Psychobilly: Subcultural Survival

Abstract

Psychobilly: Subcultural Survival details the history, development, and continuation of the psychobilly subculture. Psychobilly builds upon the work of various subcultural, post-subcultural, performance studies, and other theoretical frameworks to explain the different factors that make up the psychobilly subculture, a small but dedicated group drawing on influences of punk, rockabilly, horror movies, and others to create a unique style, music, and a set of behaviors. In Psychobilly, Kimberly Kattari delves into the multiple aspects of the subculture, examining the history, style, evolution, and fierce continuation of psychobillies in the present. Psychobilly would be of interest to anyone in folklore, subcultural studies, punk, rockabilly, or horror circles.Chapter 1 opens with the early history of psychobilly as it started in England, evolving from former Teds, rockabillies, and punks in the 1970s and 1980s, who felt these scenes had lost their original rebellious spirit. Kattari weaves an excellent narrative drawing on fieldwork as well as previous publications. Like most origins, the word “psychobilly” is shrouded in mystery. While the term arose in various capacities—with proto-psychobilly acts like Screaming Jay Hawkins and Screaming Lord Sutch as well as the Cramps providing some early indications of what was to follow—it was the Meteors who led the first wave of what would become psychobilly. Rejected from the larger rockabilly scene due to their experimental and aggressive performances, groups like the Meteors found their own way in the music world where, combined with the punk scene of the late 1970s and 1980s, they created something unique.From my own personal experiences playing and participating in the Midwestern punk scene of the early 2010s, the traces of punk subculture are clearly evident in psychobilly—disillusionment, estrangement, and wanting to create something openly resistant to larger society. However, while sharing some similarities, psychobilly emphasizes an apolitical approach that celebrates all things carnivalesque. Through emphasizing these various transgressive behaviors, Kattari perfectly captures the distinctive forms of performance within psychobilly. Music, rather than a force of decrying sociopolitical oppression prevalent in several subgenres of punk, is instead used as a form of escape. Morever, such performances celebrate all things macabre, dark, and grotesque—all which are absolutely lovely. “Wrecking”—a term involving a variety of moves as diverse as walking like zombies to slamming into one another to throwing punches—highlights a communal release of aggression.Equally exciting is the style meant to clearly designate the rejection of popular culture and the restraints of mainstream society: a mixture of rockabilly, punk, and specific contributions such as the instantly recognizable wedge quaff hairstyle. One goal shared by many in the various punk subcultures, and especially psychobilly, is to intentionally shock or make others uncomfortable through dress—which explains why someone in a passing vehicle once told me I was going to “burn in hell” for wearing a metal shirt incorporating religious iconography. As successive “waves”—new iterations, influences, and bands—of psychobilly continued in the following decades, efforts to intentionally reject larger society manifested in a multitude of ways, such as through dress, lyrical content, performances, and many other formats.Particularly enjoyable and relevant to my own studies within punk subculture is chapter 4, “Male Dominance and Female Empowerment.” Some of the larger issues within the scene—as well as in other subcultural studies—are the treatment of women as objects, sexual ownership and dominance, and downplaying or outright rejecting female psychobilly groups as distinctly not psychobilly. Although much of psychobilly intentionally breaks with parts of popular culture, its maintenance of typical discourses of male hegemony continues to be a severe point of conflict. The disparity between male and female behaviors, style, and other elements exemplifies the hypocritical approaches within the scene.Toward the end of Psychobilly, the focus shifts toward psychobilly in the digital age and, with decades of existence, the methods of gatekeeping toward what is, and what isn't, psychobilly. Although some have heralded the rise of the internet as the destruction of subcultures, the case of psychobilly—where a small but dedicated group of individuals is spread across the globe—illustrates the opposite: friendships are maintained while new members, potentially isolated, are able to find a like-minded community. Kattari also explores in depth the notion of gatekeeping as psychobilly becomes more established and new waves emerge.Psychobilly: Subcultural Survival is an excellent exploration of an often underlooked subculture. By providing an amazing overview of the subculture's history, style, behavior, and developments, the book insightfully demonstrates the continued existence of subcultures within the age of the internet. For anyone wanting to get into subcultural studies and the corresponding theoretical framework, this is a great place to start.