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