This excellent book by Simon Reynolds resonates with anyone who lived through the punk rock explosion in music in the UK and USA in the late 1970’s.
It’s an examination of what happened after the initial bands like the The Sex Pistols,The Buzzcocks and The Clash - to name but a few - hit big and upset the sedate nature of the music industry at that time.
This tidal wave of starting again and rethinking what a band should look and sound like, spawned millions of musicians and new bands (including me!) -with the effects being felt to this day.
It's a fascinating look at how bands like Joy Division ,Gang of Four and Devo would develop their music and style - setting the stage for 80’s bands such as New Order, Depeche Mode and Human League.
Guitar bands like The Cure ,Siouxsie and the Banshees ,The Jam ,The Stranglers etc trace their DNA back to punk -but took it all the way forward on to Brit Pop via The Smiths in the 80’s- on to Stone Roses , Blur and Oasis later.
Even fashion is examined and the early sartorial choices - ie.bondage pants of the “Material Girl” herself : Madonna -can be traced back to the all girl punk group The Slits.
The Sex Boutique in London, run by Vivienne Westwood and her then partner Malcolm McLaren was a defining image maker of the punk scene - particularly bondage pants and using safety pins to augment the look.
Most band members shopped or worked there - Siouxsie Sioux, Steve Severin , Sid Vicious and Chrissie Hyde to name but a few.
Lets not forget the punk fanzines or punk zines like “Sniffin’ Glue” that catered to the new scene where the established music papers fell short.
I always remember the edition showing guitar tablature for 3 chords and then the instruction : learn these and now form a band!
An excellent read for all those who lived through it and are still influenced to this day - in fact there would be no Melodyvibe magazine without Sniffin’ Glue magazine and the punk explosion!
More info here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291130/rip-it-up-and-start-again-by-simon-reynolds/