Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond 1977-1981 Paperback – 1 October 2011

This is an incredible work that allows the reader to experience a movement as if it was happening all over again. I was about ten years too young to make the trek to Toronto and experience the punk explosion there in 1977.Rather than researching the story and writing it in her own words, Liz Worth and Gary "Pig" Gold have used the unique approach of editing extensive interviews with the bands, groupies, punks and observers who lived in Toronto and were at the heart of the scene as it was happening. There are nearly 400 pages here but the type is small enough that the content is probably the equivalent of a 700 or 800-page book. Lots of black-and-white photos enhance the story and there is a handy "Cast of Characters" at the front, which is helpful in keeping all the "players" straight.If there is one star of this book, it's undoubtably Steven Leckie of the Viletones. He seems to have the distinction of giving the most quotes, and being the most-mentioned character. The Diodes and Teenage Head also get honours for most-mentioned.Being more of a fan of the Art-Crowd music from this period such as The Dishes and The Poles, I wasn't bored by the coverage of the heavier punk bands such as the Ugly, The Curse or Forgotten Rebels. In fact, the more I got into this book, the more interested I became. Not only does it discuss the music scene, but you really get a feel for the era in Toronto and the rush this music brought to a generation of kids in search of something new and raw. The book pinpoints certains events that changed the scene, such as the murder of a 12-year-old shoeshine boy in a seedy red-light district that rocked headlines, as well as the arrival of a violent gang of hoodlums known as the Blake Street Boys. This is fascinating stuff of a Toronto long ago; a time that wasn't always pretty, but a time where an underground movement gave a bunch of bored, disillusioned kids something to latch on to and call their own. A movement that was fueled by rebellion, alcohol, creativity and adrenaline; where anyone could pick up a guitar and start a band with their friends on a whim.I can't recommend this book enough and it has really whet my appetite for the upcoming 2012 release of the film "The Last Pogo Jumps Again" which will basically be a nice video counterpart to this book. The film is rumoured to be five hours long and will contain a treasure trove of never-been-seen footage from the era.Five stars!

Buy this book NOW!!!! Absolutley essential reading for any music fan. I had no idea my hometown was so firmly situated at the epicentre of punk. Great photos too...

I first read this book after taking it out on loan from my local library, and then had to buy my own copy. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the punk scene in Toronto. While the writing can, at times, be a bit sluggish, this is the kind of book that makes you want to go out and start buying albums by bands you've never actually heard, which is about as high a praise as I can give to a work like this.

it was informative but i didn't like the way it was written kind of all over the place. I was hoping it was going to cover some of the hardcore bands from toronto as well but it just covered the same few bands.

Interesting book about the early punk scene in Toronto as told by the people in the scene. Full of Toronto music history that I knew nothing about previously! Takes its cues from Please Kill Me, possibly the best book about music, definitely the best book about punk. Needs serious editing though as it’s a slog to get through this - very repetitive with multiple people often repeating the same info. Could probably lose 30-50% of the text and be a much tighter book. Still worth a read though - lots of insane stuff happened back then.. glad the scene isn’t full of violence these days.