Teenage nervous breakdown : music and politics in the post-Elvis age

Teenage Nervous Breakdown: Music and Politics in the Post-Elvis Era combines music and cultural history and criticism to examine how rock and the rock lifestyle have been merchandised first to a teenage audience and eventually to a worldwide consumer society. Well-known, iconoclastic writer/ critic David Walley examines the entire rock culture and how it has infused all aspects of American (and world) life, from entertainment to politics to academic education. In a series of what he describes as "word-jazz rock and roll improvisations and variations," Walley examines how adult culture has been "adolescent-ized" and what the ramifications are on our society.Walley is not an uninvolved observer-his personal story and opinions are right up front, where they belong. Famous for being the first writer to recognize the commercial genius of Frank Zappa (in the landmark book, No Commercial Potential, first published in 1972 and still in print today), Walley is ideally suited to examine how commercialism has invaded rock music, and in turn how this commercialism has invaded rock music, and in turn how this commercial stepchild of rock has become a culture unto itself. He tackles everything from the elevation of youth culture to the mainstream; the fast-food economy; the commercial hijack of the counterculture movement; the "cool" aesthetic; the marketing of politicians; psychotropic drugs from LSD to Prozac; and much, much more. Along the way, he touches on a diverse range of figures. From Ma Rainey to Elvis, from Béla Bartók to Batman; from Timothy Leary to Rush Limbaugh; from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to Understanding Media. Teenage Nervous Breakdown: Music and Politics in the Post-Elvis Era combines music and cultural history and criticism to examine how rock and the rock lifestyle have been merchandised first to a teenage audience and eventually to a worldwide consumer society. Well-known, iconoclastic writer/ critic David Walley examines the entire rock culture and how it has infused all aspects of American (and world) life, from entertainment to politics to academic education. In a series of what he describes as "word-jazz rock and roll improvisations and variations," Walley examines how adult culture has been "adolescent-ized" and what the ramifications are on our society. Walley is not an uninvolved observer-his personal story and opinions are right up front, where they belong. Famous for being the first writer to recognize the commercial genius of Frank Zappa (in the landmark book, No Commercial Potential, first published in 1972 and still in print today), Walley is ideally suited to examine how commercialism has invaded rock music, and in turn how this commercialism has invaded rock music, and in turn how this commercial stepchild of rock has become a culture unto itself. He tackles everything from the elevation of youth culture to the mainstream; the fast-food economy; the commercial hijack of the counterculture movement; the "cool" aesthetic; the marketing of politicians; psychotropic drugs from LSD to Prozac; and much, much more. Along the way, he touches on a diverse range of figures. From Ma Rainey to Elvis, from Be;la Bartók to Batman; from Timothy Leary to Rush Limbaugh; from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to Understanding Media Teenage Nervous Breakdown: Music and Politics in the Post-Elvis Age details how a state of mind - which came out of 1950s-60s high school "American Graffiti" culture and peer group morals - was successfully transformed and commercially exploited. The book shows how, because of this, our lives and our world (if not the nature of American democracy) in the 1990s have been altered in the process. David Walley shrewdly points out that in this post-Elvis age we are hostages to the corrosive effects of an increasingly celebrity-driven consumerism, itself the result of the cumulative effects of the commercial exploitation of high-school peer group dynamics. Animated by a throbbing rock-and-roll beat, this virulent form of consumerism has given rise to a multinational, adolescent-driven corporate consciousness in which MTV (Music Television) has become the virtual Voice of America. The essays in this provocative book illustrate how this "evolution" took place and what has been its dubious contribution to American society. Among the issues at hand, Walley looks archly at the controversial effect MTV has had on national politics, delves into the how and why behind the rebirth of heroin chic, and talks about how rock and roll has affected our sexual selves. This, Here, Soon -- Who Stole The Bomp (from The Bomp Sha Bomp)? -- Blame It On The Sixties -- Boxers Or Briefs? : Music Politics In The Post-elvis Age -- Play School : You Can Dress For It, But You Can't Escape It -- The Twinkie Defense -- Bad Day At Internet -- Asking Alice : Fighting For The Right To Party -- Don't Touch Me There : Whatever Happened To Foreplay? -- White Punks On Dope : Why Camille Paglia Is Academe's Answer To Betty Page -- Da Capo. David Walley. Errata Sheet Tipped In. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 211-216) And Index. Combines music and cultural history and criticism to examine how rock and the rock lifestyle have been merchandised first to a teenage audience and eventually to a consumer society. This work examines the rock culture and how it has infused various aspects of American (and world) life, from entertainment to politics to academic education. In the Post-Elvis Age our collective perception of our history as a people and the cultural time of our nation have been fundamentally altered.