The topic and form of Please Kill Me largely renders the traditional plot synopsis a useless tool, but the book does follow a general, historically informed arc. As they point out, for all that Please Kill Me is a notoriously uncensored history, uncensored doesn't necessarily translate to “accurate.” What critics do seem to agree on is that the work's rawness makes it an appropriate tribute to the notoriously abrasive genre it commemorates. On the other hand, some have criticized the authors for taking certain quotes out of context, and for putting on the record conversations that were not intended by their speakers to be made public. Today, Please Kill Me is considered an important, even iconic book, not only as a landmark example of music history but also for helping to popularize the “oral history” format. The book takes the form of interview passages, grouped according to topic.

In between, bands, trends, and scene stars are born and destroyed, along with relationships of every kind. More specifically, the book traces the development of the punk scene from Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground to the death of Johnny Thunders, although several other important figures, of course, die along the way – a great many from overdoses. Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil’s oral history, Please Kill Me (1996) comprises numerous oral accounts about the birth and progression of the punk music scene, as told by major figures from the scene itself.

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