Why read Lipstick Traces?

Book cover of Lipstick Traces

Book description

This book is about a single, serpentine fact: late in 1976 a record called 'Anarchy in the UK' was issued in London, and this event launched a transformation of pop music all over the world. The song distilled, in crudely poetic form, a critique of modern society once set out…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Lipstick Traces as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rob Miller

Author

At a time when anything that smacked of “punk rock” was dismissed as prurient, insignificant, and, ultimately, irrelevant, Greil hit me as something of a philosopher king.

He lent legitimacy and heft to the premise that I intuitively felt—but couldn’t articulate—that punk rock was more than offending the masses with loud music, torn clothes, and spiky hair. Rather, it was a deeper phenomenon that reverberated throughout our cultural landscape with a rich history behind it.

This was a welcome affirmation for me that this music, this lifestyle, could be a genuine agent of lasting social change.

From Rob's list on why the weird underbelly of American music is more interesting and important than pop music.