Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk

Aggressive Sounds in Contemporary Music

Contributions by Evan Ware, Sean Ahern, Mika Elovaara, Marcus Erbe, Nelson Varas-Diaz, Eliut Rivera-Segarra, Brian Cogan, Ross Hagan, Kevin Fellezs Edited by Eric James Abbey, Colin Helb

Publication date:

15 December 2015

Length of book:

228 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498532310

Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk: Aggressive Sounds in Contemporary Music, edited by Eric James Abbey and Colin Helb, is a collection of writings on music that is considered aggressive throughout the world. From local underground bands in Detroit, Michigan to bands in Puerto Rico or across Europe, this book demonstrates the importance of aggressive music in our society. While other volumes seek to denigrate or put down this type of music, Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk forces the audience to re-read and re-listen to it. This category of music includes all forms that could be considered offensive and/or move the audience to become aggressive in some way. The politics and values of punk are discussed alongside the emerging popularity of metal and extreme hardcore music. Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk is an important contribution to the newest discussions on aggressive music throughout the world.

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Food For Thought: On Sid Vicious’s Cannibalization of “My Way”
Evan Ware
Chapter 2: Let the Shillelagh Fly: The Dropkick Murphys and Irish-American Hybridity
Sean Ahern
Chapter 3: Am I Evil? The Meaning of Metal Lyrics to its Fans
Mika Elovaara
Chapter 4: By Demons Be Driven? Scanning ‘Monstrous’ Voices
Marcus Erbe
Chapter 5: Heavy Metal Music in the Caribbean Setting: Politics and Language at the Periphery
Nelson Varas-Diaz, Eliut Rivera-Segarra
Chapter 6: No Fun: Noise Music, Avant-garde Aggression, and Sonic Punishment
Ross Hagan
Chapter 7: The Last Report: Throbbing Gristle and Audio Extremes
Brian Cogan
Chapter 8: Black Metal Soul Music: Stone Vengeance and the Aesthetics of Race in Heavy Metal.
Kevin Fellezs
Chapter 9: “The Time is Right to Set Our Sight on Salvation”: The Strange Tale of How the Hare Krishnas Came To Play Hardcore Punk
Colin Helb
Chapter 10: The Cult of Hellmouth: The Success of Contemporary Hardcore
Eric James Abbey
Afterword
Bibliography
Contributors
Index

Abbey and Helb have collected essays culled from an international group of authors from various disciplines. The common thread of the volume is aggressive music--broadly construed. The topics of the essays range from punk to hardcore to heavy metal to so-called Krishnacore. The contributors discuss the music in terms of emotional release, an aggressive way of separating groups/races, and a noisy indictment of all things corporate . . . [L]inked by thematically by aggression in music, essays included vary widely. . . .Overall, Abbey, Helb, and the rest of the contributors do a fine job of exposing important, under-appreciated elements of music on the margins of mainstream culture. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers.