Throughout history, artist story Became a persistent peephole into the transgressive world of those whose art knows no boundaries.
In the tumultuous years following a global pandemic, recession and looming climate crisis, the rebellious, countercultural ethos of the underground scene has captured the public’s attention, with Gen Z preaching its anti-capitalist message of joy, creativity and mischief. From grunge and indie-dirty fashion trends to a growing obsession with underground nightclubs and venues, there’s a playful gleam of ’90s punk revival in the air.
Read more: Why Chicago’s horror movie fan community isn’t dead and growing
To meet the huge demand for stories from the underground, 10 books have been published this year that travel through the smells, bodies and sounds of basements in the US and UK, revealing unheard musical scenes.
raving By: Mackenzie Walker
[Photo via Duke University Press]
McKenzie Wark takes readers inside the secretive spots of New York’s thriving queer and trans underground, losing themselves in the sprung mist, subwoofers, and sweat. carnival scene. Walker is a rave professor who reimagines the philosophical framework for understanding rave as a means of temporary freedom. With her encyclopedia of wacky words she made up and cheeky anecdotes of her dancefloor experiences, raving At once theoretical and personal, sweet and empty.
Why Willie May Thornton Matters By: Lynne Dennis (September 12, 2023)
[Photo via University of Texas Press]
Most people know Willie Mae Thornton as “Big Mama Thornton” who represented the blues of the 50’s and 60’s billboard Chart-topping “Hound Dog” and “Ball and Chain.” In this prose biography, published this September, author Lynnée Denise rediscovers Willie Mae Thornton’s identity from the history books. From Thornton’s reinterpretation of menswear as an intentionally queer take on the Chitling Tour, to her vaudeville act in Sammy Green’s hit Harlem cabaret, Denise draws on astute musical criticism and black , queer, feminist perspectives, reintroducing Thornton as a performer beyond convention. gender norms. Perhaps most radically, Dennis referred to Thornton by her first name instead of “Big Mama,” a nickname given to her by a white manager. Denise’s thoughtful reimagining of Thornton’s career pays homage to a woman who embodies Black creativity and resilience.
I Can’t Believe It: Sean Deller’s 1979 Teen DiaryAl by Sean Delille
[Photo via MIT Press]
Los Angeles icon Tony Robertson, better known to most as Sean DeLear, was a regular in the Silver Lake post-punk scene of the 1980s and 1990s. Frontman of punk band Glue, visual and performance artist, and regular “it” girl, DeLear is a force in the burgeoning queer music scene in Los Angeles and New York, blurring the lines of gender, race, and sexuality. Rick Owens, Telfar Clemens, Honey Dijon, Shayne Oliver and forward Blountez Purnell ( Brontez Purnell expresses condolences, The Diary of a Teenager by Sean DeLiere, It’s a window into the bedroom of a black, queer 14-year-old growing up in conservative Simi Valley, California, on the cusp of a bigger cause.
Mud Ride: A Mayhem Tour with Grunge Explosions by Steve Turner
[Photo via Chronicle Books]
Created in 1988 by Steve Turner, lead guitarist for the Seattle band Mudhoney, which helped start the grunge movement, dirt biking Documenting the birth and evolution of Seattle’s grunge scene, narrated by skater punks, hardcore kids, and general misfits it all started.From backyard skate ramps and basement band practices to underground hardcore clubs and sold-out stadiums Nirvana and Pearl Jams – the grunge scene of this sleepy town in the late ’80s and early ’90s featuring Steve Turner and friends on a story of authenticity, creativity, and experimentation story. dirt biking Offers a behind-the-scenes look at Turner’s band Green River and Mudhoney, and a first-hand look at a musical phenomenon that took the world by storm when they least expected it.
utter fear of kathy acker By: Jack Skelly
[Photo via MIT Press]
Jack Skelley’s “mysterious legend” novel depicts the anarchic underworld of 1980s Los Angeles.In a way, in homage to the creative spirit of Kathy Acker’s cut-up novels, Skelley’s chaotic, comedic portrayal of Underground Culture in Los Angeles in the Mid-1980s. From Venice to Disneyland, punk clubs to malls, Skelly wrote a self-deprecating love letter to Los Angeles with prose, playlists, and celebrity appearances.
Obedience Shapeshifting: A Strange and Wonderful World Author: Wesley Doyle
[Photo via Jawbone Press]
Some Bizzare, the indie label that introduced the world to Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and The The, is one of alternative music’s many untold stories. Some Bizarre was the vanguard of outsider music in the 1980s, with its roster of artists challenging the commercial industry of its rivals. From rave parties in New York in the early ’80s to video shoots in the Peruvian jungle, from death threats to sordid sex shows in Soho, the story of Some Bizarre is indeed a wacky tale of rivalry, vision and ultimately destruction.
Rude Girls: Two Tones and One Step Away from Women by Heather Augustine
[Photo via Small Axe]
70s and 80s ska revival In the UK, the style and influence of the songs, as well as the physical makeup of the band, represented racial and cultural unity.but for Why a movement so radical, so committed to the principles of racial equality, failed so badly for gender equality?Influenced by the punk movement, and influenced by the fervor of Jamaican ska and reggae, women Grab a microphone, saxophone and drumsticks and claim a place on stage. From exclusive interviews with over 50 women involved in ska in the UK, rude girl Tells the untold stories of the women of Ska, lives of adventure, rebellion and sisterhood. Perhaps “Ska Queen” Pauline Black said it best: “If the boys won’t let you join their game, sometimes it’s best to invent a new game yourself.”
Nudity: On Sex, Work, and Other Antics Feast by (October 10, 2023)
[Photo via Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill]
Renowned burlesque performer, sex educator and social worker, Fancy Feast offers readers a backstage pass into the hot world of nightlife and the sex industry. Most daytime residents have never seen it.In a series of provocative articles coming this October, Fancy Feast explores The failures of the American sex ed system while doing customer service at a sex toy store, the rulebook for communicating consent in sex parties and polyamorous relationships, and the hilarious staging of her stripping for a living. Told with vulnerability and humor, Fancy Feast is a joyous and sexy protest against a culture that wants fat people to be self-loathing and asexual.
Acid Detroit: The Psychedelic Story of Motown Music by Joe Molloy
[Photo via Watkins Media]
When most people think of the radical counterculture movement of the ’60s, they usually think of California as the sole center of bohemian life and music. Sour Detroit tells a colorful story motown as A forgotten hotbed of political activism, sonic innovation, and a thriving social scene that revives Detroit’s abandoned factories and warehouses. From flaming garage rock to the European-influenced techno and experimental hip-hop scene, Joe Molloy reveals the history of Detroit, a resilient and one-generation history, from the heyday of the industrial powerhouse to its decline and experimental Rebirth.
Hot Girls: American Punk Women, 1975-1983 By: Jane B. Larson
[Photo via Feral House]
The punk explosion sent shockwaves through the boomboxes, televisions and record players of every girl who wrote songs in her diary and sang with her hairbrushes. Punk progenitors Suzy Quatro, The Runaways, Patti Smith, Poison Ivy, Tina Weymouth, Debbie Harry and The Go-Gos gave young women dreams of being on stage. hot girls are the stories of local and regional bands whose stories have never been told. The women Jen Larson describes aren’t just novelty performers or groupies – as early as “girl to the front“.
