Abstract
ABSTRACTThis article locates the roots of “punk rock” in the “hippie” counterculture of Detroit, circa 1967–1970. It opens with an intellectual biography of John Sinclair, emphasizing how he developed the principle of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) in his work with the Detroit Artists Workshop and then his management of the band, the MC5. The article then explores the role of the audience in the MC5’s shows and how institutions – including performance spaces and local magazines – helped create a local scene that anchored artists and that became distinct from that found in San Francisco. But the MC5’s rise in popularity brought the band in contact with the “hip capitalism” of Danny Fields and Elektra Records. In releasing the band’s first album, a great deal of controversy opened. The article then turns to the “little brother band” of the MC5, the Stooges. It focuses on the ways Iggy Pop, lead singer of the band, attacked the traditions of macho rock stars who stole the “blues” from African American musicians. Pop too is treated as an intellectual, developing ideas about performance art – especially learning from the Theater of the Ridiculous and the Cockettes. Finally, the article explains how Lester Bangs developed the idea of “punk rock” in the pages of Creem magazine. He attacked the “baroque” feeling of so much late 1960s “prog rock” and then contrasted that with the performances of Iggy Pop, in which he saw “punk rock” emerging in 1969–1970.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call