Steven Lee Beeber

The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB’s

Perhaps it’s because of my extended Five Boroughs family — more meshugga than mensch — but punk rock having indelible Jewish ties came as little surprise. What I didn’t expect learning, however, is how equally a crux Blue Öyster Cult is to the scene. Seriously, after this book you will proselytize how the Long Island five-piece is so much more than “that cowbell band.” You will also tell what an “echt American” is, and how sometimes you burst into shpilkes. You will say these because chapter to chapter, sometimes intra-chapter, the book seemingly questions whether it has made its main points, so it nails certain phrases home unrelentingly. Besides the Jewish mother-like nagging, it’s a solid companion to Please Kill Me and a look at the conflicted New York Jewish psyches tangled in nihilist, post-Holocaust exile mentalities, stylized snot-nosed blaspheme and guitar cables. 4 stars.