Punk and Gentrification

The History of Punk recently examined the history and ongoing consequences of gentrification. Part one traced the origins of gentrification, its subsequent history, and its ongoing effects. A case study of New York City’s ABC No Rio serves as an example of resistance to gentrification, despite the removal of its physical space in 2016.

Here’s the reading list:
– Dawson Barrett. “The Direct Action Politics of U.S. Punk Collectives”. American Studies, Vol. 52, No. 2 (2013), pp-23-42.
– Ruth Glass. London: Aspects of Change. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1964.
– Jane Jacobs. The Death and Life of Great American – -Cities. New York City: Random House, 1961.
– Neil Smith. The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City. London: Routledge, 1996.

Here’s the playlist:
Malvina Reynolds – “Little Boxes”
Jonathan Richman – “New Kind of Neighborhood”
Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
Pretenders – “My City was Gone”
The Kinks – “Scrapheap City”
Talking Heads (official) – “(Nothing But) Flowers”
Lou Reed – “Hold On”
Reagan Youth – “Urban Savages”
Aus Rotten – “American Ethic”
Oi Polloi (Official) – “Let’s Go!”
MDC – Millions Of Dead Cops – “Church and State (Live at CBGBs 1983)”

And here’s part 1!

Part two examined the gentrification of Seattle’s Central District. Before the USA’s Civil Rights Era, the urban core of Seattle was where African-Americans could work, live, and go to school. Nowadays, as Draze raps, “The Hood Ain’t the Same”. We also looked at how punks have reacted to gentrification in Washington DC (and how agents of gentrification in DC have reacted to punks like Ian MacKaye). Finally, we looked at the wider punk reaction to gentrification and the myth of ‘progress’.

Here’s the reading list:

-“Chapter One: ‘Hit the Road Jack:’ The Rise and Fall of Seattle’s Black Music Scene, 1945-1960s” from, “This is Not For You: The Rise and Fall of Music Milieux in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, 1950s -1990s” https://era.library.ualberta.ca/…/a5ea3770-1f0b-438c-a4b4-d…

-“For Punk Music, Gentrification Is the New Ronald Reagan” https://www.citylab.com/…/gentrification-is-the-new…/379711/

Here’s the playlist:
Corb Lund– “That’s What Keeps the Rent Down Baby”
Ray Charles – “Rockin’ Chair Blues”
Jimi Hendrix – “Machine Gun”
Draze – “The Hood Ain’t the Same”
Fugazi – “Cashout”
Jack on Fire – “Burn Down the Brixton”
Jello Biafra & D.O.A. – “That’s Progress”
Wraths – “My Home”
Sick Of It All – “District”

And here’s part 2!

Part three focused on gentrification in Vancouver and Edmonton. Edmonton’s current wave of gentrification started with the development of a publicly-funded downtown arena and entertainment district. This is an example of what Peter Moskowitz refers to as “stage 0” of gentrification, when city governments enable “corporate control of neighbourhoods” though municipal policy.

Here is the reading list:

-Peter Moskowitz, “How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood”, 2017.
-Amber Dean, “Remembering Vancouver’s Disappeared Women: Settler Colonialism and the Difficulty of Inheritance”, 2015.
-Daniel Johnson, “This Is Our Land!”: Indigenous Rhetoric and Resistance on the Northern Plains. PhD., Diss, University of Alberta, 2014.
-Dwayne Donald, “Edmonton Pentimento: Re-Reading History in the Case of the Papaschase Cree.” Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies 2, no. 1 (2004), 21-53.
-Jay Scherer, “Resisting the World-Class City: Community Opposition and the Politics of a Local Arena Development”, Sociology of Sport Journal, 2016, 33, 39-53.
-Jordan Koch, Jay Scherer, and Nicolas Holt, “Slap Shot! Sport, Masculinities, and Homelessness in the Downtown Core of a Divided Western Canadian Inner City”. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 42(4), 270-294.

Here’s the playlist:

Robin Grey – “The Hackney Gentrification Song”
Alien Boys – “Gentrification”
Paroxysm – “White Picket Fence”
audio/rocketry – “The Way Ahead”
Latcho Drom – “Shit District”
Rebuild/Repair – “Burn Edmonton to the Fucking Ground”
Rebuild/Repair – “Above Ground Cemeteries”
Chain & the Gang – “Devitalize”

And here’s part 3!

A Review of The Past is Unwritten!

The Past is Unwritten was given a very kind review by Dr. Paula Guerra, the founder of Portugal’s Punk Archive, Keep it Simple, Make it Fast, or KISMIF.

The review is published online in OpenEdition‘s Revisita Critica de Ciências Sociais. 

Read it here: “Título da página eletrónica: The Past is Unwritten”

The History of Punk Fanzine #3

The History of Punk Fanzine #3 was released at Clean Up Your Act Productions‘ Edmonton Zine Fair #5. Not going to lie, this zine has it all: Miro‘s script from his recent guest host stint on the radio show. Corey‘s review of the Friday the 13th show at 9910 with Counterfeit Jeans, Ball & Chain, The Brewtals, and The Mants. David‘s interview with Andy from A New Rhetoric. Blake‘s article “The Casualties Shitshow: One Year Later.” The linear notes to Paroxysm‘s cassette demo. Be Line on participating in the Edmonton punk scene. An interesting fact about Raymond Pettibon. Awesome insight from Shakira and Saara about Not Enough Fest Edmonton, Sled Island, Hillary Clinton, and other stuff too. And even though that’s more than enough, it also has the incredible and peerless artwork of Spyder Yardley-Jones!!!!

 Thanks for the poster, Spyder!

Here’s the full zine: History Of Punk Fanzine 3

And thanks to everyone for contributing!

The History of Punk Radio Show 61: The Corey Hamilton Show!

Punk stalwart Corey Hamilton joined the show and brought all kinds of music on cassettes, vinyl, and CDs! Unfortunately, there were no 8 tracks, but the selection of local music, scientists and theologians agree, was unparalleled!

Show 61 of the History of Punk originally aired on CJSR 88.5FM from 10-11AM MST on Monday 18 January 2016.

Here’s the playlist!

1. Jr. Gone Wild (Edmonton) – “Tin Can”
2. Malibu Kens (Edmonton) – “421-1111”
3. Cadillac of Worms (Edmonton) – “Nite of the Living Dead”
4. The Loved One (Edmonton) – “Vatican 550”
5. Bullyproof (Edmonton) – “Public Relations Baby”
6. Greater Than Less Than (Edmonton) – “‘S’ on the Chest”
7. The Wheat Chiefs (Edmonton) – “Twist this Around”
8. SNFU (Edmonton) – “Poor Pitiful Me”
9. The Imagineers (Edmonton) – “High Octane Babe”
10. Color Me Psycho (Calgary) – “13 is my Lucky Number”

And here’s the show!

The History of Punk Playlist #37

Here’s the History of Punk Playlist on CJSR from 29 June, when Professor David Mills returned to the show!

This show focused on the protest music of the Boomers. Professor Mills had 5 main themes:

1. As baby-boomers came of age, they discovered the world really wasn’t that great. They decided it had to change, and they’d be the ones to do it. With music specifically, they built on the existing foundation of folk and protest songs and wrote about what affected them.

2. The 1960s were a period of growing awareness of social problems like Civil Rights, the environment, and Indigenous rights, and the popular music of the time reflected this.

3. The Vietnam War was the issue impacting white teenagers most directly in the USA – because of that whole draft thing. The war also heightened existing social problems domestically.

4. Canadians were especially prescient observers of the situation in the United States – while not having to worry about being drafted, they could still see how the behaviour of the country was in sharp contrast to its founding myths. Such as, you know, liberty!

5. By the end of the 1960s, folks increasingly believed that the war had come home (at Kent State for example). Because of this, the Boomers were in conflict with the older generation and those in power. This led to the politics of generational identity.

Playlist:
1. The Clash (London) – “Know Your Rights”
2. The Yardbirds (London) – “Shape of Things to Come”
3. Thunderclap Newman (London) – “Something in the Air”
4. Hedgehoppers Anonymous (Peterborough) – “It’s Good News Week”
5. Barry McGuire (Pasadena) – “Eve of Destruction”
6. Rolling Stones (London) – “Street Fighting Man”
7. Steppenwolf (Toronto) – “Monster”
8. Creedence Clearwater Revival (El Cerrito) – “Fortunate Son”
9. Country Joe and the Fish (Berkeley) -“The ‘Fish’ Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag”
10. The Bossmen (Toronto) – “Brainwashed”
11. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (Not in Laurel Canyon) – “Ohio”

The History of Punk Radio Show #33

Here’s the History of Punk Playlist on CJSR from 25 May, when Professor David Mills returned to the show!

“Garage Rock” 

1. Richard Hell and the Voidoids (NYC) – “Blank Generation”
2. The Velvet Underground (NYC) – “I Can’t Stand It”
3. Talking Heads (NYC) – “Psycho Killer”
4. The Kingsmen (Portland) – “Louie, Louie”
5. Richard Berry (LA) – “Louie, Louie”
6. The Sonics (Tacoma) – “Louie, Louie”
7. The Seeds (LA) – “Can’t Seem to Make you Mine”
8. The Sandells LA) – “Dirty Water”
9. The Seeds (LA) – “Pushin’ Too Hard”
10. 13th Floor Elevators (Austin) – “You’re Gonna Miss Me”
11. Question Mark and the Mysterians (Bay City) – “You’re Gonna Miss Me”
12. MC5 (Detroit) – “Kick out the Jams”
13. Them (Belfast) – “Gloria”
14. Patti Smith (NYC) – “Gloria”

Books
-Dave Marsh, Louie, Louie
-Dave Marsh, Heart of Rock & Roll
-Peter Blecha, Sonic Boom
-Biographies of Van Morrison by Clinton Heylin, Johnny Rogen, Steve Turner, Greil Marcus

Collections
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era

The History of Punk Radio Show #14

Here’s the History of Punk Playlist on CJSR from 29 December, when Mattie from Clean Up Your Act visited the show!

1. The Exploited (Edinburgh) – “Mucky Pup”
2. The Replacements (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) – “Answering Machine”
3. Hüsker Dü (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) – “Chartered Trips”
4. No Problem (Edmonton) – “Paranoid Times”
5. Exits (Edmonton) – “Audiophobia”
6. Evan Symons (Prince George) – “Cactus Eyes Don’t Matter”
7. Rape Revenge (Edmonton) – “Reject Your Blood”
8. Point Break (Calgary) – “Rip Off”
9. Hominid (Edmonton) – “Christian Hardcore Sucks”
10. BIIPIIGWAN (Ontario) – “Man”
11. Karate Kids (Rouyn-Noranda/Vancouver) – “Jeune + Sonique”
12. Color in the Clouds (Strathmore) – “The Kids Don’t Laugh Like They Used To”
13. Time’s Tide (Edmonton) – “Circle(s)”
14. Single Mothers (London ONT) – “Christian Girls”
15. Hello Bastards (London ENG) – “Vain of Ashes”
16. Oi Polloi (Edinburgh) – “Pigs for Slaughter”
17. Vapid (Vancouver) – “Take a Walk Baby”
18. MoonMuseum (Edmonton) – “Pale Face”
19. Rapid Loss (Edmonton) – “Nightmare”

The History of Punk Radio Show #13

Here’s the History of Punk Playlist on CJSR from 22 December, when Professor David Marples visited the show!

1. Flesh for Lulu (Brixton) – “I Go Crazy”
2. Chelsea (London) – “Right to Work”
3. Generation X (London) – “Your Generation”
4. Buzzcocks (Bolton) – “Orgasm Addict”
5. Magazine (Manchester) – “Shot by Both Sides”
6. Joy Division (Manchester) – “Disorder”
7. New Order (Manchester) – “Blue Monday”
8. The Exploited (Edinburgh) – “Punk’s Not Dead”
9. Simple Minds (Glasgow) – ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
10. Elvis Costello (London) – “Pump it Up”
11. Arctic Monkeys (Sheffield) – “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”
12. The Pogues (London) – “Fairytale of New York”

Article by David Marples in the University of Alberta’s The Gateway, April 1980 (Thanks Peel’s Prairie Provinces’s Archive) 

The History of Punk Radio Show #11

Here’s the History of Punk Playlist on CJSR from 8 December, when Professor David Marples visited the show!

1. Sex Pistols (London) – “God Save the Queen”
2. Siouxsie and the Banshees (London) – “Hong Kong Garden”
3. The Clash (London) – “London Calling” (Live)
4. The Undertones (Derry) – “Teenage Kicks”
5. Ian Dury and the Blockheads (London) – “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”
6. The Jam (Woking) – “In the City”
7. The Stranglers (Guildford) – “No More Heroes”
8. Boomtown Rats (Dublin) – “I Don’t Like Mondays”
9. Stiff Little Fingers (Belfast) – “Gotta Gettaway”
10. The Damned (London) – “New Rose”
11. Sham 69 (Hersham) – “If the Kids are United”
12. The Specials (Coventry) – “A Message to you Rudy”
13. The Subhumans (Vancouver) – “Out of Line” 
Review by David Marples in the University of Alberta’s The Gateway, February 1980 (Thanks Peel’s Prairie Provinces’s Archive) 

The Kids are Alright

Seattle Scene Report in Maximum Rocknroll, July 1983.

Members of bands listed here went on to be in Guns N’ Roses, Mudhoney, and Pearl Jam.