In 1979, a soon-to-erupt punk scene took hold in Washington, DC, with bands like the Bad Brains, Trenchmouth, Teen Idles, the Untouchables, and the Slickee Boys, among others, at the forefront. Lucian Perkins, later a Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist for the Washington Post, was then an intern who photographed several pivotal shows over a short period of time. Alec MacKaye's text offers an intimate exploration of the moment from two perspectives: that of a 14-year old experiencing music on his own terms for the first time and a look again at a movement that fueled an underground generation musically and philosophically.