The Non-Definitive Guide to Post-Punk
You wanted me to break down one of the largest, most influential, and most complicated musical genres. Well, I've got bad news for you.
What type of music do you default to listening to when you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for?
For me, it’s post-punk. But you knew that already. Maybe you’re one of the people who’s been clamoring for a genre deep dive about it. I’ve got bad news for you.
I love post-punk, but I also can’t do it justice. It keeps sucking me down into its gaping maw. It’s the quicksand we were all so terrified of falling into when we watched Saturday morning cartoons as children.
I fear if I speak its name three times, the Real Music Critics will emerge from their lairs (from under my floorboards, I have to imagine?) and start tearing me limb from limb for my failures:
For miscategorizing a seminal post-punk1 album as new wave. For not tracing influences properly. For… not mentioning Pere Ubu, maybe? It’s a minefield, and I’d rather not play in it at all.
The problem (and it’s a good one to have) is that
