Reasons To Be Cheerful 2008

Part 4: The Novelty Book Lives!

Who woulda thought that they finally come up with one of the novelty books (often known as bathroom literature) that was right up the proverbial hipster alley? Even more mind-numbing, who could have imagined that long time punk rocker extradoinnare, bar owner, and lead yelper of the Dictators (one of New York’s truest rock and roll treasures), Richie Blum, aka Handsome Dick Manitoba would somehow manage to get an authorial credit? The book, The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists, co-written by Manitoba and Amy Wallace (The Book of Lists, Sex Lives of Famous People), and hilariously illustrated by noted rock and roll illustrator Cliff Mott, is stuffed full of nonsensical, ridiculous, idiotic, and thoroughly random bits of punk rock arcania, including “6 Great Moments in Puking”, “Johnny Thunder’s Great Big Kiss of Death”,
“Richard Meltzer’s Beatnik Roots of Punk: A Reading List”, “29 Punk Rock Booze Songs”, “Nick Tosches’ 10 Who Were Punk before They Were Punk”, “Little Steven’s Top 10 Garage Punk Bands”, “Gilby Clarke’s 10 best punk rock Guitar Solos”, “9 Terrifying Covers the Replacements Loved to Play”, ”Jim Jarmusch’s 25 Pre-Punk Films with Punk Attitude”, “Debbie Harry’s List of People I’d Like to Fuck”, and so much more, it’s a must-have for ex-punks, wanna be punks, punk lovers, punk historians, and people who know that it’s a necessity to spike rock and roll with the largest dose of humor possible.