Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs

I have the "old version" of this book so I'm not sure what might have been censored or changed from the new. Is it 100% truth? I would have no way of knowing since I wasn't there - I was a punk a couple years after Darby died, and many states away in an area that took longer to pick up on these things than LA did. And also, I know from dealing with the bands for whom I was "there" that there's usually between 3 and 23 sides to every story of "what happened". It doesn't really matter because I didn't pick up this book either to learn the entire perfect truth about Darby and the Germs, or to pass judgment on anybody for what happened. Nor did I think anybody in the book came off looking like a bad person or the villain of the piece or the reason Darby ended up dead, or any of that. No doubt, people who were there will see things and implications that I do not see, because if it was a book about a band I was in/ was friends with/ dated somebody in/ managed etc. I would also be able to pick up on a lot of innuendo and mythlogizing and "The Public Image".As it is, for me this is just a book about LA punk at a certain time. Probably to be taken with a grain of salt in any event because most everybody in it is busy having fun and being drunk/ stoned through much of it, so you know, "if you can remember, then you weren't there." Even if it's not 100% dead-on accurate, it seems to capture the vibe pretty well, and the people I know who had a nodding acquaintance with SoCal punk at that time agree. This book seems to pick up where "Please Kill Me" left off and describe the next branch that sprouted up on the punkweed vine. At times it almost seems to be more about Belinda Carlisle, or other people who are speaking, rather than Darby and the Germs, although in terms of discussing Darby it's way more intelligent and dimensional than the idiotic Germs movie that reduced everybody to the level of a low-budget cartoon. I enjoyed reading about the Scientology-in-high-school experiment, which did not make it into the movie. Only in California, folks.Bottom line is, I don't feel like I'm super-knowledgeable about Darby and the Germs after reading this, and I sense he is always going to be a figure of controversy as to whether he was a genius or just ordinarily talented or a hack who got famous by dying. But in terms of conveying the feeling of an era and being a interesting read - with some of the most interesting parts being simply about clubs and apartment buildings and people other than Darby and the Germs - it's worth picking up. A sort of real-life low-budget punked-out version of "Velvet Goldmine", maybe. Read it with that attitude and not like you're seeking the One True History, and you should be fine.

I had glanced at the first version of this book long ago.It turns out I read more than I remembered.It’s a quick read with many voices contributing to fill out the lives of the Germs - mainly Darby, Pat and Don.It doesn’t make Darby out to be an endearing human, but a charismatic one.

I would've given this a five-star rating. The only thing holding me back was some of the responses were re-printed from We Got The Neutron Bomb, which came out a year before this book. Other than that, the photos in this book are worth it. Lots of shots of the young Germs and Darby Crash, including from when he was a child. A particularly poignant one is the funeral pamphlet at the end of the book.The text is in typical oral history form: participants from Crash's life give responses to questions, with their names preceding them. Readers of L.A. punk history will remember some of the stories: the Germs' debut at the Orpheum, the sugar dumping at the Whiskey, and the antics that got them banned from every club in Southern California.This is also a great companion piece to the film made about The Germs, What We Do Is Secret. I would recommend it to new fans of the band and punk rock, but to old school fans, these are the same old stories.

I'm not a music fan or junkie. It's the cultural (or maybe sociological or even pathological would be better) side of these movements that interests me. This one's sad, reminiscent of fundamantalist followers hurling themselves into a devouring athmosphere much as The Germs flung headlong into their abandonment and escape. "Darby" had ability and problems. It's strangely creative (and human) that a very queer boy like him would cast himself in so homophobic a setting. Comments on events coming in snips from people were effective and gave a decent sense of the characters and times. A surprising lot of these "punks" went on to do rather well in a conventional way. Had he lived it's easy to imagine "Darby" going on in life somewhat like Oscar Wilde's "Bosie," tragically talented poet with sonnet skills no longer in demand and unhappy with the way his life turned. I'm glad to have the book. I'm equally glad I was not a part of that scene and slipped, instead, into my own form of self destruction.

Informative and lots of "inside" info into not only Darby and the Germs, but the early L.A. Punk scene. Well written and put together. Brendan Mullen was an important player in that scene and as with all his writings, has a sharp memory and wonderfuly neutral way of imparting the information without being dry or boring. Reading it the second time (after reading Jack Grisham's American Demon) it struck me as funny how these Punk "heros" that during their heyday my friends and I thought were so tough and rad and cool, were for the most part spoiled middle class kids that were still living with their parents! None the less, a great read for anyone interested in this era of American music and practically a must read for those who were there.

Perfect condition!! thanx a lot

I feel sorry for Darby Crash. I like the Germs' music and I think Crash was a very well-read, knowledgeable, intelligent man, with something valuable to offer the world. His background caught up with him. I don't think it's a coincidence that he had an uncle who died of a heroin overdose and that's how Crash deliberately checked out.

recommend it to anyone its a really good read. This item arrived in good time and fantastic condition. The price was excellent. I am very pleased with this.

Excellent read