Summer Reading: Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1978-1984

After reading the introduction to Simon Reynolds' Rip it Up and Start Again, I was struck by how lucky I am to live in the internet age. If I want to learn more about a genre of music, I can just do a search on Wikipedia to get some basic information, stream song clips on a site like YouTube, and determine within a short period of time whether I like an artist, for absolutely no money whatsoever.

Reading the book, you get a real sense that the technological limitations of the late '70s and early '80s made sure that only devoted fans knew about the thriving post-punk scene. Reynolds' description of the problems British independent record labels had with distributing their bands' albums, as well as the common theme of bands never really reaching a huge mainstream following, gives the impression that, in order to become an expert on the music, one had to put in a huge amount of time, money and energy into it.

You can tell from his vast knowledge on the topic, though, that this presumed difficulty never stopped Reynolds from passionately diving head-first into the scene. The music journalist, who, according to his author bio in the book, was a senior editor at Spin, and worked for The New York Times and The Village Voice, encapsulates his excitement in the introduction, writing, "I never bought old records during that period. Why would I have? There were so many new records to buy that there was simply no earthly reason to investigate the past."

It's Reynolds' combination of a fan's enthusiasm and a historian's research skills that makes Rip It Up such a success. He takes the reader through post-punk's rise and fall chronologically, touring notable scenes such as those in Leeds, Manchester, New York, and more, as well as giving concise but excellent summaries of the outputs of major players (Joy Division, Devo, Talking Heads) and lesser-known musicians (Durutti Column, early Throbbing Gristle, the Pop Group) alike.







Some of the most fascinating parts of the book have less to do with the music and more to do with the business and philosophical sides of the genre. As mentioned before, Reynolds gets into extensive detail about how British independent labels such as Rough Trade, Mute, and Factory operated under creative, co-operative business models that allowed them moderate success for a limited period of time. He also examines the genre's interest in philosophy and literature (Dadaism, the Situationist movement, the works of figures like Bertolt Brecht, Phillip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard) and how then-current social and economic changes influenced bands. One notable example of this was how the perceived cultural and very real economic declines in late-'70s Manchester shaped its music, from the gloomy dirges of bands like Joy Division, to the rough, cutting sound of The Fall.







The second half of the book tackles post-punk's influence in the 1980s, as the genre began to wane both critically and commercially. Trademarks of the genre, including melodic basslines influenced by genres like funk, dub and reggae, angular guitars and driving beats, were expanded upon by ska-influenced bands like the Specials and Madness, indie-pop groups like Orange Juice and Josef K (both from Scotland), and synthpop groups like the Human League. Readers drawn to the book to learn about topics such as No-Wave, Gang of Four or the Mekons may be disappointed with the second half, but it's definitely interesting to see how bands tried to conform to or flee from the ideas of their post-punk forebearers.







What people get out of their book depends a lot on their taste. I know I was left asking why there was more coverage on a band like Frankie Goes to Hollywood than on the Birthday Party, Siouxsie and the Banshees or New Order, but the idea of the book isn't so much to catalogue every important artist as to get a feel for the time and understand how something as uncommercial and sparse as post-punk could evolve and influence highly produced music like New Pop and Rock. The book also shows how important the genre was in advancing music as a whole; as Reynolds notes, Gang of Four was a huge influence on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and U2 was tremendously inspired by Joy Division. Overall, Rip It Up... reads like the definitive roadmap to a genre and time that was never documented as widely as it should have been, and Reynolds covers every twist and turn concisely yet substantially. Definitely a must-read for anyone looking to get into the genre.







(Cover design by Jesse Marinoff Reyes; Cover photographs by The Glenn A. Baker Archives).

For more information about the book, the author and the genre, visit http://www.simonreynolds.net/