Discusses how young women use the punk subculture for empowerment and self-identification, constructing their own version of femininity from the ingredients of the style. The book is based in part on the author's own reminiscence of a punk girlhood, as well as interviews with 40 punk girls and women between the ages of 14 and 37 in a handful of cities throughout North America. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
This history of the punk movement in the United States shows how punk music, fashion, art, and attitude clashed with and ultimately influenced mainstream culture. Unlike other volumes on the punk era that focus on just the music—and primarily on British punk bands—Punks: A Guide to an American Subculture spans the full expanse of punk as it happened in the United States, from the late-1960s blast from Iggy Pop and the Stooges to the full explosion of punk in the mid 1970s to its next-generation resurgences and continuing aftershocks. Punks covers it all—not just music, but the punk influence on film, fashion, media, and language. Readers will see how punk spread virally, through fan-created magazines, record labels, clubs, and radio stations, as well as how mainstream America reacted, then absorbed aspects of punk culture. The book includes interviews with key members of the punk subculture, including new conversations with people who participated in the punk scene in the 1970s and 1980s.
This book is the first in-depth, ethnographic study of the Dutch punk scene. It questions the artificial boundaries of subcultural research, calling for a critical analysis of the distinctions drawn between subcultural and everyday lives, and between localised and globalised subcultures. The everyday experiences of punk are framed within the mobile and connected global subculture of which they are a part. It traces its emergence in the 1970s and its development through to 2010, with chapters that map Dutch punk historically and spatially. Further chapters explore the meanings and practices attached to punk by its participants before focusing in particular on the political affiliations of punks. This book argues for an approach to social research that recognises the ‘messiness’ and the ‘connectedness’ of punk and of the social world.
In March 1977, John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon of the punk band the Sex Pistols looked over the Berlin wall onto the grey, militarized landscape of East Berlin, which reminded him of home in London. Lydon went up to the wall and extended his middle finger. He didn't know it at the time, but the Sex Pistols' reputation had preceded his gesture, as young people in the "Second World" busily appropriated news reports on degenerate Western culture as punk instruction manuals. Soon after, burgeoning Polish punk impresario Henryk Gajewski brought the London punk band the Raincoats to perform at his art gallery and student club-the epicenter for Warsaw's nascent punk scene. When the Raincoats returned to England, they found London erupting at the Rock Against Racism concert, which brought together 100,000 "First World" UK punks and "Third World" Caribbean immigrants who contributed their cultures of reggae and Rastafarianism. Punk had formed networks reaching across all three of the Cold War's "worlds". The first global narrative of punk, Punk Crisis examines how transnational punk movements challenged the global order of the Cold War, blurring the boundaries between East and West, North and South, communism and capitalism through performances of creative dissent. As author Raymond A. Patton argues, punk eroded the boundaries and political categories that defined the Cold War Era, replacing them with a new framework based on identity as conservative or progressive. Through this paradigm shift, punk unwittingly ushered in a new era of global neoliberalism.
Stacy Thompson's Punk Productions offers a concise history of punk music and combines concepts from Marxism to psychoanalysis to identify the shared desires that punk expresses through its material productions and social relations. Thompson explores all of the major punk scenes in detail, from the early days in New York and England, through California Hardcore and the Riot Grrrls, and thoroughly examines punk record collecting, the history of the Dischord and Lookout! record labels, and 'zines produced to chronicle the various scenes over the years. While most analyses of punk address it in terms of style, Thompson grounds its aesthetics, and particularly its most combative elements, in a materialist theory of punk economics situated within the broader fields of the music industry, the commodity form, and contemporary capitalism. While punk's ultimate goal of abolishing capitalism has not been met, the punk enterprise that stands opposed to the music industry is still flourishing. Punks continue to create aesthetics that cannot be readily commodified or rendered profitable by major record labels, and punks remain committed to transforming consumers into producers, in opposition to the global economy's increasingly rapid shift toward oligopoly and monopoly.
This book explores the complicated negotiations of identity among punks and anarchists living in the Philadelphia. Of particular significance is the book’s application of theoretical approaches to subcultures, youth cultures, fashion ethics, identification, narrativity, race and racism, gender and sexuality, and political and anarchist thought.
Get ready for a rollercoaster ride through the vibrant, rebellious world of punk! "PUNK: Loud Guitars, Louder Statements" is your all-access pass to a cultural phenomenon that rocked the world. If you're looking for music, fashion, and a revolutionary attitude, you've found it. This isn't just a music genre; it's a lifestyle, an unstoppable force that defied convention and redefined what it means to be an individual. Experience the gritty birth of punk in the heart of New York and London, where it rose against the excesses of disco and progressive rock with a raw, unfiltered sound. Meet the legends who became the faces of punk—The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Green Day and many more. Their music and attitude ignited a global movement that still resonates today. Step into the wild world of punk fashion, where DIY rebellion becomes an art form. Explore the underground venues, zines, and festivals that became the breeding grounds for a global phenomenon. Discover the controversies and challenges that pushed punk's authenticity and resilience to the limit. But punk is not just history; it's a living, breathing spirit. From political activism to conquering the digital age, punk's unapologetic voice is louder than ever. "PUNK: Loud Guitars, Louder Statements" is a love letter to the rebels, the non-conformists, and the change-makers who've left an indelible mark on our world. Are you ready to crank up the volume and join the punk revolution? If so, this book is your ultimate backstage pass to the bold, unforgettable world of punk. Whether you're a seasoned punk fan or a curious newcomer, there's something here for everyone. Get ready to be inspired, provoked, and thoroughly entertained by the unstoppable force that is punk.
1977 is usually associated with West German terrorism, but it witnessed another cultural watershed: punk music. A new reckoning with the legacy of political and aesthetic spaces, this book argues the centrality of punk music for understanding crises of state and terrorist violence, American racism and German fascism, and aesthetic production.
Punk Style examines the dress of this incredibly diverse, long-lasting and hugely influential subculture and its impact on mainstream fashion. Taking a comprehensive approach, the book includes a historical overview, a discussion of motivations behind dress practices, and a review of fashion cycles and merchandising methods. Punk is frequently positioned as a forerunner of trends that later become commonplace, as demonstrated in the proliferation and acceptance of body modification, the repeated use of deconstruction as a design aesthetic, and the recent boom in fashion that reflects DIY style through handmade crafts. The book explores how this dominant subcultural style continues to expand via the internet, youth buying-power, and the constant re-appropriation of its distinctive styles. This accessible text brings the discussion of punk fashion up-to-date and provides a concise overview for students and scholars and general readers interested in the punk subculture.
