Jim Jocoy’s photographs of the late ’70s punk scene in Los Angeles and San Francisco aren’t that different from the loads of morning-after shots flooding party photography sites every weekend in 2012, but then again, yes they are. Since the punk-rock scene exploded in New York and London and ricocheted to the West Coast, relatively toothless versions of this red sweater, black tights, swinging bottle of Jack look have popped up on the runway and in the streets every few years. What’s missing is that original, “anti-hippie, anti-disco, anti-parent and anti-‘nice'” feeling, as documented in We’re Desperate: The Punk Rock Photography of Jim Jocoy, SF/LA 1978-1980. Here are a few choice shots of these kids, as ambushed by Jim Jocoy and spotted by American Suburb X. Get nostalgic for the days when studded cuffs really meant something as you count the polka dots and bloody noses.
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy
Photo credit: Jim Jocoy