Rip It Up and Start Again
by Simon Reynolds
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 395)
Read in October, 2007
Covers basically every British rock band formed in the late 70s and early 80s, along with some influential American groups. The best part of the book is the first few chapters, which deal with the do-it-yourself movement and the political motivations of groups like the Gang of Four, the Pop Group, and Scritti Politti. It really captures the excitement and the exhaustion of any revolutionary movement, political or artistic: there's the thrill of bucking the system and doing something new, followe...more
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Read in September, 2007
I started this book because I both like a lot of bands that came out of the 80s and also wanted to learn more about the music of the era I was born in. The flourishing of independent music, the funky-kooky art school kids playing with tapes and synths, the mish-mash of styles all lead to a really diverse landscape that Reynolds believes is much richer than the punk that came before it.
Rising up out of the deluge of musicians and producers Reynolds rattles off are some memorable characters...more
Rising up out of the deluge of musicians and producers Reynolds rattles off are some memorable characters...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Music Lovers (particularly English music lovers)
Okay, I was the kid who ate, drank and dreamed music. Music was always around from the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a small club, being the the midst of FEAR riot in downtown L.A., watching Grand Master Flash at the Palace, to catching Love and Rockets on their first tour in the U.S.
Yeah, I was that guy who was suspended for sneaking out of class to go stand in the line to get tickets for The Who (with the Clash opening) and swore he would never wash his cheek after Suzanne Hoffs (from the Ba...more
Yeah, I was that guy who was suspended for sneaking out of class to go stand in the line to get tickets for The Who (with the Clash opening) and swore he would never wash his cheek after Suzanne Hoffs (from the Ba...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Americans who listen to BBC6, teenagers who like Bloc Party
This incredibly detailed, but very readable, history of the late 70s/early 80s British music scene is a revelation. Simon Reynolds covers all the important (and obscure) postpunk bands and creates a coherent narrative from it. Do you want to know about the leftist roots of Scritti Politti? Does it delight you to know that Echo and the Bunnymen were incredibly scornful of U2 because they were both trying to attract bereft Joy Division fans? Do you want to know exactly how industrial music was inv...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
musicheads/anthropologists
You don't need to know about music, or even care about it, to enjoy this book. The way in which the author describes the music and the people involved with it is absolutely engrossing - his similies and metaphors are pure genius. For example: "Over an adrenaline-pumping bass pummel, swashbuckling guitars flash like the the scimitars of jihad cavalry charging an infidel city." OK, out of context it might not sound so terrific, but this guy comes up with the most out-there descriptors....more
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recommends it for:
amy rose, joseph o'leary, culture vultures
the unofficial sequel to PLEASE KILL ME, complete with matching cover design. Although not an oral history, the first three quarters of the book propelled me through some surprisingly interesting post-punk crevices with writerly panache; as noted elsewhere, this guy manages cultural history that borders on the literary. i got a little bored the last two chapters or so, as i imagine the author did: the swan song of vitality and passion is a slow drain.
but if you're into everything from lo-fi ...more
but if you're into everything from lo-fi ...more
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Read in February, 2007
this is the british edition which has a few more chapters than the american edition. hold out for the british edition if you can. i bought this for my daughter's first grade teacher because he likes ny punk as much as i do. my favorite chapter was the cleveland chapter covering pere ubu and devo. who knew that virgin records tried to get johnny rotten to be the singer for devo? a great chapter about heaven 17 and their start as more of a political collective than a band. they decided to have ...more
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Read in September, 2007
This book would be more appropriately titled Post-Punk and Beyond. The usual post-punk bands are covered, but they also include Pere Ubu and Devo, which were arguable less post-punk than art rock in their own right. After all, both bands preceded the punk explosion and evolved somewhat outside it.
The second half of the book deals mostly with Goth and New Pop - bands like Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, and ABC, Flock of Seagulls, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Post-post-punk, I gues...more
The second half of the book deals mostly with Goth and New Pop - bands like Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, and ABC, Flock of Seagulls, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Post-post-punk, I gues...more
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Read in October, 2007
Highly readable account of the (mostly British) post-punk music scene from 78-84. He does a great job of putting the music in context of the social/political climate of the time (the backlash of punk, Thatcher and Reagan's rise to power, the return of the right wing) and exploring the different sub-sects of post-punk. From arty (Talking Heads, Gang of Four) to No Wave (Suicide, Teenage Jesus & The Jerks) to industrial (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire) to new wave (Devo, etc) to gothic ...more
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Read in June, 2007
Better than Reynolds articles because for the most he keeps himself out of it. It's also more coherent than his blog.
I learned about a lot of interesting bands from the late 70s San Fransisco industrial synth pop scene like Factrix, Nervous Gender, Tuxedo Moon and Savage Republic that I got into. I new the story of most of the major bands like Fall, Joy Division, and Wire but got a lot of funny, crazy anecdotes that put what they were doing in perspective. And I never knew that Throbbi...more
I learned about a lot of interesting bands from the late 70s San Fransisco industrial synth pop scene like Factrix, Nervous Gender, Tuxedo Moon and Savage Republic that I got into. I new the story of most of the major bands like Fall, Joy Division, and Wire but got a lot of funny, crazy anecdotes that put what they were doing in perspective. And I never knew that Throbbi...more
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So crammed full of information that it makes my head swim, not to mention reminding me that I need CDs by A Certain Ratio, The Passage, Crispy Ambulance, Caberet Voltaire, Pylon, and Delta 5. Not to mention wondering if that Desperate Bicycles LP will ever be re-issued. Not to mention...well, you can see why I've been reading it so long without finishing. Distractions, distractions. It was overdue at the libray, so I'll need to buy this one if I'm to have any hope of ever finishing it, cover to ...more
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this is the best peice of music journalism i ever read. sentence-by-sentence, its clever and wry and occasionly brilliant. as a whole, it brings in london (or manchester, or cleveland, etc.) history and sociology into the history of post- punk and new wave without being overly grandious or obnoxious. v. entertaining. it compiles legendary and esoteric information about all the artists featured in it (for example: who knew that malcolm mclaren wanted to make a promotional movie of The Slits ...more
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
People who like seeing their housepets pee on books
I can now understand how you can make such an exciting time in music a real snore. Way too self important and boring it seems to always pause to pat the author on the back to congratulate himself for being in the scene at the time and does very little to tell insightful stories of people who made the scene. I would suggest treating the book like the title...Rip it up...and go watch 24 Hour Party People instead...a lot more entertaining and just as insightful (which isn't a lot of insight).
I bl...more
I bl...more
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
Any aging punker
Rip It Up makes a compelling case that punk may have been the lantern tipping over, but post-punk and new way were the fires that consumed the city. A great reminder of just how fantastic the outsider music of the late 70s and early 80s was--and a fantastic resource for locating rarely heard and not-so-popular bands.
On a purely personal note, I remember making friends with all kinds of unsavory people at that time just to get copies of their records. This book reminds me of how much we misse...more
On a purely personal note, I remember making friends with all kinds of unsavory people at that time just to get copies of their records. This book reminds me of how much we misse...more
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A well researched and much deserved look at rock/pop music during the 1980s. It begins with PiL and ends with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. How did bleak post-punk turn into glossy MTV? Respected British music critic Simon Reynolds answers this question and gives his unique perspective on the rise and fall of what he deemed the second "golden" age of music. Often we hear of how rock and roll died sometime in the 1970s. It didn't die. A new generation just ripped it up and started again. A...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
People into this type of music...
Anyone who remembers to include The Residents and Throbbing Gristle in a book on post-punk deserves credit. This guy knows his history, and although he's clearly a fan, he separates himself from fanboy status to put together a well-organized analysis of post-punk. Yes, Virginia, there was life after The Sex Pistols, and the music of the post-punk years is just as compelling as anything you heard in '77.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Elitist Jerks
Simon Reynolds, so far, is proving himself to be one of the best music writers of the decade. He doesn't just sit and list names, dates and albums, he practically puts sound on paper. He flows.
Reynolds also doesn't kiss too much ass. I initially wrote him off as one in a long line of Bowie-adoring authors, but he pays his respects and moves on.
I can't wait to finish this one...
Reynolds also doesn't kiss too much ass. I initially wrote him off as one in a long line of Bowie-adoring authors, but he pays his respects and moves on.
I can't wait to finish this one...
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Music nerds
Concise history of the roots and disciples of post-punk. Most of the bands covered are British (as is the author) and US bands come under a bit more scrutiny than their UK counterparts. Example: the latter days of Devo are dismissed as overly commercial and at odds with their original ethos, while the Human League's success at the expense of their experimental beginnings is celebrated.
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recommends it for:
music obsessives
Simon Reynolds is a great critic/historian. The 80's! On the surface it seems to be dull time, but alas, not true! Great music works were produced in that era, everything from Adam Ant (Yes!) to Pere Ubu. Public Image, The Slits, Scritti Politti - and lots more are covered in this book. A fascinating read to a world that doesn't exist anymore. That's the nature of 'pop.'
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This is a pretty thorough look at the post-punk movement that sprung from the death rattle of the late 70s on through the 80s. My only complaint is that it focuses a little too much on the English bands and really doesn't cover with all that much depth what was going on in the states at the time. Still an excellent read for you record geeks out there.
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