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Twee Pop Sissycore
Mar. 8th, 2006 01:11 pmNeed I really say anything after a subject-line like that? Indeed, is there anything I could say that would be half as interesting as the subject-line?
Well, okay, no, but Slate has an interesting exchange between Stephen Metcalf and Simon Reynolds regarding Reynolds' new book Rip It Up and Start Again, which is apparently about the postpunk era of 1978-1984. One thing that struck me repeatedly as I read the exchange was that we are talking 'bout my g-g-generation, even though the discussion frequently mentions bands I've never heard of before. I mean, Orange Juice? What, they're from Glasgow?!! Paging![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sneerpout! What have I been missing?
In case it isn't obvious, at the end of the page linked above, there is a link to another page of the discussion, which is where my subject-line comes from and which is a very interesting discussion of the glam roots of postpunk and all kinds of interesting ideas about sexual and gender dysphoria as reflected in the music:
'Talking about "the soft male" brings me round to your point about this U.K. indie-rock cult of heterosexual wimpiness. In the U.K. especially—but also with the Anglophile contingent in America—there is an abiding syndrome of boys who are basically straight but relate to a figure like, say, Morrissey. It's a mixture of identification and idolatry, with a tinge of homoeroticism. There was a heavily Smiths-influenced band called Suede in the early '90s; the singer, Brett Anderson, once described himself, notoriously, as "a bisexual man who's never had a homosexual experience."'
That doesn't really describe me (and I'm not a fan of any of the music mentioned there), as I'm not particularly into wimpiness per se, but I can certainly relate, particularly as it connects to Roxy Music, Eno, and Bowie. Has anybody read Reynolds' book? From this discussion, it sounds like exactly my cup of tea.
Well, okay, no, but Slate has an interesting exchange between Stephen Metcalf and Simon Reynolds regarding Reynolds' new book Rip It Up and Start Again, which is apparently about the postpunk era of 1978-1984. One thing that struck me repeatedly as I read the exchange was that we are talking 'bout my g-g-generation, even though the discussion frequently mentions bands I've never heard of before. I mean, Orange Juice? What, they're from Glasgow?!! Paging
sneerpout! What have I been missing?In case it isn't obvious, at the end of the page linked above, there is a link to another page of the discussion, which is where my subject-line comes from and which is a very interesting discussion of the glam roots of postpunk and all kinds of interesting ideas about sexual and gender dysphoria as reflected in the music:
'Talking about "the soft male" brings me round to your point about this U.K. indie-rock cult of heterosexual wimpiness. In the U.K. especially—but also with the Anglophile contingent in America—there is an abiding syndrome of boys who are basically straight but relate to a figure like, say, Morrissey. It's a mixture of identification and idolatry, with a tinge of homoeroticism. There was a heavily Smiths-influenced band called Suede in the early '90s; the singer, Brett Anderson, once described himself, notoriously, as "a bisexual man who's never had a homosexual experience."'
That doesn't really describe me (and I'm not a fan of any of the music mentioned there), as I'm not particularly into wimpiness per se, but I can certainly relate, particularly as it connects to Roxy Music, Eno, and Bowie. Has anybody read Reynolds' book? From this discussion, it sounds like exactly my cup of tea.
