Dance-Punk

Genre: A 33⅓ Series #3

by Larissa Wodtke

Beginning in the late 1970s as an offshoot of disco and punk, dance-punk is difficult to define. Also sometimes referred to as disco-punk and funk-punk, it skirts, overlaps, and blurs into other genres including post-punk, post-disco, new wave, mutant disco, and synthpop.

This book explores the historical and cultural conditions of the genre as it appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s and then again in the early 2000s, and illuminates what is at stake in delineating dance-punk as a genre. Looking at bands such as Gang of Four, ESG, Public Image Ltd., LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, and Le Tigre, this book examines the tensions between and blurring of the rhetoric and emotion in dance music and the cynical and ironic intellectualizing associated with post-punk.

Genres: Music

216 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2023

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got into the post punk/dance punk genre back in 2003 when Rough Trade Shops released their monumental Post Punk compilation. I was in my early 20's and, to say I became obsessed, was an understatement.

Larissa Wodtke's exploration into the genre is excellent, detailing the rise of post punk and then documenting the dance elements right into the class of '03 - '08 dance punks, right through Nu rave and bloghouse.

It's a lot of fun and a good primer for someone who's getting into that type of music or for a decent trip through memory lane.

[Book Club of One · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larissa Wodtke's Dance-Punk continues Bloomsbury's Genre 33 1/3 Series, with a focus on the 1970s and 2000s dance-punk of New York City and the United Kingdom. It is more than just a who's who of the genre, those are detailed, but Wodtke also looks at the socioeconomic, racial, gender, intellectual and aesthetic contexts.

Wodtke is thorough in her analysis, in explaining why focus on dance-punk, "Part of dance-punk's magic is how it takes two sides of a supposed mind-body split and reunites them." (pg 4). The book begins by defining the genre, its origins and developments, then details its practitioners in context, defines and explains the key descriptive terms and the major groups active in the two time periods.

Building on the works of others, Wodtke is able to detail the motivations and some of the behind-the-music. (Lizzy Goodman's Meet Me In the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll In New York City 2001-2011 is referred to several times). Groups that are explored in some depth: Public Image Ltd., Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Delta 5, Au Pairs, A Certain Ratio, James White and the Blacks, Bush Tetras, Liquid Liquid, ESG, !!!, The Rapture, Radio 4, Liars, LCD Soundsystem, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Death From Above 1979. For each of these the reader learns of their creation, dance-punk contributions, and their afterlives.

In the closing chapter, "Us V. Them: Dance-Punk and the "other" the problems of dance-punk are detailed and explore. Wodtke is very clear that this was a very white, middle-class heterosexual genre. (pg. 133) like a lot of 20th century popular music the racialized difference often played into the naming or defining of the genre.

A short succinct overview of dance-punk, that doesn't shy away from it's short comings. Complete with a Spotify ready playlist with essential tracks with a longer list of recommended listening and viewing.

I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an informative and interesting book even if i think that it talks about post punk and dance-punk is one of the label you can use. By the way you can also dance to Sex Pistols :)
It's well researched and easy to follow. I liked the style of writing and it was a good read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music with a dance groove and a punk attitude. A bit long-winded at times but left me with a lot of great music to listen to (and a Spotify playlist).

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dance-Punk by Larissa Wodtke is part of the fairly new 33 1/3 series called Genre which, from what I've read of them so far seem to focus on subgenres and other classifications that are even more open to debate than the broader genres we all know. This contribution is a fun read and covers most of the basics.

I will admit that I prefer the regular 33 1/3 series books that focus on a single album, I find that in a short volume a narrower focus is helpful. That said, this is a nice introduction to the subgenre for those unfamiliar while offering plenty to debate for those who may be more familiar. And, frankly, that is half the fun, picking up some new perspectives while also questioning why something was or wasn't included. The boundaries are fluid which makes most even remotely informed opinions valid at least for debate.

Since a large part of the readership will likely have a limited knowledge of the topic the resources at the end are as valuable as the text itself. This includes playlists, viewing lists, and, of course, a bibliography. The listening and watching alone will provide as much of an understanding as anything, and spark connections that might not have made it into the book.

Recommended for readers who love learning about music they don't know very well, and readers who like debating music with books. Yes, that is a thing, why else would I love books of "best of..." lists so much? No matter where you are on the spectrum of familiarity with dance-punk, your experience of this book will be enhanced by listening to the music while you are reading the book.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[jente · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5