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- Volume 11, Issue 1, 2022
Punk & Post-Punk - Volume 11, Issue 1, 2022
Volume 11, Issue 1, 2022
- Editorial
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- Articles
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‘We are the Others’: A literary analysis of the rise, fall and resurrection of Ultima Thule’s Viking-rock
More LessViking-rock grew out of the diminishing Swedish punk scene in the early 1980s and is lyrically linked to British Oi! and the far-right ‘Rock against Communism’ (RAC) scene. Previous research on Viking-rock either emphasizes the genre as a cultural expression of the Swedish white power milieu of the 1990s or as a product of the skinhead subculture. However, critical analyses of Viking-rock lyrics are scarce. This study emphasizes the development of the Other, as expressed in the lyrics of Viking-rock flagship band Ultima Thule from the 1980s to the 2010s, in relation to the development of the political party the Sweden Democrats. The lyrics are analyzsed from a comparative literature perspective that draws upon both borealism and the concept of the subaltern as an anti-intellectual voice of power as well as the idea that long-lasting political change is preceded by cultural change. The results suggest that Ultima Thule’s lyrical Other has gone from vague to distinct characterization. Ultima Thule also makes use of self-victimization when confronting journalism and intellectualism, much like the Sweden Democrats’ own view of themselves as political outcasts. Ultimately, the lyrics toe the party line and describe nationalists as an outcast Other in an alleged, politically correct, discourse.
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Brains on the asphalt: Three punk expressions of crisis
More LessSince its crisis-marked beginnings, punk’s relationship with anarchism could be described as ‘complicated’. In spite of the wide use of the word and the circled ‘A’ symbol, not every artist considered anarchy in its political meaning of radical egalitarianism and libertarian socialism. This article explores the ‘impulse of anarchy’ in punk, as considered by Edoardo Sanguineti, as a more-than-political aesthetic phenomenon present in all avant-garde poetry (and arts in general) in modern history, consciously or not, whose ultimate goal is to change life and modify the world. Through this perspective, the article presents a comparative analysis of three expressions of crisis by three different punk groups from three different European countries, in three different languages: ‘Možgani na asfaltu’ (‘Brains on the Asphalt’) in Slovene by Berlinski zid from (then) Yugoslavia, ‘Lasciateci sentire ora’ (‘Let Us Hear Now’) in Italian by Franti from Italy and ‘Crisis’ in English by Poison Girls from the United Kingdom. The article will thus try to contribute to the understanding of anarchist and anarchic influences in coping with crisis under international capitalism and bourgeois hegemony.
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From ‘commercial sell out’ to community-based event: The paradoxes of Polish punk rock music festivals
More LessThis article is based on both ethnographic field research and the author’s many years of experience as a punk fan. The researcher-participant analyses the 40-year history of two Polish music festivals in order to trace the complex trajectory and changing meaning of the punk subculture in Poland. The analysis is centred on two significant events: the Jarocin Rock Festival and the Rock on the Swamp Festival. The author suggests that the countercultural past of punk, rooted in the 1980s, is now being sentimentalized and commercialized. It is treated by conservative local authorities as an insignificant monument of the past. On the other hand, punk has become an agent of important and surprising social changes. A small festival in a provincial town is inclusive for its inhabitants, integrating two very different communities. Thanks to this, the notion of ‘selling out’ is contrasted in the form of a punk-inspired, community-based event.
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Bone in the Throat: Video archiving and identity building within the Montreal hardcore scene
More LessDuring the 1990s and early 2000s, the Montreal hardcore scene was a vibrant, thriving and dynamic subculture with a strong sense of community. The generational and cyclical nature of such scenes has led, over the past two decades, to a significant crowd turnover with older people leaving and newcomers taking over. However, through the emergence of an Instagram account created by a man named Andy Chico Mak, its past memories are resurfacing. The recent dissemination of the Bone in the Throat series on social media, along with other archives including flyers, interviews and never-seen-before footage from the era, sparks a series of questions regarding the role and impact of archiving subcultures. Since the archival turn in social sciences, archives are considered as a reflexive and constitutive process of identity building and collective memory creating. In the case of subcultures, often overlooked by official heritage institutions, the importance of understanding archives as a site of cultural production is paramount. The collection and preservation of self-produced documents is key to scholars in order to understand the social and political dynamics at the heart of those communities. This article analyses the impact of years of video archives, gathered and organized through the work of Andy Chico Mak, in the process allowing the creation of collective memory and the development of ‘scene identity’. By relating to contemporary conversations about archiving subcultures, it also provides insight into the impact of new technologies and the creation of ‘subcultural collective memory’.
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- Interview
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- Obituaries
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- Book Reviews
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On Compromise: Art, Politics and the Fate of an American Ideal, Rachel Greenwald-Smith (2021)
By Arin KeebleReview of: On Compromise: Art, Politics and the Fate of an American Ideal, Rachel Greenwald-Smith (2021)
Port Townsend, Washington: Graywolf Press, 232 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-64445-060-4, p/bk, $16.00
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Punk Identities, Punk Utopias: Global Punk and Media, Russ Bestley, Mike Dines, Matt Grimes and Paula Guerra (eds) (2021)
More LessReview of: Punk Identities, Punk Utopias: Global Punk and Media, Russ Bestley, Mike Dines, Matt Grimes and Paula Guerra (eds) (2021)
Bristol: Intellect Books, 260 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-78938-412-3, p/bk, £29.50
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Punk, Gender, and Ageing: Just Typical Girls?, Laura Way (2020)
More LessReview of: Punk, Gender, and Ageing: Just Typical Girls?, Laura Way (2020)
Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited, 234 pp.,
ISBN 987-1-83982-569-9, h/bk, £60
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Reversing Into The Future: New Wave Graphics 1977–1990, Andrew Krivine (2021)
By Russ BestleyReview of: Reversing Into The Future: New Wave Graphics 1977–1990, Andrew Krivine (2021)
London: Pavilion, 336 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-91166-395-9, h/bk, £35.00
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The Best of Jamming! Selections and Stories from the Fanzine that Grew Up, 1977–86, Tony Fletcher (ed.) (2021)
By Russ BestleyReview of: The Best of Jamming! Selections and Stories from the Fanzine that Grew Up, 1977–86, Tony Fletcher (ed.) (2021)
London: Omnibus Press, 288 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-91317-230-5, p/bk, £25.00
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Experimental Filmmaking and Punk: Feminist Audio Visual Culture in the 1970s and 1980s, Rachel Garfield (2022)
By Tim ForsterReview of: Experimental Filmmaking and Punk: Feminist Audio Visual Culture in the 1970s and 1980s, Rachel Garfield (2022)
London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 288 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-78831-399-5, h/bk, £75
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Deindustrialisation and Popular Music: Punk and ‘Post-Punk’ in Manchester, Düsseldorf, Torino and Tampere, Giacomo Bottà (2020)
By Paul HollinsReview of: Deindustrialisation and Popular Music: Punk and ‘Post-Punk’ in Manchester, Düsseldorf, Torino and Tampere, Giacomo Bottà (2020)
London: Rowman and Littlefield, 222 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-78660-737-9, h/bk, £104.00
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Politics as Sound: The Washington, DC, Hardcore Scene, 1978–1983, Shanya L. Maskell (2021)
By Mike DinesReview of: Politics as Sound: The Washington, DC, Hardcore Scene, 1978–1983, Shanya L. Maskell (2021)
Champaign, IL: Illinois University Press, 265 pp.,
ISBN 978-0-25208-622-9, p/bk, £16
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Souvenir: London, 1979–1986, Michael Bracewell (2021)
More LessReview of: Souvenir: London, 1979–1986, Michael Bracewell (2021)
London: White Rabbit, 124 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-47462-230-1, h/bk, £14.99
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Girlsville: The Story of The Delmonas & Thee Headcoatees, Saskia Holling (2021)
By Pete DaleReview of: Girlsville: The Story of The Delmonas & Thee Headcoatees, Saskia Holling (2021)
N.p.: Spinout Publications, 278 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-52728-458-6, p/bk, £12.00
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