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Summary: Find out how it all started and how it looked...
Review: There is no better way to expand or fill out your knowlege of the East Coast Punk Rock scene than this book. Packed with excellent photos that capture what DC was like when bands like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Iron Cross, and Government Issue were happening. It's a glimpse into a scene that served as a blueprint for cities all over America in it's earliest, and yes, even New Wave-y stages. Most of the photos are of people/bands involved with two of the most influential organizations that are still part of the DC scene, Dischord Records and Positive Force. Initally, this could seem like an obvious editorial slant, but when you realize the photos are mostly from their personal collections, the book becomes enjoyable as an example of a bunch of kids who just happened to document the life they were leading. Through the comments that accompany the pictures from the various contributors you also get a sense of how it felt to be there, with them, as they created one of the most creative and long-lasting Punk Rock communities ever.
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Summary: the best punk scene ever-too bad i'm 15 years too late
Review: Banned In DC is just one of those books you can read everyday and you think your the only person in the world who has it. It documents the DC punk scene from 1979-1985. I'm a 15 year old girl just outside DC and i envy the people who were a part of the scene so much because they had each other(kind of like the movie suburbia).it was cool finding out that minor threat and tons of other harDCore bands played at walter johnson HS-3 miles from my house and some girls house-a mile from me.it really depresses me that i missed out on that.the DC punk scene was the best and people often ignore it but banned in dc is a great book.its really well put together with actual fliers,pictures and anecdotes from people who were a part of the scene.i look at the dc "scene" now and wonder what the hell happened!?
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Summary: AWESOME
Review: Great book!!! A must have for any longtime DC punk scener!! Cheaper at Tower Records though!!
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Summary: great book - feels like a punk yearbook to me!
Review: I've had this book for years! I even found three pictures that have me in them!
It's a collection of photos that could be submitted after the fact - because of that, the photos were of people and bands that were around the photographer/submitter - thus the limited perspective that some reviewers commented on.
I don't think that the people taking the pictures had planned to publish something of this magnitude, and try to make a documentary of it, but the stories and pictures of people that I remember make it worthwhile. Some of these people are still very influential in the music scene.
If you want to get a feel for what it was like during the late 70's and into the 80's in the DC punk scene, this book is invaluable.
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Summary: The Punk Never Dies!
Review: it is so cool to pick up this book and relive it all. and what's really great is when yer tellin people about stuff that happened, some adventure, er this er that show and then you can pull the book off the shelf and point to the photos. great record of a great era and important part o life that still goes on today, cuz the punk never dies!
Rating: 
Summary: good but...
Review: These rare photos are amazing. Cynthia Connelly's simple high-contrast black-and-whites were ubiquitous while growing up in the DC area, and for good reason--she is an awe-inspiring artist and master of her craft. The only thing that's disappointing about this book is that it features her boyfriend Ian's record label and both of their dischord-scene friends a little TOO prominently. There were (and still are)so many other bands and people doing things in DC--NOT just Dischord--many of the other small labels, promoters, and bands who maybe weren't accepted by the 'Dischordites' are ignored and as such, dismissed here. Too bad. This is a one-sided view of a very multi-dimensional, thriving musical scene.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This book gives an interesting glimpse into a very specific, very magical time in the history of American punk subculture. I'm pictured several times in the book and I must say a flood of memories returned flipping through these pages. Their was a lot of energy going on back then! The book should be interesting and fun for people involved in the hardcore punk scene today as well. It provides a glimpse into the motivations and embryonic formations of a "scene". Those of us who grew up with punk and have carried those ideals with us needed a book like this to remind us of just how much of a blast being young really is! It's a state of mind!
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Summary: more DC scene information than you ever thought you'd need..
Review: This was a great book. If you're the least bit interested in what Dischord was putting out during the '80s, you have to buy this book. It's mostly a book of photos with comments by people who were involved in the scene at that time. After you get it, you won't put it down for weeks. Oh, and you'll be amused by what Ian MacKaye looked like as a teenager. :)
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Summary: execellent book about the punk scene that I live in
Review: This was a GREAT book. It felt weird reading about it 'cause I experience what the author was writing about. I recommend it to anyone who is coming to DC, likes punk, and wants to know what our scene is like here. Also to anyone who lives in/around DC 'cause it really cool to read about the concerts 'n' stuff we've been to
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Summary: stupid 15 years late
Review: Why is it that I'm always at least 5 years late for everything? First I miss the Pixies, then Nirvana, and now I find out that my own hometown had its own kicking punk scene 5 years before i was even born?!? ................. The book does not however. Filled with grainy black and white photos of the DC punk glory years, it gives a vivid account of DC when it was musically important. And the fact that I know where everything is in this book is pretty cool. Wilson High School (6 blocks from my house) the alma matier of Ian Makaye. The Wilson Center which is a short drive across Rock Creek Park actually still holds some shows which I go to sometimes. But in any case, this book is really cool for old school punks and for the new generation coming up in DC. However, this book is probably irrelevant for someone who lives in say, Idaho. Those in DC though, buy away.
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