Music has always been central to the cultures that young people create,
follow, and embrace. In the 1960s, young hippie kids sang along about
peace with the likes of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and tried to change the
world. In the 1970s, many young people ended up coming home in body bags
from Vietnam, and the music scene changed, embracing punk and bands like
The Sex Pistols. In Sells Like Teen Spirit, Ryan Moore tells the
story of how music and youth culture have changed along with the
economic, political, and cultural transformations of American society in
the last four decades. By attending concerts, hanging out in dance clubs
and after-hour bars, and examining the do-it-yourself music scene, Moore
gives a riveting, first-hand account of the sights, sounds, and smells
of "teen spirit."
Moore traces the histories of punk, hardcore, heavy metal, glam, thrash,
alternative rock, grunge, and riot grrrl music, and relates them to
wider social changes that have taken place. Alongside the thirty images
of concert photos, zines, flyers, and album covers in the book, Moore
offers original interpretations of the music of a wide range of bands
including Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Metallica, Nirvana, and
Sleater-Kinney. Written in a lively, engaging, and witty style, Sells
Like Teen Spirit suggests a more hopeful attitude about the ways that
music can be used as a counter to an overly commercialized culture,
showcasing recent musical innovations by youth that emphasize democratic
participation and creative self-expression--even at the cost of
potential copyright infringement.
