Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The German language edition of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 ... aka Schmeiss alles hin und fang neu an is out now on Hannibal Verlag

check here for further information on my Deutchsland book tour, set for early January 2008

6 comments:

Vertigo said...

Hi Simon. Just bought and red your book and it's really perfect. Furthermore the site, discographies, the blog and footnotes are a pack full of treasures. But I have two questions:
1) Any plans for a greek edition?
2) What about the LA industrial post punk scene (Savage Republic, 17 Pygmies, Red Temple Spirits etc)? No mention at all? I think that this scene could deserve a separate chapter.
Thanks for your time
Best wishes from Greece
Vertigo

SIMON REYNOLDS said...

hi Vertigo
thanks!

i'd love for it to come out in Greek but I think it's a fairly remote possibility.

There's a bit on Savage Republic in the Esoteric Discography which you can still access via the old Rip It Up website. But i must admit I'm not that keen on them, their music always seems really interesting in theory but when Ia ctually listen to it... I like the idea of them performing in these tunnels under UCLA.

Never heard of the other groups, I confess! I am working on a companion volume to Rip It Up which will have a lot more detailed commentary on esoteric byways and crevices and nooks of postpunk, so anything you'd want to share on those groups would be very helpful, actually.

Best wishes
Simon R

Jackson Del Rey said...

Well, I wouldn't consider SR a nook and/or cranny of Postpunk, but if I can be of service let me know. Philip Drucker aka Jackson Del Rey

indigo said...

Dear Simon ,
here in Berlin my boy friend has bought your book today and is now reading it sitting beside me on the couch. Though the 80ties post rock era is not really my thing I had quick look to check your comments on Paul Weller´s Style Council.
Well, it wasn´t that much and that nice.

How can you dismiss Style Council while at the same time you can spare some appreciation for a group such as ABC (which I think is just half as good) ?

A little dissapointed I said to my boy friend that you could not forgive Paul Weller for giving up the Jam and starting all over in a new musical genre. His response was:" Well that is a theory no one can prove?

SIMON REYNOLDS said...

hi petra

the style council had their moments -- 'long hot summer', 'speak like a child', erm... something else, i'm sure... but generally i wasn't convinced. too me weller in soul man guise kept the grey earnestness of the jam but lost the excitingness of their agitated and often quite noisy sound (eg funeral pyre).

but i wasn't that big a fan of the Jam anyway, so i didn't particularly shed any tears when he ended the band and started something new. there was no sense of betrayal!

SIMON REYNOLDS said...

incidentally Vertigo if you're still out there, looks like there IS going to be a Greek translation of Rip It Up... i'll post a news item when it's confirmed