Harley Flanagan: A Hardcore Life of My Own
- Downloads：5243
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-07 13:57:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Harley Flanagan
- ISBN：1627310339
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Harley Flanagan provides a fascinating memoir: a homeless child prodigy and family friend of Andy Warhol and Allen Ginsberg， at a young age he became close to many stars of the early punk rock scene such as Joe Strummer of The Clash and was taught to play bass by members of the famed black punk band Bad Brains。 He went on to start the notorious hardcore band Cro-Mags。
From the memoir’s introduction by American Hardcore‘s Steven Blush: “Harley Flanagan is not like you or me。 Most of us grew up in relative safety and security。 Harley came up like a feral animal， fending for himself in the ’70s Lower East Side jungle of crime， drugs， abuse and poverty。 By age 10 he was a downtown star at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB， drumming in his aunt’s punk band The Stimulators， and socializing with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Cleveland’s Dead Boys。 Everyone thought it was so cute， but it wasn’t。”
Harley was never shy: making friends with important figures like Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead， defending himself in street battles， and， most recently， finding media play and court battles after former band members betrayed their one-time friend and bandmate。
“Harley Flanagan’s incredible story is not just the history of New York hardcore， of which he is a founding father， but a history of New York itself。 It’s all here， an amazing series of unlikely coincidences， catastrophes， accomplishments and associations。 Chances are if it happened in New York and it was important and interesting， Harley Flanagan was somewhere in the room。 If you care anything about music history， punk rock， hardcore or just a ripping good story， this book is the punch in the face you want and need。” – Anthony Bourdain
From the memoir’s introduction by American Hardcore‘s Steven Blush: “Harley Flanagan is not like you or me。 Most of us grew up in relative safety and security。 Harley came up like a feral animal， fending for himself in the ’70s Lower East Side jungle of crime， drugs， abuse and poverty。 By age 10 he was a downtown star at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB， drumming in his aunt’s punk band The Stimulators， and socializing with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Cleveland’s Dead Boys。 Everyone thought it was so cute， but it wasn’t。”
Harley was never shy: making friends with important figures like Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead， defending himself in street battles， and， most recently， finding media play and court battles after former band members betrayed their one-time friend and bandmate。
“Harley Flanagan’s incredible story is not just the history of New York hardcore， of which he is a founding father， but a history of New York itself。 It’s all here， an amazing series of unlikely coincidences， catastrophes， accomplishments and associations。 Chances are if it happened in New York and it was important and interesting， Harley Flanagan was somewhere in the room。 If you care anything about music history， punk rock， hardcore or just a ripping good story， this book is the punch in the face you want and need。” – Anthony Bourdain
Reviews
bassfunk
，
Anyone who is into Punk and HXC this is a great one。 Read it in 3 days， coulda read it in two but wanted it to last。 （was incarcerated at the time 。lol。） This book has some hilarious war stories of touring ， squating and just growing up crazy。 One of the better punk books around。 Up there w/ Rollins" Get in the Van。" Not much else needs to be said。 Anyone who is into Punk and HXC this is a great one。 Read it in 3 days， coulda read it in two but wanted it to last。 （was incarcerated at the time 。lol。） This book has some hilarious war stories of touring ， squating and just growing up crazy。 One of the better punk books around。 Up there w/ Rollins" Get in the Van。" Not much else needs to be said。 。。。more
Jack
，
Pretty much exactly what you’d expect from an autobiography that was actually written by Harley。 In amongst it all there are some interesting and genuinely funny stories and you definitely get a strong sense of who he is。 More extensive editing would definitely have helped the book- if only to cut down on the frequent bouts of repetition and improving the overall focus of the narrative， as well as maybe suggesting that he didn’t need to detail every single moment of every major fight he’s been i Pretty much exactly what you’d expect from an autobiography that was actually written by Harley。 In amongst it all there are some interesting and genuinely funny stories and you definitely get a strong sense of who he is。 More extensive editing would definitely have helped the book- if only to cut down on the frequent bouts of repetition and improving the overall focus of the narrative， as well as maybe suggesting that he didn’t need to detail every single moment of every major fight he’s been in at the expense of more discussion of the reason people are reading this （his music）- but too much editing or control in this sense and I suppose it’d no longer be representative of the man。 Worth a read if you like Cro-Mags and have made your peace with all that entails。 。。。more
SK8
，
Good read about the life of Harley。 Shows his side of the break up between him and John。 Typical tough guy New York Hardcore attitude just as with other books from band members who performed in same band as Harley or from other bands who have jumped on the bandwagon to write a book about New York and how tough it was。
Fabio
，
Awfully written， you can tell Harley didn't have a ghostwriter or anybody has throughly edited the original manuscript。 Lots of redundancy， both in form and content。 But then， it's the true， unadulterated story of the NYC hardcore scene （and the city transformation at large， from the early immigrant LES to late gentrification）， starting from from the late 70s throughout now。 On the top of the historical account， you have the Harley's story - growing up in a post-hippy scene， travelling to Europe Awfully written， you can tell Harley didn't have a ghostwriter or anybody has throughly edited the original manuscript。 Lots of redundancy， both in form and content。 But then， it's the true， unadulterated story of the NYC hardcore scene （and the city transformation at large， from the early immigrant LES to late gentrification）， starting from from the late 70s throughout now。 On the top of the historical account， you have the Harley's story - growing up in a post-hippy scene， travelling to Europe and back to the US and literally introducing the skinhead culture to NYC， the Cro-Mags years until the fall and redemption with ju-jitsu。Bought it because I wanted to learn about the scene， loved it because of Harley's honesty。 。。。more
Sam De palma
，
This book should have been called “Name drops， embellishments， and truth pretzels”。 I’m not convinced he wrote the book。 It seems like someone had a really long interview with him， transcribed it， and added some fluff to the stories。 Mediocre folk lore at best。
Andrea
，
Storia molto interessante
Momchil Pekov
，
A great story about the hardship in the 70s NY
Adya Mahardhika
，
Mengungkap sekelumit sejarah NYHC dan Cro-Mags dari sisi Harley （yeay！ aku fokusnya sih sama konflik Harley-John-Parris）。 Bahasanya sederhana dan mudah dipahami， ora ndakik-ndakik。。 yah khas Harley yang emang "wong ndalan" Mengungkap sekelumit sejarah NYHC dan Cro-Mags dari sisi Harley （yeay！ aku fokusnya sih sama konflik Harley-John-Parris）。 Bahasanya sederhana dan mudah dipahami， ora ndakik-ndakik。。 yah khas Harley yang emang "wong ndalan" 。。。more
Jeffrey Bumiller
，
I can't believe Harley Flanagan survived some of the things that he describes in this book。 Even more drugs and violence than I anticipated。 It's an entertaining and informative read but it is repetitive at times and ends up being a little longer than necessary。 It's also just littered with typos。 But， if you're a fan of Cro Mags or Hardcore Punk， or music bios in general， you gotta read this。 It's nuts。 I can't believe Harley Flanagan survived some of the things that he describes in this book。 Even more drugs and violence than I anticipated。 It's an entertaining and informative read but it is repetitive at times and ends up being a little longer than necessary。 It's also just littered with typos。 But， if you're a fan of Cro Mags or Hardcore Punk， or music bios in general， you gotta read this。 It's nuts。 。。。more
Jimilee Allen
，
Unbelievable
Ravachol
，
This was definitely written entirely by Harley Flanagan， in his own words， and for all the wrong reasons。 He uses the word "hysterical" to describe something funny about 350 times。 The writing is actually a distraction from the story because of how dumb it is。 It's also repetitive and jumpy。 Imagine reading a 400 page memoir written by a 6th grader。 You just accept it and continue reading though， because as terrible as this book is， it's kind of hard to put down。 He's lived an astonishing life。 This was definitely written entirely by Harley Flanagan， in his own words， and for all the wrong reasons。 He uses the word "hysterical" to describe something funny about 350 times。 The writing is actually a distraction from the story because of how dumb it is。 It's also repetitive and jumpy。 Imagine reading a 400 page memoir written by a 6th grader。 You just accept it and continue reading though， because as terrible as this book is， it's kind of hard to put down。 He's lived an astonishing life。 I'll give him that。 。。。more
Jak Krumholtz
，
Flanagan fights。 A lot。 Occasionally plays music。 Flanagan fights more。
Robbie
，
Harley is the Forest Gump of punk hardcore！
Jim Burns
，
Interesting story with great photos。 A storied life but。。。。 virtually unreadable。。。 Great case for a ghost writer。。。
Joe Nasal
，
Biography on his early years is excellent！ Second half of the book loses steam。
Trey Garcia
，
Great readA great tale of the early NYHC scene written by one of its most important founders。 I would definitely recommend。
Erik Golbiw
，
As an author， Harley has work to do - As a storyteller， wow， this guy has lived。 Hard。 If you have any awareness or interest in the New York Hardcore scene of the 80’s and 90’s， give this a read。 Heard his interview with Jocko Willink and was fascinated。 Well done Mr Flanagan - Way to right the ship。
Todd
，
What a read。 An entertaining， exhaustive account of the life of Harley Flanagan， founder of seminal NYHC band the Cro-Mags。 From growing up in the Lower East Side to becoming a father， husband， and jiu-jitsu black belt， it's a fascinating account of a guy who seemed to be front and center for seemingly nearly every event throughout the development and history of the New York Punk and Hardcore scenes。 There are points - several - throughout this book where I found my head spinning due to the acco What a read。 An entertaining， exhaustive account of the life of Harley Flanagan， founder of seminal NYHC band the Cro-Mags。 From growing up in the Lower East Side to becoming a father， husband， and jiu-jitsu black belt， it's a fascinating account of a guy who seemed to be front and center for seemingly nearly every event throughout the development and history of the New York Punk and Hardcore scenes。 There are points - several - throughout this book where I found my head spinning due to the accounts of fight after fight after fight; it just doesn't seem to stop！ But for anyone even remotely interested in what NYC and the Lower East Side was like throughout the 70s and 80s， particularly when it comes to the advent of punk and hardcore and it's evolution throughout the subsequent decades， this book is certainly worth a read。 。。。more
Dave Lusby
，
This book probably wants to beat you up。 Harley Flanagan's life story is as crazy and brutal as the music he makes。 Very few pages go by without someone getting beaten up， and an astonishing amount of the beatings were doled out by the author。 To be honest， all the violence gets tiresome after a while and I would say that the book is saved by the recounting of the early days of NY punk and its eventual transformation into the legendary Hardcore scene。 This book probably wants to beat you up。 Harley Flanagan's life story is as crazy and brutal as the music he makes。 Very few pages go by without someone getting beaten up， and an astonishing amount of the beatings were doled out by the author。 To be honest， all the violence gets tiresome after a while and I would say that the book is saved by the recounting of the early days of NY punk and its eventual transformation into the legendary Hardcore scene。 。。。more
Chris Brown
，
Wild memoir from one of hardcore's greats Wild memoir from one of hardcore's greats 。。。more
Harris Rosen
，
The life and times of Harley Flanagan。 There are three sides to every story， and Harley offers his version of numerous tales circulating the universe with his name。 It is a shame he recalls more details of fights than recording sessions。 Indeed， it appears he has more altercations than songs to his credit。 You may agree or disagree with his methods of madness。 However， the highs and lows of his life are incredible， and this book provides an exhilarating read。
Michael
，
What a maniac！I was homeless from the way here， just walked in the door to the Islamists who oppressed them in wacky as the John Deere and it was his fault that Dee is a globalist and it was his birthday money on this would be small and it was his。
GD
，
Just two days ago Harley Flanagan posted some new song lyrics on his Instagram， and someone pointed out that he had spelled "you're" like "your。" That's also a pet peeve of mine， but Harley responds just the way you'd expect him to after reading his book， something like， "I dropped out of school in the seventh grade to kick asses and play music。" In Harley's case， he's really not exaggerating。There are a lot of things to not like about Harley。 He likes to brag， A LOT， but then again the book is Just two days ago Harley Flanagan posted some new song lyrics on his Instagram， and someone pointed out that he had spelled "you're" like "your。" That's also a pet peeve of mine， but Harley responds just the way you'd expect him to after reading his book， something like， "I dropped out of school in the seventh grade to kick asses and play music。" In Harley's case， he's really not exaggerating。There are a lot of things to not like about Harley。 He likes to brag， A LOT， but then again the book is full of pictures that are so fucking amazing he's basically not bragging， just describing。 A book written when he was 9 with an introduction by Allen Ginsburg？ Playing the same dingy clubs as the Misfits and the Ramones when he was TWELVE？ Prepubescent and hanging out backstage with the Clash and Andy Warhol？ He was there during the Summer of Sam， the garbage strikes， and at every single micro-stage of NYC punk from the Ramones straight through to， well， now。 He's a badass drummer， a badass bassist， a physical beast （more like a cheetah than a bear）， has done time in Riker's （I kept thinking of that Jim Carroll song， "Hey， I know it's dangerous， but it sure beats Riker's"）， he skidded out to the very fucking bottom you can get to in America， homeless， on tons of drugs， living in and in my opinion loving casual ultra violence。 I guess having REALLY been there in the original punk and hardcore scenes， and having REALLY lived this life of insane danger， backed up by hundreds of other people and photos， it's probably hard not to brag when almost everyone else just sings about that stuff。 He brags about it in the way people from Canada brag about cold weather when they are somewhere way warmer and someone complains about how cold the weather is。 Or the way an immigrant from， say， Eastern Europe in the 70s might brag about how fucked up his country was when someone in America complains about corruption， that sort of thing。 It's not really bragging so much as a knee-jerk reaction to something that， compared to their own experience， is just laughable。 My very favorite part of the book was when Harley is beginning， shakily， to get his shit back together， and he's back in New York after bottoming out in California， and he's like running at night， just running and trying to get control of himself and off the hard drugs， etc。， and he talks about stopping off at some hangout on his run to say hi to friends， see who was there， and then kept running， and would drop back by the place on his way back， and see the same people in the exact same places， only "more shitfaced，" and he realizes that he's really doing something about his place in life。 The other reviews on Goodreads have pretty much summed up anything I'd want to say about this book except for a couple of minor things。 The editing is a LITTLE wanting， there are some weird repeats and missing words， but my main problem was stories overlapping and him repeating himself。 But I guess with a life as full of shit going on all at once as his has been， that's pretty much a given。One thing I haven't seen much talk about is the famous 2012 stabbing incident。 It does seem a little odd that he happened to have a knife on him when he just got jumped， but I think he later said that he was thinking that might happen。 But for him to have been arrested， and then held， and then been on the shit stick of a court case for assault was absurd。 The fact that he had not one but four VIP passes when the witnesses said he'd snuck in， the fact that he was going to bring his kids， the fact， and this is the most damning one to the prosecution， besides all the witnesses washing up， why would a proud father of two， and one who has a straight legitimate job so cool most people would kill to have， teaching at one of the best BJJ schools in the world， go attack 8 people？ He was sober， just got off work， and goes and attacks 8 people？ Or even one with 7 people just standing there？ That's so dumb， I can't believe they ever took him in to jail。 He probably should have been taken to jail a hundred times before for other shit he never got caught for， hahaha， but that 2012 incident looks like a fiasco。Harley Flanagan， in summary， is a bad motherfucker， an artist， and a survivor。 I absolutely LOVED this book， could hardly put it down， and would recommend it to anyone who was interested in American punk rock， New York in the 70s and 80s before it became just another giant city， and just survival life-stories in general。 。。。more
John Eder
，
A vivid， violent，intense memoir of NYC as it was before it got cleaned up， featuring punk rock， hardcore， gigs， fights， famous people， infamous people， jiu jitsu， creativity， and the effort to stay on some sort of righteous path。 Flanagan writes in a conversational way， like he is telling you the story face to face。 He captures the lawless vibe of the 80s on the Lower East Side， with brutal honesty， good humor and a historian's eye to NYC。 At many points Flanagan notes， when describing some sett A vivid， violent，intense memoir of NYC as it was before it got cleaned up， featuring punk rock， hardcore， gigs， fights， famous people， infamous people， jiu jitsu， creativity， and the effort to stay on some sort of righteous path。 Flanagan writes in a conversational way， like he is telling you the story face to face。 He captures the lawless vibe of the 80s on the Lower East Side， with brutal honesty， good humor and a historian's eye to NYC。 At many points Flanagan notes， when describing some setting or other， that he could write a whole book about that place or scene。 I would happily read those books。 。。。more
Jeff Buddle
，
Oh man， Harley。 You can't write。 Please don't pretend that this is anything but a gut spill， it's awful from a literary point of view。 What's more， I get the feeling you're only writing this in reaction to your bandmate's book。 "Here's my point of view，" you seem to be saying。 That said， you sure have had a hell of a ride。 Allen Ginsberg wrote the introduction to your book of poetry。。。a book published when you were 8 years old。 Mr。 G！ That alone gives you NYC cred。But you had to go and found the Oh man， Harley。 You can't write。 Please don't pretend that this is anything but a gut spill， it's awful from a literary point of view。 What's more， I get the feeling you're only writing this in reaction to your bandmate's book。 "Here's my point of view，" you seem to be saying。 That said， you sure have had a hell of a ride。 Allen Ginsberg wrote the introduction to your book of poetry。。。a book published when you were 8 years old。 Mr。 G！ That alone gives you NYC cred。But you had to go and found the Cro-Mags。 Not my favorite hardcore by any means， but good stuff。 You're around when everything is happening， but you're not just an observer， you're a catalyst。 Good for you！You're a brawler， a fighter with a short temper。 You don't help your case much。 Thanks for this book though， it helps me understand you。。。and the Cro-Mags。 。。。more
Michael
，
BEST BOOK EVER。Harley is the motherfucking shit。So many crazy stories。Loved it。
Marc Diepstraten
，
I have been a Cro-Mags fan since The Age Of Quarrel came out。 So reading through the years I knew that the history was incredibly turbulent。 I read the accounts of Parris and John Joseph， but find the story of Harley most credible。 After reading this the fact that he is alive and somewhat coherent is beyond comprehension。 He should have been dead 100 times over。 No holds barred， unforgiving and brutally honest about his live and failures to get to where he is now。 A fascinating insight in the bi I have been a Cro-Mags fan since The Age Of Quarrel came out。 So reading through the years I knew that the history was incredibly turbulent。 I read the accounts of Parris and John Joseph， but find the story of Harley most credible。 After reading this the fact that he is alive and somewhat coherent is beyond comprehension。 He should have been dead 100 times over。 No holds barred， unforgiving and brutally honest about his live and failures to get to where he is now。 A fascinating insight in the birth of punk / hard core and skinhead /oi！ And lower east side New York before the cleanup。 It is crystal clear that there will not be a Cro-Mags reunion in original lineup。 At least we have The Age Of Quarrel， Best Wishes and Alpha Omega as a legacy。 To me together with Agnostic Front the best of New York。 。。。more
Patricia
，
This tells a story of a New York I never knew， and one way too crazy for a wimp like me。 Sometimes （mostly， actually） a little too intense for comfort。 At times I couldn't put it down， and at others I had to put it down， just to come back to some normalcy。 Great memoir。 This tells a story of a New York I never knew， and one way too crazy for a wimp like me。 Sometimes （mostly， actually） a little too intense for comfort。 At times I couldn't put it down， and at others I had to put it down， just to come back to some normalcy。 Great memoir。 。。。more
Omar-pai Mei
，
Out of all the music auto biographies Harley Flanagan's is simply the best。 But it becomes a choosing of sides。。。Harley's or John Jones or even Paris Mayhew。 Don't look for self reflection introspection or any spection this is the story of how Hardcore started and for those of us die hards into the life。。。it's the perfect read from the god father himself。 Out of all the music auto biographies Harley Flanagan's is simply the best。 But it becomes a choosing of sides。。。Harley's or John Jones or even Paris Mayhew。 Don't look for self reflection introspection or any spection this is the story of how Hardcore started and for those of us die hards into the life。。。it's the perfect read from the god father himself。 。。。more
Jim
，