Popular Music and Local Identity: Rock, Pop and Rap in Europe and Oceania
Popular Music and Local Identity: Rock, Pop and Rap in Europe and Oceania
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… S Club 7 and Pop Idol ? revolutionising the global music industry ? was named the most successful British pop music manager of all time. … Continue …
In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-92 (Penguin Rock)
In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-92 (Penguin Rock)
Customer Review: Great music, great writing
A fascinating collection on punk and related matters from 1977 through 1992, including what was left out of Marcus’ earlier book Lipstick Traces. In the author’s own words, it’s about “records, performances, twists of the radio dial.” It moves from the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy” to Nirvana’s “Nevermind” in this illumined golden thread. Marcus writes about what moved, scared and disgusted him and what made him feel so privileged to be part of the punk audience. His views of punk encompassed a wide horizon, to include the likes of Bruce Springsteen, early Prince, Laurie Anderson and David Lynch’s film Blue Velvet. His point is that punk made wonderful things like Anderson’s “Superman” possible even though Superman itself isn’t punk. In other words, punk’s liberating effect caused sea changes in the perception of pop. A major weakness of the book is that it ignores the entire New York scene, because, as he puts it, “most [New York] punks seemed to be auditioning for careers as something else.” So no Patti Smith, no Richard Hell, a cursory mention of Talking Heads, but you WILL find Blondie here. Fascist Bathroom follows many avenues (The Clash, Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello) but maybe its most precious contribution is rescuing from obscurity some lower-profile such as Laura Logic, The Mekons, Marianne Faithfull. It’s a joy to read, chronologically arranged and ending with Nirvana and grunge in the 90s. The text swarms with relevant quotes from rock lyrics and references to other rock journalists like Lester Bangs. Similar books exploring the same terrain include Roni Sarig’s “The Secret History of Rock” and Clinton Heylin’s “From The Velvets To The Voidoids.” For anyone with a passionate interest in rock/pop music and youth culture, Fascist Bathroom required reading.
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