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Punk Revolution!

An Oral History of Punk Rock Politics and Activism

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1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The most wide-ranging and provocative look at punk rock as a social change movement told through firsthand accounts

Punk rock has been on the front lines of activism since exploding on the scene in the 1970s. Punk Revolution! is a reflection on this cultural movement over the past 45 years, told through firsthand accounts of hundreds of musicians and activists.

John Malkin brings together a wide cast of characters that include major punk and postpunk musicians (members of The Ramones, Bad Religion, Crass, Dead Kennedys, Patti Smith's band, Gang of Four, Sex Pistols, Iggy & the Stooges, Talking Heads, The Slits, and more), important figures influenced by the punk movement (Noam Chomsky, Kalle Lasn, Keith McHenry, Marjane Satrapi, Laurie Anderson, and Kenneth Jarecke), and underground punk voices. These insightful, radical, and often funny conversations travel through rebellions against Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin, to punk activism that has taken on nuclear war, neoliberalism, modern warfare, patriarchy, white supremacy, the police, settler colonialism, the climate crisis, and more.

The result is a fresh and unique, global history of punk throughout the ages.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 1, 2023
      Journalist Malkin debuts with a riveting insiders’ history of punk’s charged relationship with social change, collecting interviews with some of the genre’s biggest names (including members of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols) and intellectuals with links to the music (such as Noam Chomsky, who recorded an eight-minute analysis of the Gulf War for Bad Religion’s 2001 album New World Order: War #1). The discussions unpack how punk music challenged war, white supremacy, police brutality, and political violence, from the Clash’s 1981 Sandinista, which tackled “the so-called Cold War” in “Ivan Meets GI Joe,” to Pussy Riot’s 2020 release of “Rage,” a vivid, impassioned critique of Russian political repression. Punk’s revolutionary links haven’t always been straightforward, however. When the Vandals performed for American troops in Iraq in 2004, some criticized the band for their ostensible support of the Bush administration’s war efforts, while others read a sly critique in their rendition of the theme song from Team America: World Police, a movie with a “clear antiwar message.” Malkin supplements the impressive array of interviews with comprehensive background analysis, and energizes the proceedings with his clear passion for the topic. Punk fans will find this a gold mine.

    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2023

      Musician/activist/filmmaker/photographer/journalist Malkin (Sounds of Freedom) conducted more than 140 interviews with musicians and influencers from the 1970s to the present for this oral history of punk rock. This book examines the roots of activism in punk and explores the genre beyond its reach in the U.S. and the UK. Regarding nods to feminism and race in punk, however, it lacks a strong history and critique. The book pulls from interviews with members of bands such as Bad Religion, Crass, Dead Kennedys, Gang of Four, and Sex Pistols. The author also talks to Noam Chomsky, Kalle Lasn, Keith McHenry, Marjane Satrapi, Laurie Anderson, and Kenneth Jarecke about punk's impact. Although there is a wide range of interviews and stories that will attract readers interested in punk or who are fans of the bands addressed in the book, the book disappointingly focuses on a few of the main interviewees--specifically Johnny Lydon and Jello Biafra--and does not share the depth and range that could potentially come from the extensive collection of interviews. VERDICT Malkin's book will be of interest to many, but it is not the sweeping, nuanced history that punk deserves.--Rebekah J. Buchanan

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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