We're Not Here to Entertain

Kevin Mattson offers a history of punk rock in the 1980s. He documents how kids growing up in the sedate world of suburbia created their "own culture" through DIY tactics. Punk spread across the continent in the 1980s as it found expression in different media, including literature, art, and poetry. Punks dissented against Reagan's presidency, accusing the entertainer-in-chief of being mean and duplicitous (especially when it came to nuclear war and his policies in Central America). Mattson has dived deep into archives to make his case that this youthful dissent meant something more than just a style of mohawks or purple hair.

Kevin Mattson grew up in the suburban sprawl known as the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. It was here that he first experienced the "punk rock world" that fuelled his formative years. He played in bands, wrote for zines, and became politically active, helping to cofound the organization Positive Force. He now teaches American history at Ohio University and is the author of numerous books that explore the intersection between culture and politics.

Preface: "From memory to history"
Prelude: "When Punk Broke and Opened" (1979-1980)
Chapter 1. "'Teeny Punks:' Pioneer Your 'Own Culture!'" (1980-1981)
Chapter 2. "It can and will happen everywhere" (1982-1983)
Chapter 3. "It's 1984!" (1984)
Chapter 4. "Marching Towards the 'Alternative'" (1985-?)
Conclusion: "punk breaks again"