This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits

by James Greene Jr.
Taylor Trade Publishing , 208 pp., $14.95

Crammed as the punk rock bookshelf has gotten in the 21 years since the publication of England’s Dreaming and Please Kill Me (1996), there’s been no volume published on the Misfits. James Greene Jr. steps into the breach admirably. The page count may be thin, but content’s thick, the author accurately and respectfully telling the tale of how Jerry Only and a cast of several channeled Glenn Danzig’s obsessions with murder, blood, horror comics, and trashy horror films into a potent, powerful, and melodic strain of punk rock distinctly the Misfits’ own. Colored vinyl 45s like “Horror Business” and “London Dungeon” were the most vicious sing-alongs around, and the graphic presentation brilliant, as was the band’s down-market Kiss presentation. Thankfully, Greene Jr. pulls no punches as egos tear the band apart, and a genius musical brand gets degraded through the actions of Danzig and Only both. All the warts are here, from Danzig’s French onion soup at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 to Only’s licensing the Misfits logo to any chintzy tchotchke possible.

This article appears in December 6 • 2013.

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Tim Stegall contributed to The Austin Chronicle 1991-1995, and was a staff writer 1995-1997. He returned as a contributor in 2013. He has also freelanced for publications ranging from Flipside to Alternative Press to Guitar World. He plays punk rock guitar and sings in the Hormones.