This week, we’re pleased to present the playlist Phuc Tran put together for his memoir, SIGH, GONE: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and The Fight To Fit In.
In 1987, I entered high school. The ‘80s were in full Benetton bloom, and we all donned the uniforms that would identify ourselves as friend or foe: jock, prep, redneck, punk, geek. I already had an irrepressible oppositional streak and an explosive relationship with my parents, so punk was the natural fit for me. Punk was against pretty much everything, so I immediately signed up. By the end of high school, however, that antithetical stand felt like a corner into which we had painted...