Richard Hell is one of punk's most accomplished writers

The Velvet Underground is often considered a starting point for punk rock

The band blended Warhol’s Pop Art with Beat poetry, early rock ‘n’ roll and the European avant-garde, creating a sound that was often chaotic, noisy and abrasive. The band’s debut album, “The Velvet Underground and Nico,” sold poorly, but (supposedly) everyone who purchased a copy started a band.

Witness the birth of punk rock through the archives of an influential music magazine

Trouser Press magazine (originally Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press) was an influential publication that operated from 1974 to 1984. During that time, they ran cover stories on emerging acts like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and others, offering contemporary readers a window into how punk was understood as it evolved.

Death, early innovators of punk, were unknown for decades

The band of three brothers from Detroit recorded a 1974 demo that predicted the punk explosion that would arrive just a few years later with the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. But the band, Death, were complete unknowns until collectors rediscovered their music in the 2000s.

Gary Panter designed punk flyers before building the surreal world of Pee-wee Herman

The illustrator’s anxiety-ridden comics adorned flyers for LA punk bands, defining a distinctive aesthetic for the burgeoning genre. That work caught the eye of Paul Reubens, who was staging a late-night show with his persona Pee-wee Herman.

A biker from Hell's Angels said Hunter S. Thompson's book about the group was mostly 'cheap trash'

Thompson's popular coverage of the motorcycle gang was not necessarily popular with the gang members themselves. In a bizarre and amusing TV interview from 1967, a biker is given the opportunity to confront Thompson about using the gang for profit, misrepresenting them, and failing to buy beer he promised them.

Why one country legend embraced punk rock

Dwight Yoakam was among the most popular country music acts of the 1980s, praised for his upbeat rockabilly and neo-Bakersfield sound. In this interview, Yoakam explains why he left the Midwest for California and began playing in punk clubs, including with an iteration of the legendary LA punk outfit X.

Read the Beats' poetry

The Beats were alike in their willingness to experiment and transgress, though the movement’s writers were distinct artists with varying styles. This collection showcases the breadth of the Beat Generation’s work, with authorized texts from Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Diane di Prima, Richard Brautigan and others.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

A legendary rock writer ranks the greatest girl group records

Greil Marcus is considered one of the greatest American rock writers of all time, providing a literary legitimacy to rock ‘n’ roll when it was still considered mere pop culture. This 1975 essay on the great girl group records is the perfect example, offering a thought-provoking analysis of the era’s definitive singles.

Warren Zevon's sardonic takes landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Warren Zevon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. Political writer Andrew Walworth highlights Zevon's keen interest in international politics, which often found their way into his memorably wry lyrics.

Chris Lighty represented some of New York's biggest rappers

Lighty founded Violator—a record label and management firm—in 1996 and went on to represent Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, 50 Cent and others. In 2012, he was found dead on the patio of his apartment. The death was ruled a suicide, though many close to Lighty believed otherwise.

Jean-Paul Sartre famously wrote that 'Hell is—other people'

The line appears toward the end of the play "No Exit." One character, realizing that he's confined to live out the rest of his days with the play's other two characters, exclaims, "There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is—other people!"

Stephen King's basement inspired a Ramones classic

The horror writer was a fan of the band and invited them to his home in Maine. While hanging out in the basement, Dee Dee Ramone, the band's bassist, stole away with a copy of King's "Pet Sematary" and wrote a song about it. The song appeared in the film adaptation of the book, which began shooting a month later.

Lord Byron was Romanticism's chief heartthrob

A prolific and often controversial figure in life and death, Lord Byron helped shape romanticism and left an enduring literary legacy, including creating the archetype of the Byronic hero. But Byron was more than just an artist—he was also a romantic era celebrity and predecessor to the modern rock star.

King has published more than 60 novels

Since 1974, the writer has published a staggering number of books, often releasing a title a year (and sometimes more than that). This comprehensive list from King's official website lists everything the man has ever done, including unpublished stories, long-forgotten television specials, and limited edition novels. It's a fascinating look into the artistic life of one of America's most successful writers.

'Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I'm concerned, that's success.'

- Musician Tom Petty (1950–2017)

'Frank Sinatra Has a Cold' is one of the seminal works of New Journalism

The profile broke with convention by focusing on the story of pursuing the story rather than one that celebrated the subject. Vanity Fair called it "the greatest literary-nonfiction story of the 20th century." (Some users may experience a paywall.)

A 1981 review helped propel Basquiat into superstardom

“The Radiant Child,” featured in Artform in December 1981, presented Jean-Michel Basquiat (and, to a lesser degree, Keith Haring) as the genius of the post-graffiti art movement. The critic, Rene Ricard, wrote that, “[o]ne or two words on a Jean-Michel contain the entire history of graffiti.”

Was Dalí an artistic genius or a marketing whiz?

Punk poet John Cooper Clarke and art historian Professor Dawn Ades explore Dalí's enthralling life and decipher whether he was an artistic genius, a marketing genius, or both. Listen to the full podcast here.

Tony Hawk’s rise from outsider to skateboarding legend

In this podcast, Tony Hawk discusses his path from being an outsider in a niche sport to becoming skateboarding’s most recognizable figure—reflecting on competition dominance, business ventures, and lessons learned throughout his career.

Terrible performance art: an insider's perspective

David Sedaris may be known for his writing now, but when he was in college, he thought his future was in the art world. Specifically, the performance art world. In this episode of NPR’s This American Life, Sedaris shares a selection of moments from his career as an artist, each more embarrassing than the last. The kicker? Being heckled from the audience—by his own father.

Charles Dickens' novels inspired a young Norman Rockwell

Rockwell is considered a narrative painter who tells stories through his portraits of everyday Americans. The interest in using images to tell stories began at a young age, when his father read Dickens aloud to him while the young Norman illustrated the books’ scenes.

A Harvard radio station once dedicated 24 hours to Jandek

The enigmatic singer-songwriter plays atonal dirges that are haunting or horrible, depending on your taste. He has self-released over 120 albums but rarely performs live, preferring to conceal his true identity. In 2003, a Harvard radio station aired the "Jandek Orgy," which included his fans debating his identity, lyrics, and philosophy.

‘Horror hosts’ helped build the genre’s cult following

Horror is now considered high art, but much of its cult popularity is due to the B-movies that defined the genre. Starting in the 1950s, many of these low-grade films were licensed on the cheap by television networks to fill airtime, introduced by “horror hosts”—MCs with campy, over-the-top personas.

When the reclusive Thomas Pynchon won the National Book Award, he sent a stand-up comedian to receive the honor

Pynchon's novel "Gravity's Rainbow" won the National Book Award in 1974 (sharing the distinction with Isaac Bashevis Singer's "A Crown of Feathers"), but the writer, who was seldom seen in public, sent the comic "Professor" Irwin Corey in his place. You can read the ridiculously satirical speech, which would be at home in one of Pynchon's novels, in full by clicking through below.

Prince wrote numerous hits for other artists

Prince is renowned as a performer, but he's also one of the great American songwriters, having penned career-defining songs for acts like Sinead O'Connor ("Nothing Compares 2 U"), the Bangles ("Manic Monday"), and many others.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.