YOU'LL HATE THIS BOOK because it may or may not include your high school band that played one gymnasium show back in '95. But these hair-raising tales of battles lost and won might grab your attention anyway, even if the ruffians telling those stories sometimes disagree on the details. Recalling tours from hell, illicit substances consumed, sexual acts consummated, and countless halls trashed, the narrators take us for an exciting stumble down memory lane—a spray-painted alley littered with recollections both joyous and tragic.

Covering forty years of misadventure and mayhem, Misfits & Miscreants: An Oral History of Canadian Punk Rock is more than just an uncensored look at an oft maligned and misunderstood subculture. In the words of those who were there, these riotous tales will either make you look back warmly at your misspent youth or inspire you to pick up the guitar again. And who knows? Maybe your lousy high school band actually did make the cut.