H85.1107 History & Criticism 2 Credits
Instructor(s): Vivien Goldman
In this course we'll look at how punk exploded in both London and New York in the 1970s, and how the two scenes, though widely divergent in ideals and sound, nonetheless helped shape one another. Discover the tactics that shook up a complacent music industry, overthrowing 1960s rock gods with the raucous, amphetamine punk revolution that still resonates in the sound and style of bands today. The proliferation of independent labels, spearheaded by Rough Trade, became a DIY (do it yourself) model that would be followed round the world and is particularly relevant today as musicians increasingly turn to the Internet as the most immediately effective outlet. Music we'll listen to may include The Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Slits; film screenings may include The Great Rock 'n Roll Swindle and Rude Boy; and readings may be culled from books by Steve Blush and others.
NOTE: LIMITED ENROLLMENT ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Journalist-filmmaker-recording artist Vivien Goldman worked personally with Bob Marley in the 1970s and wrote his first biography, Soul Rebel, Natural Mystic. The Book of "Exodus" (Three Rivers Press/Random House), her book on Marley's award-winning album, has just been released and is on shelves now.
