Hard-Core

The feral memoir of Harley Flanagan—New York hardcore pioneer, Cro-Mags founder, and survivor of the Lower East Side. Hard-Core is the memoir of Harley Flanagan, founder of the Cro-Mags and one of the most recognizable figures in New York’s punk and hardcore scenes. Raised in the chaotic Lower East Side of the 1970s, Flanagan grew up surrounded by musicians, artists, and countercultural figures before becoming a teenage fixture at venues like CBGB and Max’s Kansas City. By age eleven he was performing with the Stimulators, and soon after he helped define the emerging sound and attitude of New York hardcore. Blending personal history with music memoir, Flanagan recounts his early life among artists and musicians connected to Andy Warhol’s circle, his friendships with figures from The Clash, Bad Brains, and Motörhead, and the formation of the Cro-Mags. The book traces his experiences through the rise of hardcore punk, street violence, addiction, legal battles, and eventual reinvention through martial arts and sobriety. Alongside the story of one musician’s survival is a portrait of New York City during a volatile and formative period for underground music. Both a coming-of-age narrative and a document of the New York hardcore movement, Hard-Core offers a firsthand account of the scene’s origins, personalities, and conflicts. It stands as a key memoir for readers interested in punk history, music biography, and the cultural history of downtown New York. Watch Wired for Chaos (2025), a riveting documentary about Harley Flanagan, directed by Academy Award-winning director, Rex Miller. “Chances are if it happened in New York and it was important and interesting, Harley Flanagan was somewhere in the room.” — Anthony Bourdain