Rebel Music in the Triumphant Empire

Punk Rock in the 1990s United States

At the dawn of the 1990s, as the United States celebrated its victory in the Cold War and sole superpower status by waging war on Iraq and proclaiming democratic capitalism as the best possible society, the 1990s underground punk renaissance transformed the punk scene into a site of radical opposition to American empire.

REVIEWS ARE IN

"I have never read a book about the origins of the politics of punk that includes music notation of punk songs and musicology analysis that explores the bonds of sonics and lyrics. A singular book on punk that even my jazz-piano-playing son would read!"

—Michelle Cruz Gonzales, author of The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band

Rebel Music in the Triumphant Empire

Punk Rock in the 1990s United States

REBEL-MUSIC-IN-THE-TRIUMPHANT-EMPIRE-400x600

At the dawn of the 1990s, as the United States celebrated its victory in the Cold War and sole superpower status by waging war on Iraq and proclaiming democratic capitalism as the best possible society, the 1990s underground punk renaissance transformed the punk scene into a site of radical opposition to American empire.

REVIEWS ARE IN

"I have never read a book about the origins of the politics of punk that includes music notation of punk songs and musicology analysis that explores the bonds of sonics and lyrics. A singular book on punk that even my jazz-piano-playing son would read!"

—Michelle Cruz Gonzales, author of The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band

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Blog: interviews, updates, and commentary

Continuing what I started in Rebel Music in the Triumphant Empire, on my blog you will find interviews with punk musicians from the 1990s and today, engagement with others’ scholarship and journalism on punk, and my thoughts on issues concerning punk, politics, music scholarship, and teaching.

It’s also a space for dialogue and collaboration, so if you’re working on something related to my book, hit me up so I can feature it.

Recording of my Anti-Imperialist Song Cycle

By David Pearson | November 19, 2021

My Anti-Imperialist Song Cycle, five songs that critique the crimes and culture of American empire and fuse operatic singing, modern classical, modal jazz, and hardcore punk, is now available for…

Interview on New Books Network Podcast

By David Pearson | October 28, 2021

I recently did an interview about my book for the New Books Network Podcast on popular culture. You can listen here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/rebel-music-in-the-triumphant-empire Thanks to Rebekah Buchanan for taking the time…

Punk in Buenos Aires and the Conferencia Mundial del Ripoff zine: An interview with Gonzalo Arechaga

By David Pearson | February 3, 2021

Gonzalo Arechaga is the editor of the zine Conferencia Mundial del Ripoff, which focuses on the extreme end of hardcore punk music. I interviewed Gonzalo to find out more about…

My interview on the Indoor Voices podcast

By David Pearson | February 1, 2021

I had the pleasure of being on the Indoor Voices podcast, which brings City University of New York (CUNY) professors into conversation about their research and writing. I was interviewed…

Ska in the 90s: An Interview with Aaron Carnes

By David Pearson | January 24, 2021

After writing a book about punk in the 1990s, I was excited to stumble upon Aaron Carnes’ book In Defense of Ska, which comes out in May 2021 and is…

Women’s Experiences with Punk: An Interview with Molly Tie on her Book-In-Progress

By David Pearson | January 17, 2021

Molly Tie (https://mollytie.co.uk/) is a music journalist in Britain whose book project, Women and Punk, chronicles the experiences of female fans of punk through different eras of the music. I…

The East Bay Punk Digital Archive explained by Stefano Morello

By David Pearson | January 5, 2021

The East Bay punk scene of the late 1980s and 1990s holds an iconic place in punk history, with the venue 924 Gilman Street and the label Lookout! Records incubating…

Video of my talk at Hunter College analyzing Anti-Product’s “The Power of Medusa”

By David Pearson | December 12, 2020

Check out this video of my virtual talk from 10 December 2020 sponsored by the Hunter College Music Department as part of their Music, Talks, and Tea series (talk starts…

My book officially drops Dec. 7th

By David Pearson | October 27, 2020

The official release date of my book is Dec. 7th, 2020, but you can pre-order now through Oxford University Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

upcoming events

These are some of my upcoming book events and speaking engagements. Looking forward to meeting you at one!