My So-Called Punk
Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion---How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
When it began, punk was an underground revolution that raged against the mainstream; now punk is the mainstream. Tracing the origins of Grammy-winning icons Green Day and the triumphant resurgence of neo-punk legends Bad Religion through MTV's embrace of pop-punk bands like Yellowcard, music journalist Matt Diehl explores the history of new punk, exposing how this once cult sound became a blockbuster commercial phenomenon. Diehl follows the history and controversy behind neo-punk—from the Offspring's move from a respected indie label to a major, to multi-platinum bands Good Charlotte and Simple Plan's unrepentant commercial success, through the survival of genre iconoclasts the Distillers and the rise of "emo" superstars like Fall Out Boy.
My So-Called Punk picks up where bestselling authors Legs McNeil and Jon Savage left off, conveying how punk went from the Sex Pistol's "Anarchy in the U.K." to anarchy in the O.C. via the Warped Tour. Defining the sound of today's punk, telling the stories behind the bands that have brought it to the masses and discussing the volatile tension between the culture's old and new factions, My So-Called Punk is the go-to book for a new generation of punk rock fans.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this energetic survey of current trends in punk rock, journalist and music critic Diehl (Notorious C.O.P.) delivers a knowledgeable and sympathetic overview of the current "neo-punk" bands that achieved success with "the pop music mainstream in the mid-1990s," from big names such as the Offspring and Rancid to lesser-known artists such as Brody Dalle. He nails the key musical reason for the megapopularity of neo-punk band Green Day: while they "trafficked in three-chord minimalism, unlike many of their punk peers, they maintained a keen sense for imbuing those three chords with classic pop song structure and melody." But as a fan of punk music since its heyday in 1977, Diehl is also able to explain the various "vital subsets of the already subcultural punk experience." He keenly reports on how the age-old conflict between authenticity and commercial success has become a key issue in all parts of the neo-punk scene, from resolutely "indie" labels like Epitaph and Dischord to the popular Vans Warped Tour's "blending of the mainstream and the underground." Diehl convincingly argues that "ven in its most crass, commercial state, Punk, Inc. offers more integrity and authenticity than anything comparable on the pure pop side."
