
Revenge of the She-Punks
A Feminist Music History from Poly Styrene to Pussy Riot
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Narrated by:
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Vivien Goldman
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By:
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Vivien Goldman
About this listen
As an industry insider and pioneering post-punk musician, Vivien Goldman’s perspective on music journalism is unusually well-rounded. In Revenge of the She-Punks, she probes four themes - identity, money, love, and protest - to explore what makes punk such a liberating art form for women.
With her visceral style, Goldman blends interviews, history, and her personal experience as one of Britain’s first female music writers in a book that plays like a vivid documentary of a genre defined by dismantling boundaries. A discussion of the Patti Smith song “Free Money”, for example, opens with Goldman on a shopping spree with Smith. Tamar-Kali, whose name pays homage to a Hindu goddess, describes the influence of her Gullah ancestors on her music, while the late Poly Styrene's daughter reflects on why her Somali-Scots-Irish mother wrote the 1978 punk anthem “Identity”, with the refrain “Identity is the crisis you can't see.” Other strands feature artists from farther afield (including in Colombia and Indonesia) and genre-busting revolutionaries such as Grace Jones, who wasn't exclusively punk but clearly influenced the movement while absorbing its liberating audacity. From punk's Euro origins to its international reach, this is an exhilarating world tour.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Vivien Goldman (P)2019 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Featured Article: Why Riot Grrrl Still Matters
In the early 1990s in the hazy fog of the Pacific Northwest, a movement was brewing. A gathering of women convened in Olympia, the capital of Washington State, to discuss the pitfalls that plagued their local punk scene—an environment rocked by sexism that was, at best, uncomfortable and, at worst, openly hostile to fans and artists who didn't mirror lineups dominated by straight white men. Whether Bikini Kill holds a prime spot on your playlist or you've yet to hear the drumbeat born from a woman oppressed, these listens offer a fully-fledged history of the riot grrrl revolution.
What listeners say about Revenge of the She-Punks
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- Miriam Rios
- 03-03-21
Me encantó
La narración me parece tan natural y fabulosa, justo como si tuvieras a Vivien contándolo como si fueran amigas. Además se emociona cuando canta alguna parte de la canción que la que habla. Y me parece un buen resumen de varias mujeres clave dentro de la historia de la música.
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- Aria Mortenson
- 07-27-23
best book I have ever read
immediately getting started on a tribute playlist after carefully transcribing every band positively mentioned <3
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