick up on some of the era’s underappreciated characters. ...
Music on Film is a new podcast that discusses as many aspects of audiovisual marriage as possible. Guests might include a film composer, a director with a propensity for visionary soundtracks, a musician who is featured in a film, or in the case of today’s premiere episode, the subject of a music documentary.
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They came not to bury punk but to praise it. 20 years ago, Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain published “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” with Grove Press. The format was ingenious — no single person could lay claim to know the whole of the sprawling, anarchically creative, drug-riddled scene.
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Please Kill Me made its way into my life 13 years ago, when I was 14. I used to hang out at a record store in South Florida, where I'm from, and at one point the store clerks decided to take me under their wing. One of the clerks, Chris, ripped out a tiny slip of paper from behind the counter. He wrote the words “Please Kill Me” on it and handed it to me. "Go to the bookstore and get that book," he said. Music nerd in training that I was, I did as I was bidden without question. And so I entered the world of punk from its very beginning, told by the people who lived it....
Please Kill Me is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a re-release and a series of readings (well, more like parties with music, alcohol, and Michael Des Barres hosting). BUST spent some time with Legs and Gillian and talked about the book, the evolution of punk, and how the show Vinyl got it all wrong....
Patti Smith recalls her days living at the legendary Chelsea Hotel. Highlights include living under the same roof as Janis Joplin and running into William S. Burroughs at the bar across the street. Patti may not have had much money in her younger years, but she lived a very culturally rich lifestyle....
Please Kill Me is the punk-history Bible, and poet Gillian McCain is the woman behind it. McCain coauthored the influential book, which was published in 1996, with music critic Legs McNeil. ...
As the authors mark its 20th anniversary, with an edition that includes a new afterword, they will visit Pittsburgh for a reading at the Ace Hotel on Monday, July 18. City Paper spoke to McCain, before a reading in London two weeks ago....
We look forward to the Rio Olympics with journalist David Goldblatt, author of new book ‘The Games: A Global History of the Olympics’. Plus: Gillian McCain joins us to discuss the stories behind music book ‘Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk’, which is 20 years old this year, and we welcome back writer and journalist Matt Potter to learn how to write the perfect resignation letter – post-Brexit....
We recently chatted with Gillian McCain, author of two poetry books, Tilt and Religion, co-author (with Legs McNeil) of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, and co-editor of Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose (also with Legs McNeil). She is also a collector and exhibitor of found photography. She spoke about her time at NYU and her eclectic artistic pursuits....
