Smash!

“Smash! gives us first-hand accounts of how ‘90s skate punk came to be. And while some of the story is public knowledge, there’s a ton of juicy stuff in there that we had no clue about.”–Kerrang!“Smash! is a compelling narrative of what led up to the punk breakout…It gives unparalleled access to the key artists, letting their voices shine through…This is important not just for fans of those particular groups but also for anyone trying to understand how punk rock became viable as a mainstream, commercial genre of music.”–Oy Oy Oy Gevalt!”[A] straightforward account of the improbably profitable second coming of punk rock…[Winwood] writes with authoritative enthusiasm about the 1990s rise of bands like Green Day and the Offspring and their broader relationship to the always-contentious question, ‘what is punk?’…His knowing humor will appeal to younger fans and those who were there. A savvy reminiscence of the era when punk finally paid its debt to society.“–Kirkus Reviews“A phenomenal piece of work.”–-LA Weekly“An energetic history of the punk revolution of the 1990s, inspired by bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and X…[Winwood has a] deep knowledge and thick dossier of interviews with these three-chord revolutionaries…This is a ripping fun music history and strongly reasoned argument for the place of oft-derided 1990s Cali punk in the annals of pop music.”–Publishers Weekly “If you have any interest in how punk came to be the beast that it is today, you should seek out Smash!. The ‘90s punk explosion is a remarkable, if often overlooked, part of musical history. Finally, it has the book its story deserves.”–Kerrang!“The amount of research and fact checking that the author undertook…is staggering. And it doesn’t hurt that Winwood is a bloody great writer whose natural wit and sharp, incisive style turns what could have, at times, become a dry and slightly repetitive read into a compulsive, interesting and intriguing page turner… The nineties was, as Dickens once said, the best of times and the worst of times, but it will always be the era when punk rock conquered the world and in doing so made things a little better and Ian Winwood perfectly captures the history of, and everything that made that moment in time special, with Smash!.”–Mass Movement“Through a series of interviews, Winwood documents the 1990s, the decade in which punk rock emerged from basements in California to the Billboard charts…The author thoughtfully maps the transformation of the punk rock ethos for both the record labels and the bands as they experienced an unprecedented wave of commercial success…Fans of punk and music in general will enjoy this work.” –Library Journal“Winwood gives us a side of punk rock that’s not often discussed…It’s not a complete history of the punk era. Rather it’s a history of those who made the biggest impact…A loving homage to a forgotten era of punk…It’s not only a story about the bands, but it’s also a story about how punk rock rose from the ashes to conquer once again.”–Genre Is Dead“Winwood goes into depth about all things punk, getting commentary straight from many of the musicians that helped punk go mainstream. Winwood did such a great job with this book.”–The Hype

Ian Winwood is one of the world’s foremost music writers. He has written for Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Mojo, Kerrang!, and the BBC, and is the coauthor, alongside Paul Brannigan, of Birth School Metallica Death and Into the Black. Winwood resides in London.

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