Tag: music

+ american history, art, dead kennedys, hardcore punk, history, music, politics, punk

The Political Power of Punk: Dead Kennedys’ “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”

by Unknown's avatar

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reading some books from the 33 1/3 series, specifically Nick Attfield’s on Dinosaur Jr.’s 1987 album You’re Living All Over Me and Michael Stewart Foley’s on Dead Kennedys’ 1980 album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. Each has been thoroughly engaging, and Attfield’s writing serves, in a lot ways, as a master class on writing about music while Foley’s does an … Read More The Political Power of Punk: Dead Kennedys’ “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”

+ american dream, christian fascism, christian nationalism, christianity, cursive, emo, Happy Hollow, music

The Importance of Cursive’s “Happy Hollow” Almost 20 Years Later

by Unknown's avatar

I don’t remember when I actually found Cursive. All I know is that I had a copy of their debut album Such Blinding Stars For Starving Eyes. I probably picked it up because that was around the time I found out about Mineral and other bands on Crank! Records. I played Cursive’s debut a lot, especially the first two songs “After the Movies” and “Downhill Racers.” It sounded … Read More The Importance of Cursive’s “Happy Hollow” Almost 20 Years Later

+ anna seghers, art, Charlie Chaplin, Devo, Mark Mothersbaugh, Max Ernst, Natalia Ginzburg

Why We Need Art!

by Unknown's avatar

A few weeks ago, as I was scrolling through my social media feed, someone commented on Chris Smith’s Devo, a documentary on the Akron, Ohio band. The post pointed out that watching the band’s early performances during the 1970s really solidified them within the lineage of punk. Taken together with their ideological positions and aesthetic, Devo embody punk. Inspired by the Dadaist and other twentieth … Read More Why We Need Art!

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+ claude mckay, lillian e smith, Palestine, rashid khalidi, reading, the stone face, william gardner smith

How Do You Choose What to Read?

by Unknown's avatar

Each semester, I inevitably share my musical tastes with students. This may arise when I play background music while students do some in class writing, or it may arise when we discuss a specific topic and that topic reminds me a song. This semester, I shared with students some of my musical tastes, specifically my love for punk, hardcore, and metal. Their initial reaction, … Read More How Do You Choose What to Read?

+ dc comics, James Gunn, jerry siegel, joe shuster, nofx, punk, superhero, superman, Zulu

“Maybe that’s the real punk rock”: Hope and Humanity in James Gunn’s Superman

by Unknown's avatar

Even before James Gunn’s Superman debuted earlier this month, the right-wing, conservative backlash rose up to proclaim that Gunn’s adaptation didn’t adhere Superman’s ideology, calling it “Superwoke.” I do not want to argue about that here because I have written about Superman’s initial appearances before and how he has always pushed back against oppressive systems and championed immigrants. One need only look at Joe … Read More “Maybe that’s the real punk rock”: Hope and Humanity in James Gunn’s Superman

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