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Henry Lin
Author's Bio
Simon Reynolds was born in 1963 in London, England. He studied history at Oxford University. He frequently comments on music in prominent publications 每 ranging from Rolling Stone to The New York Times to The Observer 每 and is credited with incorporating the ideas of critical theory into his writing. Additionally, Reynolds has examined drug culture and its influence and effects on music. He also refers to Marxism as an important influence.
The Punk Rock Renaissance
"Ever An often forgotten era in the history of music, the "postpunk" era of 1978-1984 is one that has heavily influenced the generations of bands that have followed. In Rip it Up and Start Again, Simon Reynolds examines the different sounds that came out of the time period--electronic, synthesized or reggae--and their collective effects on both society--postpunk dealt with "politics of music itself as with anything in the real world"--at the time and on the bands that followed.1 Not coincidentally, the rise of the MTV music videos occurred simultaneously with the advent of postpunk, as smaller bands proved that they didn't have to be the Beatles or the Rolling Stones to be in a music video. Postpunk might not have received as much acclaim as the music eras that both preceded and followed it, but its influence is still highly significant.
After touring in America, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols returned to Britain unhappy and disillusioned with the state of punk bands. As the lead singer of the Pistols, Lydon was at the forefront of the punk movement, but felt "cheated" by its "lack of diversity and imagination." 2 He then went on to form Public Image Ltd., better known as PiL. PiL became the first real postpunk band and their idea of a countermovement to a quickly fading punk genre would give rise to more and more prominent bands. Occurring simultaneously with the advent of postpunk was the increasing popularity of independent, do-it-yourself record labels, or the "indie" movement. 3 Prior to 1978, the major record labels--EMI and Virgin for example--dominated the music scene and the lesser known bands could not compete with the bigger bands; they simply didn't garner enough attention. Bands who wanted to be heard had to resort to another method; they joined the "indie" movement. With a couple hundred dollars, a band could record a number of tracks and make a couple thousand records. The independent record label movement grew in popularity and bands like Depeche Mode and Joy Division, who might have been lost in the fray, released music that would help to push postpunk music to its highest levels.
Though it first originated in the United Kingdom, the postpunk movement found its way to America and firmly entrenched itself in the state of Ohio. Akron, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio were "slowly declining" cities of the steel industry, cities the British magazine NME proclaimed were "where the American dream ends." 4 The two most important bands that arose from these industrial wastelands were Pere Ubu and Devo. Pere Ubu, from, Cleveland developed an "industrial folk" sound, while Devo from Akron classified itself as an "eighties industrial band." 5 Drawing their inspiration from the working man toiling in the factories, Pere Ubu and Devo developed a bleakly futuristic and electronic sound. From the heart of a grim, industrial hopelessness came two bands that echoed the disappointment of the cities where they originated. East of Ohio, a New York band also began to find its identity. The Talking Heads, a group of musicians with backgrounds in fine art--they had attended the Rhode Island School of Design--began playing in CBGB. CBGB is an acronym for "Country, Blue Grass, and Blues" and it was a club where the Talking Heads made their name. They Heads headed the New Wave revolution in the early 80's and neglected the old, black-derived rhythms of the past--the "relaxed jamming feel, swing, bluesy note bending"--for the "high pitched, geeky, and suburban" of the New Wave. 6 The Talking Heads maintained a no-nonsense image with short hair, suits, and double knit pants, that clashed with a classic "punk" group--the Ramones, clad in black leather and torn denim-- and both quickly began to gain popularity from playing in CBGB. Even as the Ramones saw continued success, the Talking Heads showed America that "punk" didn't have mean "unkempt".
While the industrial sounds flourished in Ohio and the New Wave movement took hold in New York, far in the west, in San Francisco, a new idea of punk grew into prominence. As the "kook capital of the world" with its zany history 每 the "1950's Beat poets" and the "late-sixties scene of hippies" 每 San Francisco developed a reputation for its liberalness. 7 While both of these movements are both well documented and recognized as "golden ages" in San Francisco's history, the development of punk rock and industrial culture has been forgotten and neglected. Because people in San Francisco were especially receptive to the new ideas of punk rock, it was a highly "hospitable environment" for those "experimental" bands who delved further into the in-your-face, confrontational style of traditional punk rock. 8 Prominent bands that came from San Francisco during this golden age include the Residents, Factrix, and Tuxedomoon. These bands flourished in the relaxed California environment, but soon faded into anonymity in the early 1980's. While San Francisco was always recognized as a community founded on acceptance and liberalism, the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk caused a radically different age. Newly elected mayor Dianne Feinstein began to tear down the nucleus of the bohemian community in downtown San Francisco, ushering a new era of conservatism bolstered by the election of President Ronald Reagan. The bands that once played to the San Francisco public left for Southern California, New York, or even the United Kingdom; the laid back, bohemian environment where punk music had once flourished had changed forever.
Following the development of a new, unique sound, punk reached its golden age in America in early 1982. While music videos were "nothing new"--the Beatles and the Stones had already delved into that area--the advent of MTV helped to popularize the music of bands that weren't as prominent or as influential as such powerhouses. 9 While punk and New Wave music had "fared badly in the United States in large part because of conservative radio programming" in the earlier stages of this movement, MTV propelled many bands to popularity in 1982, 1983, and 1984. 10 An influx of British-- the Second British Invasion--music poured into the States during the MTV years. The British bands simply produced better videos than the American bands, and their abilities coupled with the growing popularity of MTV caused an unprecedented rise in the sales of British records in America 每 British records made up thirty-five percent of total record sales in America during 1983. From 1982 until 1984, "postpunk" had finally reached its golden age. In 1985, however, the postpunk rockers seemed to disappear as quickly as they had come; the bands fell off of the charts only to be replaced by different musicians with different sounds--Madonna and Bruce Springsteen to name a couple. The influence of postpunk, however, would never be forgotten.
In writing Rip it Up and Start Again, Simon Reynolds tries to bring justice to a forgotten and neglected era of music. He claims that the "prime years" of the "postpunk" movement from 1979 until 1982 were an era that created innovative and brilliant music, a "fortune."11 Reynolds supports and justifies his claim by referring to the popularity of MTV and the impact that it has had on pop culture, punk culture, almost all different genres of music since its introduction. Also he refers to the multitudes of bands during this era that pumped out one different sounding track after another, changing and shaping punk rock forever. Essentially, Reynolds attempts to define the music that the different punk groups produced following punk, coining the phrase "postpunk". This era is a very obscure one, and in fact, Reynolds' Rip it Up and Start Again is the first book to analyze the aftereffects of the punk rock movement.
By tackling a subject that has never been analyzed before, Reynolds' Rip it Up and Start Again takes some serious risks. Reynolds states that he has both "personal and objective reasons" for undertaking such a difficult task. 12 Alluding to an objective reason, he first goes on to say that while there have been many books written about punk's prime, there have been virtually none written about the years that followed. Reynolds wanted to call attention to something important and share information with the public about a movement that he had lived and appreciated. He indicates that this period created music so revolutionary and just simply so good that it had to be shared with the public. Subjectively and personally, Reynolds lived amongst the chaos of the postpunk movement, and he truly appreciates its significance to music history. While Reynolds can give a credible firsthand account of what happened--he actually witnessed and essentially lived the movement from 1978 until 1984--it is obviously a biased account. Reynolds cannot be totally impartial to this subject; in fact he is far from it. The postpunk era begot some of Reynolds favorite music, and he cannot truly bring himself to criticize any band from this era. So, while he comes across quite knowledgeable about the subject, Reynolds' bias causes him to examine virtually every band in a positive light, as opposed to critically reviewing each one. Additionally, this book was published quite recently, in 2005 to be exact. Thus, Reynolds' reexamination of an era that he so cherished and the state of music nowadays drastically changes his perception of the bands. On the other hand, because Rip it Up and Start Again is written twenty years after the movement, Reynolds can reflect on the postpunk era and compare it to its effects on music and life today. He uses his own personal experiences from both his adult and his young adult life to identify some of postpunk's influence.
Examining a broad era, Reynolds' Rip it Up and Start Again draws mixed reviews from book critics. In an excerpt from an issue of Library Journal, Matthew Mayer claims that Reynolds's "enthusiasm makes up for any omissions or critical missteps that inevitably come when trying to cover such a disparate ideological and musical subgenre... [and] this book stands as a peer among substantive punk histories." 13 Mayer thinks that Reynolds makes a good effort to portray this era as accurately and interestingly as possible. On the other hand, in a March 2006 issue of the New York Times Book Review, Jim Windolf accuses Reynolds of committing a "fatal flaw" of pop critics--"[panicking] and [breaking] out the 99-cent locutions." 14 Windolf believes that Reynolds' liberal use of curse words detracts from the book itself and that he is too biased in his overview of the postpunk era. Windolf argues that Reynolds takes the easy approach--praising rather than criticizing the bands that came from the time period.
Even though Rip it Up and Start Again tried to deal with too many things all at once, it was an interesting read about an interesting topic. In his foreword, Reynolds argues that "many historians exalt being in the right place at the right time... [and] this book is for the people who weren't there at the right time and place." 15 Upon completion of this book, I felt that Reynolds had fulfilled his purpose, to give voice to those disenfranchised musicians of the postpunk era New York Times Critic Jim Windolf argued that Reynolds was too biased and too profane in his diction, but I have to disagree. Reynolds was trying to prove a point, and that was that postpunk music caused positive effects on future generations of musicians. Why should Reynolds examine bands during that time that weren't significantly, positively influential? Also, Reynolds use of expletives, simpler diction, and even his own words helped me to better understand such a broad subject. I agree with Mayer in that Reynolds' genuine enthusiasm made up for any problems that he had in trying to cover such a broad subject; it was definitely an interesting read despite all its shortcomings.
In Rip it Up and Start Again, Reynolds calls attention the many differences and the changes that have occurred as a result of the postpunk movement's influence. Most importantly, Reynolds calls attention to the effect of MTV and how its popularity grew exponentially in the "golden age" of punk from "81-82-83-84." 16 Before MTV and music videos, there was only radio as a means of broadcasting music to the public. Also, the radio was quite conservative and very selective in what it played. As a result of the combined efforts of "postpunk" musicians and the increased popularity of music videos, the barrier between what was socially acceptable and what was not pushed further and further. This sort of pushing and pushing culminated with the achievements of the iconoclastic Madonna who is widely recognized as one of the most influential and important musicians of all time. Without the post punk rockers, the world would have never known Madonna.
Incidentally, I agree with the author's belief that the years 1978-1984 greatly impacted the music scene, and my generation can appreciate and enjoy today's music because of the efforts of the postpunkers. Reynolds' claim is that "one can go back to the mideighties and find harbingers of future revolution." 17 Music is the way that it is today because people in the postpunk era were willing to test, experiment, and find the right sound. After reading Rip it up and Start Again, I listened to some of the bands that Reynolds referred to--Joy Division, Pere Ubu, and Talking Heads just to name a few. Upon first listening, I felt disgusted as I heard the discordant and seemingly unharmonious sounds of each band. After replaying each song, however, I could see how they had been willing to try different things and how each time the song seemed to make sense. It is these postpunkers--the unsung heroes of punk rock--who helped to influence and inspire their descendants to create their own unique sounds.
Just because something is neglected or ignored doesn't mean that it is unimportant. Simon Reynolds valiantly calls attention to a movement that had a profound impact on not only himself but many other young people at the time, and ultimately, upon punk rock music itself. In Jim Windolf's words, Reynolds is simply a "brave man." 18 He delves into a subject that has never been written about, never been discussed and analyzes its origins and its effects upon music. Because of Reynolds' efforts, men and women all around the world will be able to grasp some knowledge of the importance of the previously unknown postpunk rock movement of the late 1970's and early 1980's.
Endnotes
1. Reynolds, Simon. Rip it Up and Start Again. 375 Hudson Street: Penguin Group. 2005, 8.
2. Reynolds, Simon, 16.
3. Reynolds, Simon 24.
4. Reynolds, Simon 50.
5. Reynolds, Simon 71.
6. Reynolds, Simon 83.
7. Reynolds, Simon 178.
8. Reynolds, Simon 199.
9. Reynolds, Simon 336.
10. Reynolds, Simon 343.
11. Reynolds, Simon X (Introduction).
12. Reynolds, Simon XI (Introduction).
13. Mayer, Matthew. Library Journal. March 2006.
14. Windolf, Jim. "Postpunk'd". "The New York Times Book Review. March 2006.
15. Reynolds, Simon 3.
16. Reynolds, Simon 299.
17. Reynolds, Simon 395.
18. Windolf, Jim.
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