'Divine Decadence Darling!': The 70s with Simon Reynolds

Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

In this episode Jeremy and Tim are joined by writer, historian, and friend of the show Simon Reynolds to discuss British musical trends of the 1970s and his life as a music journalist. Simon is arguably the most important music critic writing today, having penned seminal books on post-punk, electronic dance music, feminist rock and much more. In this interview he mostly talks about his most recent book, ‘Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century’, sharing stories from his childhood interest in the decadent world of Glam.

The three discuss how so many artists came to aestheticise a rejection of suburbia, the purply gauze of Top of the Pops, and thinking the Situationists were a band. They unpick how Punk is imagined and historicised versus how it was experienced, how Simon came to reappraise the 60s against a hostile critical culture, and consider the role of the music press historically and today.

For patrons, our extended edition also includes a discussion around Simon’s 2011 book ‘Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to its Own Past’. Tim, Jeremy and Simon recount the particular conjuncture from which the book arose, tease out its key theses, and apply those to contemporary music culture.

Simon Reynolds is the author of ‘Blissed Out: The Raptures of Rock’, ‘The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'N' Roll’ with Joy Press, ‘Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture’, ‘Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984’, ‘Bring The Noise: 20 Years of Writing About Hip Rock and Hip-Hop’, ‘Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past’ and ‘Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century’. His next book, ‘Futuromania: Electronic Dreams from Moroder to Migos’ is forthcoming.

Tracklist:
Scott Joplin - The Entertainer
Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Plaistow Patricia
The Rezillos - Top Of The Pops
The Specials - Ghost Town

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love