{"product_id":"punk-in-50-pieces-punk-rock-post-punk-new-wave-and-the-five-years-that-changed-pop-music-forever","title":"Punk in 50 Pieces: Punk Rock, Post-Punk, New Wave, and the Five Years That Changed Pop Music Forever","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Irresistibly diverting. . . . Idiosyncratic and rewarding entries use songs as entry points for pocket histories or biographical snapshots. Dettmar's lyrical exegesis illuminates. [\u003ci\u003ePunk in 50 Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e] will have readers busily making their own lists of punk rock's essential tracks.\" -- \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This is an irresistible book that will spark a thousand arguments--and that's just on the day it's published. I'm already making my list. I haven't had so much fun with a work of criticism in years.\" -- \u003cb\u003eGreil Marcus, author of \u003ci\u003eMystery Train\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLipstick Traces\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Here comes Kevin Dettmar's \u003ci\u003ePunk in Fifty Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e, to join Dave Marsh's \u003ci\u003eThe Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles\u003c\/i\u003e and Paul Williams' \u003ci\u003eRock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles\u003c\/i\u003e--music books disguised as lists which turn out to be love letters. As with those earlier books, I devoured Dettmar's to learn what he thinks and found myself treated to a mosaic self-portrait, a memoir of growing up alive in a world of music and possibility.\" --\u003cb\u003eJonathan Lethem, author of \u003ci\u003eMotherless Brooklyn\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Fortress of Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A sharp, spirited, and wonderfully personal take on what it was like to grow up alongside the punk explosion of the late seventies and eighties. Fifty argument-starting blitzes of fury and awe, with just the right dash of playful crankiness.\" -- \u003cb\u003eHua Hsu, staff writer, the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"You think you know all about punk? Kevin Dettmar shows how much there is still to discover about the music and its era. Crackling with startling ideas and unexpected insights, juiced with surprising stories and unknown connections, \u003ci\u003ePunk in Fifty Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e is a sustained feat of zoomed-in listening and zoomed-out contextualizing. As fast and fun as a Buzzcocks singles compilation, this book vaults to the top shelf in the Punk Lit pantheon.\" \u003cb\u003e-- Simon Reynolds, author of \u003ci\u003eRip It Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1978-1984\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"It was one helluva way to discover that Kevin Dettmar had a crush on me in 11th grade--but as his fifty loving portraits of fifty singles makes clear, he crushes a lot. \u003ci\u003ePunk in Fifty Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e is the perfect companion for those wishing to revisit the golden age of late-70s\/early-80s pop, as well as a wonderful introduction for those new to the scene, trying to figure out what all the fuss was about.\" \u003cb\u003e-- Jane Weidlin, The Go-Gos\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Fast and furious like the genre it so brilliantly captures, this book creates a taxonomy of punk rock moments: bands, people, and material objects that helped define a misunderstood movement. And like the movement itself, it is fun, moving, and ultimately pointed, a much needed reminder of the long lasting effects that popular culture can have on the world.\" \u003cb\u003e-- Gina Arnold, author of \u003ci\u003eRoute 666: On the Road to Nirvana\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Punk in 50 Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e does something I heretofore thought was impossible: Kevin Dettmar has applied a scholar's rigor (and nose for half-truths and pretense) to a book about punk-rock, one of our most lawless, disobedient, and gloriously uninhibited art forms. This book is so kinetic and edifying, I found it impossible to stop reading; as a writer and critic, Dettmar is at ease and impossibly smart. Much like the music it chronicles, this book is wild, revelatory, exhilarating.\" --\u003cb\u003eAmanda Petrusich, staff writer, the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This is an irresistible book that will spark a thousand arguments--and that's just on the day it's published. I'm already making my list. I haven't had so much fun with a work of criticism in years.\"-- Greil Marcus, author of \u003ci\u003eThe History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFifty years ago punk crashed on the scene, redefining music and popular culture. In celebration of that historic event comes this cultural history exploring fifty iconic alternative songs and unforgettable moments that destroyed and redefined rock 'n' roll.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce upon a time--November 26, 1976, to be precise--a band named the Sex Pistols kicked their way into cultural consciousness with \"Anarchy in the U.K.\" It was the public launch of punk rock, raucous music with a snarling in-your-face attitude, aggressive style, and a riotous political sensibility that came, saw, and conquered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFifty years later, the question remains: What the hell was that?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePunk in 50 Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e retells the story of punk's cultural earthquake. Kevin Dettmar traces the evolution of this rock 'n' roll revolution, revealing how classic early punk (The Ramones, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop) gave birth to both post-punk (Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Gang of Four) and New Wave (Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStanding beside classic works such as \u003ci\u003ePlease Kill Me, Lipstick Traces, Rip It Up and Start Again, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eEngland's Dreaming, Punk in 50 Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e paints a vivid portrait of an era, a sound, and the artists and attitude that made it unforgettable. It's the perfect introduction for a new generation of rebels without a cause and a master playlist for die-hards who may no longer be slam-dancing in the mosh pit but have never forgotten the music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePunk in 50 Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e includes chapters featuring: \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Sex Pistols, \"Anarchy in the U.K.\"\u003cbr\u003eElvis Costello, \"Alison\"\u003cbr\u003eX-Ray Spex, \"Oh Bondage Up Yours!\"\u003cbr\u003eTalking Heads, \"Psycho Killer\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Police, \"Roxanne\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Clash, \"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais\"\u003cbr\u003ePublic Image Ltd, \"Public Image\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Cure, \"Boys Don't Cry\"\u003cbr\u003eThe B-52s, \"Rock Lobster\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Go-Go's, \"We Got the Beat\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Pretenders, \"Precious\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Psychedelic Furs, \"Pretty in Pink\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/08\/2026 (EAN 9780063396753, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eDettmar, Kevin\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKevin Dettmar\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of \u003cem\u003eIs Rock Dead?\u003c\/em\u003e (spoiler: hell no!) and the 33 1\/3 volume on Gang of Four's \u003cem\u003eEntertainment!\u003c\/em\u003e, and the editor of \u003cem\u003eThe Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan\u003c\/em\u003e and (with Jonathan Lethem) \u003cem\u003eShake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z\u003c\/em\u003e. He teaches at Pomona College.\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496036663574,"sku":"9780063396753","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780063396753.jpg?v=1783051353","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/punk-in-50-pieces-punk-rock-post-punk-new-wave-and-the-five-years-that-changed-pop-music-forever","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}