It’s a shame that Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk: Aggressive Sounds in Contemporary Music is sort of marketed as an academic book. This collection of essays, edited by Eric James Abbey and Colin Helb, with a little tweaking, could easily fit into any popular punk or metal magazine’s pages with little change in approach.
The essays run the gamut from deeply scientific to historical to a trifle fannish. The editors’ approach and aim is to discuss “the important need of aggressive release in our world.” You’ve got the scientific approach, which breaks down both Sid Vicious’ take on the Sinatra standard “My Way,” dissecting lyrical changes and chord alteration to make the point that the song transcends pure cover and becomes a sort of “cannibalization” of the original.
Then, you’ve got the very excellent “By Demons Be Driven?” by Marcus Erbe. While a study in its early stages, the examination of exactly how “monstrous” voices are generated reveals some fascinating details — in some cases, the vocal chords are nearly bypassed, with sounds beind shaped by the very saliva in the throat.
The historical essays — the history of Throbbing Gristle, as well as that of Krishnacore (and, specifically, Ray Cappo) lend the most complete and erudite examination of the aims and goals of two very different groups of musicians. They’re intriguing essays, and by far the most appealing reads in the whole of the collection. It may have something to do with the way the authors have written them — they’re more like magazine articles than standard critical academic essays — but it’s also the subject matter.
In both cases, you’ve religious adherence combined with musical output, and even if you’ve only a slight inkling of what both Shelter and Throbbing Gristle sound like, the story of their respective formations and subsequent history makes for a deeply involving read.
Throw in an effective essay regarding the use of noise to generate physical response in audiences, and Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk is a book worth tracking down. If you can get past the slightly fannish essays on Detroit’s Hellmouth and Boston’s Dropkick Murphys, you’ve got a solid collection of pieces that ably demonstrate aggressive music has more to offer than moshing and breakdowns.
Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk is out now from Lexington Books, and more information can be found at the book’s website.