A music enthusiast living in New York’s East Village, Angela’s story unfolds chronologically, starting in 1977, charting her late adolescence in tandem with her transition from observer to participant. Gradually becoming a nightly fixture of her neighborhood’s vibrant underground rock milieu at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, by 1978 she had continued to fulfill her punk fantasy abroad. She followed the Clash on a tour across England, finally returning home in 1979 to start her own band. Angela encountered an impressive cast of characters on her adventures, including Lydia Lunch, Joe Strummer, Billy Idol, Klaus Nomi, and Sid Vicious.
Published by the Hat & Beard Press, I Feel Famous: Punk Diaries 1977-1981 touch on a variety of themes including identity politics, downtown NY, Anglophilia, fandom, fame, and fashion. Contrasting the stark black and white of 1970s New York with the exuberant beat-up color of a decaying London and its disenchanted youth, a lost era is brought back to life through a dedicated fan’s own reportage. Creative, funny and endlessly cool, the result is an unprecedented perspective into an ever-popular moment in contemporary cultural history.
Angela Jaeger is a singer, writer, and teacher who founded the late 70's No Wave band the Stare Kits and has recorded with Pigbag, Bush Tetras, Trevor Horn, David Cunningham, and The Monochrome Set, amongst others. A born and bred New Yorker who has lived in Barcelona and London, she currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
REVIEWS
“A beautifully clear and funny account of the times that you can trust.” – VIV ALBERTINE, author of Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys
“More than a diary, this is genuine scene-of-the-crime stuff—from frugging with Iggy Pop to troublemaking with Lydia Lunch to witnessing the ground zero brilliance of Talking Heads and X-Ray Spex, all the while keeping an eye out for the Son of Sam killer!” – THURSTON MOORE, author of Sonic Life: A Memoir
“I deeply envy Angela Jaeger’s life. I saw much of that stuff, too, but I was older and already corrupt.” – LUCY SANTE, author of I Heard Her Call My Name and Low Life
“I Feel Famous is an essential entry into the early history of punk—and like Jaeger herself, it’s a hell of a lot of fun, too.” – ADA CALHOUN, author of St. Mark’s is Dead
