Hanging out at Raoul's or Club Foot in Austin, later around CBGB's in NY, I always saw a sharp divide between those with day jobs and those who somehow were able to make themselves unemployable with costume, attitude and mosh pit. Women were a rarity with the latter group, they were sort of like biker girls. I thought Green Day's debut marked the end of the Punk era. Singing in tune was unacceptable to my ear. So much had to do with what level you had to conform at to get by at work, away from the scene. The music and its development were always the constants tho
I won't be putting this on my Christmas list! Joking aside, England's Dreaming is hard to beat. And, with the passage of time, having come of age during punk, the most lasting change has been all the doors it opened through the whole post punk and early indie phases. The ushering in of the 'can and will do' amateur musical mentality to challenge the 'proper musicians' and condescending producers dominating music up until then. As for anything still labelled 'punk'.............and maybe John Lydon advertising butter was its last, long overdue gasp.
I think it was forged in a particular state of 'opposition' to then current music, styles, views, hardened positions of chauvinism etc. It made it particularly confrontational and resilient.
Sounds about right. It's a bit heavy if you are focusing on relaxing your bowels. I'm 550 pages in and not much has changed. Just a flutter of topics and quotes. Sullivan's voice starts to add more in the Blitz and 'punk funk' sections, which is good because he can tell a story.
I didn't like the book either (although I was a bit kinder in my Louder Than War review). For the reasons you state but also because of the disproportionate focus on New York and London. There weren't many women represented either. But it was interesting to read your insights into the discussion, thank you.
Thanks Penny. I'm not normally wanting to use my substack platform as a review space, though I was more interested in following up on the discussion. I agree about the strange NY bias. I'm still dismayed about the poor editing and formatting though perhaps I went over the top!
Hanging out at Raoul's or Club Foot in Austin, later around CBGB's in NY, I always saw a sharp divide between those with day jobs and those who somehow were able to make themselves unemployable with costume, attitude and mosh pit. Women were a rarity with the latter group, they were sort of like biker girls. I thought Green Day's debut marked the end of the Punk era. Singing in tune was unacceptable to my ear. So much had to do with what level you had to conform at to get by at work, away from the scene. The music and its development were always the constants tho
Surely the last word was written by Jon Savage in England’s Dreaming?
I would say so. There's some really odd bits in this book. And it's screaming out for a bit of space and organisation.
I won't be putting this on my Christmas list! Joking aside, England's Dreaming is hard to beat. And, with the passage of time, having come of age during punk, the most lasting change has been all the doors it opened through the whole post punk and early indie phases. The ushering in of the 'can and will do' amateur musical mentality to challenge the 'proper musicians' and condescending producers dominating music up until then. As for anything still labelled 'punk'.............and maybe John Lydon advertising butter was its last, long overdue gasp.
A brilliant review, a devastating critique from start to finish. Don cue rock lives. . . I’ll not be buying the book
I enjoyed the bit about the prison. Do you think punk is particularly bad for this or does it apply to other genres as well?
I think it was forged in a particular state of 'opposition' to then current music, styles, views, hardened positions of chauvinism etc. It made it particularly confrontational and resilient.
It's what used to be known as a "toilet book" because it lives in the toilet and you can dip into it every time you do a poo.
And also if there is no toilet paper you can use the bits you're already read. Or is that just me?
Sounds about right. It's a bit heavy if you are focusing on relaxing your bowels. I'm 550 pages in and not much has changed. Just a flutter of topics and quotes. Sullivan's voice starts to add more in the Blitz and 'punk funk' sections, which is good because he can tell a story.
I didn't like the book either (although I was a bit kinder in my Louder Than War review). For the reasons you state but also because of the disproportionate focus on New York and London. There weren't many women represented either. But it was interesting to read your insights into the discussion, thank you.
Thanks Penny. I'm not normally wanting to use my substack platform as a review space, though I was more interested in following up on the discussion. I agree about the strange NY bias. I'm still dismayed about the poor editing and formatting though perhaps I went over the top!
I thought it was because I had a preview copy (pdf). I'd assumed they'd have fixed it for the final version. Obviously not.