Una vida sobria para la revolución. Hardcore punk, straight edge y políticas radicales.

by Gabriel Kuhn (editor)

El Straight Edge ha resistido a lo largo de las últimas décadas como una cultura hardcore punk libre de drogas. Sin embargo, su legado político permanece a menudo ambiguamente asociado con una soberbia postura machista autorreferencial y con un puritanismo conservador. A pesar de que algunos elementos de la cultura Straight Edge se alimentan de tal percepción, la historia política del movimiento es de lejos mucho más compleja.

Desde los orígenes del Straight Edge en Washington D.C. a inicios de los años 80, individualidades, bandas y escenas enteras a lo largo del mundo lo ha vinculado al pensamiento y al compromiso radical. Una vida sobria para la revolución traza esta historia.

Esto incluye contribuciones –en la forma de profundas entrevistas, ensayos y manifiestos– de un gran número de artistas y activistas con vínculo con el Straight Edge, desde Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) a Dennis Lyxzén (Refused/The (International) Noise Conspiracy) u otras bandas musicales, hasta proyectos feministas (Emancypunx), activistas disidentes sexuales y de género, pasando por colectivos radicales como CrimethInc u otros dedicados tanto a una vida sobria como a la lucha por un mundo mejor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Punk, Politics, History, Drugs

396 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Vera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed some of the essays in this book, particularly those by Nick Riotfag, as well as Mark Andersen, Santiago Gomez and Jenni Ramme, as i really appreciated their analysis and contextualization of straightedge. Some of the other texts were a bit too focused on recalling events and mapping out a timeline, for my taste. Also, a lot of the texts give off the impression that sXe never was particularly meaningful and certainly isn't anymore today..

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me awhile to read this (slightly over a year), but what a great book to spend time on. Reading the different essays has been interesting, nostalgic, and empowering.

My favorite quote, on page 286, from Mark Andersen of Positive Force DC:

“My revolution would look like each of us reaching towards the best of who we really are, while also looking out for and standing up for each other, past our many differences.”

Forever Straight Edge. The revolution starts within.

[Ajeje Brazov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non riesco a credere ai miei occhi quando vedo il merchandising straight edge! E' da pazzi. (cit. Ian MacKaye)

Gran libro pieno di riflessioni, impressioni, storia di vita vissuta, filosofia, di vita straight edge.
Ma partiamo con ordine, premetto che a me le etichette di qualsiasi tipo mi fanno letteralmente schifo ed è anche un po' quello che dice Ian MacKaye, nel senso che sei hai idee straight edge, non vuole dire per forza tatuarsi la X, vestirsi con magliette ed altro delle band, o cazzate del genere. Lo straight edge è "nato" per un rifiuto di una parte del punk classico e cioè l'uso e abuso di alcol, sostanze stupefacenti e quant'altro che ti annebbi la mente, il pensiero, perchè la società capitalista è il vero male da combattere. E strafarsi e ubriacarsi fa solo il favore del sistema capitalista malato.
Poi ci sono discorsi quali veganesimo, antiomofobia, diritti degli oppressi, libertà personali ecc... Tutti temi molto interessanti, che il mainstream lascia sempre un po' da parte.
Devo ammettere che mi sarei aspettato un libro sulla storia dell'hardcore-punk con connotazione straight edge (che sinceramente conoscevo poco, perchè facente parte di una cultura molto di nicchia, ma internet sta aiutando molto, almeno nel mio caso). Ma questo non vuol dire che mi ha deluso, al contrario, mi ha sbalordito, perchè sì si citano molte band (e via di ricerca su internet), ma ci si sofferma di più sulla filosofia straight edge, con interviste, manifesti e fanzine dei vari protagonisti in giro per il mondo (purtroppo in questo è solo ristretto all'Europa, USA e Sud America), ma l'autore ha spiegato benissimo la sua motivazione di questa scelta e...

[Topher · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of straight edge - from its beginnings, glossing over (but not ignoring) the very conservative / reactionary period during the 90s, and into today. What does it mean to live sober? to be a straight edge? There is a strong focus on the political aspects, particularly liberal politics, and DIY culture.

[Nosmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly engaging. I didn't expect myself to finish this given the narrow subject matter, but I found it to be full of fresh insight and powerful personal stories.

The essays included throughout varied quite a bit, with some being a complete snooze and others being gripping and insistent (although the reflections on even the boring ones were still very interesting).

Getting a variety of perspectives on hardcore, straight edge and politics is quite illuminating, and the book does a good job of showing several scenes and wisely avoids focusing on the US. The book is impressively honest in rendering its interviewees - on some occasions when the interviewer asks a question asking how radical politics and straight edge are linked, the interviewee will simply say a brusque "For me, they're not" and things will move on.

As someone who isn't straight edge I still massively enjoyed the book, and only in one section did I find one of the interviewees to be preachy or childish about their choices. A lot of the ideas raised have given me reason to reconsider my own attitude and relationship to intoxicants.

[Christopher Hudson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting dive into diverse perspectives on the relationship between straight edge and politics. It’s difficult to decipher an overall thesis and the wntire book might not be very interesting to people outside of straight edge or hardcore punk. But there’s a good amount of engaging interviews and reflections from people like Ian Mackaye, Refused, ManLiftingBanner, Mark Anderson, and others that general punk fans will get a lot out of.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quite comprehensive overwiew on the straight edge subculture. Some interesting points of view by protagonists of the straight edge punk movement in Sweden, US, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, and the Netherlands are put forward. It is not so much about the music but more about society and politics. The book is a quite a bit lengthy and repetitive, though.

[Kramer Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting interviews and essays in here but there was quite a lot of repetition and too much local history for my liking. I would have preferred much more robust discussion of the theoretical and political aspects of straight edge, particularly considering the role alcohol and drugs have on politics outside of small local communities of hardcore fans.

[Nacho Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

He leido lo que me interesaba.

Me gusta bastante el concepto de que la revolución empieza cuando eres la mejor versión de ti mismo. Además, en una S que se sostiene en crear necesidades y en el deseo, el hecho de renegar a la anestesia y enfrentar la vida desde una brujula moral y unos valores claros, tampoco creo que venga tan mal.

[Michael Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of essays and interviews involving people within the straight edge hardcore scene discussing why the ideals within straight edge stuck with them. Works for both newbies and people as fully committed to being straight edge as the people in this book.

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

love eet!

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr viele interessante Interviews und Texte. Teilweise etwas trocken aber sehr informativ. Für Menschen die sich seeehr für die Thematik interessieren gut geeignet.

[Mirko, "Chel dai libris" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tra i tanti generi musicali che ascolto, il punk è da sempre presente in me e con lui tutto ciò che fa parte di questa cultura. In passato qualche triste ragazzino disprezzava questa mia attitudine. Ma si sa, i chitarristi spesso sanno essere delle fastidiose primedonne in cerca dei riflettori e io...beh, da grezzo bassista autodidatta ci rido ancora su per il suo infantilismo.

Che cos'è lo straight edge?
Lo straight edge è uno stile di vita che prevede l'astinenza dal consumo di tabacco, alcool e droghe. Talvolta prevede la pratica dell'astinenza dal sesso occasionale. Questa corrente deriva da un'etica di matrice hardcore: fu infatti messa per la prima volta in pratica nei primi anni '80 da Ian MacKaye, membro del gruppo hardcore punk Minor Threat e prende il nome da un loro famoso brano.
Perché l'avevo comprato? Perché sono una persona curiosa. Rispetto le prese di posizione di tutti in questo mondo senza pregiudizi, ed è molto interessante capire anche i sottogruppi o le controculture dei generi musicali, senza mai porsi dei limiti. Questo perché il punk non è (citando quella piccola persona egocentrica) " saper suonare male una chitarra che arriva alle ginocchia", ma molto... molto di più.

Straconsigliato, soprattutto agli amanti del genere!

[Luna M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been straight edge for my whole adult life, I was looking forward to a collection of essays that could refresh for me some of the language around the choice to live a substance-free life because of one’s progressive political commitments.

I found the interviews section to be hit-and-miss, as the interviewees’ political analyses were all over the place and sometimes lacked depth when it came to race, class, gender, and imperialism. The manifestos, on the other hand, were pretty solid in terms of placing the use of substances in the context of a broader fight against oppression of all kinds. And the piece by Jonathan Pollack, a lifelong activist who placed his straight edge/ anarchist politics squarely within his commitment/ duty to support Palestinian resistance, was the highlight of the book.

Regrettably, I deducted two stars because the author inexplicably decided to include pieces by two Israeli brothers whose analysis mentioned Palestine only once, in a footnote. Given the explicit political leaning of the book as a project grounded in anti-oppressive politics, the decision to include Israeli contributors *for anything other* than challenging Israel’s ongoing colonial destruction of Palestine is truly beyond me.

[Artnoose McMoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think of this as part of familiarizing myself with straight edge history that I missed out on because I wasn't straight edge back then, which is why I gave it four stars instead of three. For most people, I'd say it'll be a three-star read. This is a collection of essays and interviews explaining the intersections between straight edge and activism. Although I appreciate that the editor brought together many people to interview, I found a lot of things repetitive.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me some new insights on straight edge I didn't read about before. Some parts were overlapping to me, but it's good to read about the political side of hardcore and sXe and how a lot of people use their sobriety for activism or to send out a positive message.\

Another thing I liked is how it covers something else than the violent male dominated part of the scene. Definitely worth reading and complementary to Ross Haenflers Straight Edge.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of different perspectives presented in this book, which made it an interesting read for me. It did feel a little repetitive about 1/4-1/2 way through as multiple bands rehashed the "scene" surrounding the early 90s vegan sxe movement, but overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a basic overview of the politics/history that has helped define the sxe movement.

[Melita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this book is wide ranging both in subject matter and in quality.

On the bizarre side, Andy Hurley's piece was strange as he seemed to be arguing against engaging with maths and science at one point.

In contrast, 'The Shape of Punk to Come' has a vitality that makes it worth a read. 'The Antifa Straight Edge' by XsaraqaelX is also worth your time.

'Towards a Less...' by Nick Riotfag is by far the best piece in the book. Everyone will get something out of it.

[Rheuben Bundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent look at the late nineties early millennium punk/hardcore vegan straight edge scene. Kuhn connects the movements in the scene at that time with the radical politics that rose up around SXE at that time. It is an excellent look at the other side of vegan straightedge that went largely unnoticed by the media, and tough guy hardcore that subsumed it.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't read every essay- mostly stuck to the ones revolving around queer punk communities and alcohol use.

These people in here say they're straight edge but they all definitely huff their own farts so I dunno

[Larry-bob Roberts]

Just bought a copy at City Lights Books. The deciding factor for me was that it contains a couple pieces by straight edge queers.

[Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty mediocre book, but it was fun to see articles/interviews with people I know. The interview with Lucas is the best part of the book.

[Kersplebedeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a unique study of the intersections of straight edge and progressive politics. recommended not only to straight edgers!

[wombat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the essays by Nick Riotfag, Jonathan Pollack, Bull Gervasi, and Santiago Gomez. Skip the rest.