[audiobook] Street Culture: 50 Years of Subculture Style by Gavin Baddeley at Arts-Photography

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. a book like this. which ties them all together and puts ...By DH32This book is everything that it is advertised to be. Seasoned journalist Gavin Baddeley provides a thorough. witty and ambitious look into the history of counterculture. from the 1950s to the dawn of the 21st century. Some of the subcultures discussed are hippie. biker. mod. punk. goth. metal. hardcore and emo. to name a few. Although there seems to be plenty of available literature on any one of these particular subcultures. a book like this. which ties them all together and puts them in wider historical perspective. was begging to be written!Each subculture is given its own chapter. outlining its history and exploring some basic tenets. Yet there are a few themes and observations that run throughout the book. and this is one of the things that makes the book interesting. For instance. countercultures tend to be demonized by the mainstream or conservative media. In the process of this demonization the counterculture in question begins to lose a degree of its original ethos as it attracts more converts who are mainly attracted to the controversy created by the bad press. A related observation is how certain aspects of counterculture can be coopted (and commodified) by the mainstream.Perhaps most interesting is the historical change in the way that different countercultures have interacted with each other. Throughout the book Baddeley recounts how different subcultures borrowed from. and were influenced by each other. and also at times had intense rivalries with one another. More recently. the lines dividing these different subcultures have blurred. With modern technology. individuals are exposed to a myriad of different ideas and products. and many choose to combine trademarks of different subcultures rather than sticking to just one credo.Baddeleyrsquo;s central message is a celebration of counterculture as a sort of rebellion against mindless herd conformity. This is a message that resonates with me on a personal level. At the same time. Baddeley provides a frank and honest discussion of his topic rather than being a blind advocate for one subculture or another. This level of balance and honesty in his approach is commendable. and is a breath of fresh air.I have only a few minor qualms with this book: primarily. I would like to have seen certain topics be explored in much greater detail. For example. Baddeley spends little time discussing the demise of the hippie movement. which could be the topic of a book in itself. Also. I was hoping to learn more about the importance of the related vegan and straight edge movements within the hardcore music subculture (these remain important features of that subculture to this day).I also feel that the analysis was a bit heavy on the topics of aesthetics and music. and a bit light in other areas. like politics. religion. sexuality. transportation etc. For example. there are multiple chapters about punk subculture. but just one chapter on the biker subculture (which mainly revolves around the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club). and no chapter on the subculture of skateboarding. which I felt warranted inclusion in a book about counterculture. Having said that. counterculture is a broad topic. and I am sure the author was operating with a page limit and just could not cover everything.I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in the topic of counterculture!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Best book on punk and street culture!By lightninglizI was recommended this book by a friend because it relates to what Im doing in the fashion field. This book is outstanding. I have only skimmed through it but it is so thorough. I plan to dedicate time to read it carefully. Theres so much info packed in here. Excellent photos as well.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy LauraWell-written. superb pictures.