Sober Living for the Revolution is a great compilation with passionate manifestos, insightful articles and inspiring stories that demonstrate the radical potential of a sober lifestyle. With perspectives from straight edgers involved in various struggles the world over, this book is not just for (sXe) hardcore nerds, but for anyone willing to put aside prejudices and find out about the impact straight edge has and can have on radical politics.
When punk has become the soundtrack for luxury cruises, and most bands think they need commercial licensing deals to survive, this collection inspires resistance to Consumerism in all its forms. Combining conversational style with rigorous scholarship, it offers an essential exploration of the explosive possibilities at the intersection of straight edge, punk rock and political action. You don’t have to pour all your booze in the sink. But you should read this book.
This book is as important for radicals who drink as for those who don’t. Its international scope is what makes it so appealing, talking about the development of political punk/hardcore throughout much of the world. Plus, there’s no way you can put down this book and still believe that all straightedge punks are a bunch of hardline asshole jocks.
If you don’t know anything about Straight Edge, you should read this book. And if you already know everything, you will definitely discover something new!
At last a book that gives a voice to the “other edge”: the edge that searches for a political and social transformation, not only in the U$, but around the world. The value of its well chosen interviews and essays resides in decentralizing straight edge history by exploring its radical politics and its global manifestations.
This is a great international(ist) sidekick to the recent avalanche of books about American-only hardcore. Instead of just crazy tales and funny characters, the story here is kids, all over the globe, pre-internet, taking the original straightedge idea one step further, adapting it to different realities and trying to empower it by connecting it to a broader political and social context. If you want to know what happened between the early days of hardcore and the nostalgic/fashioncore era of the 00’s, look no further.
Many ways of life have revolutionary potential: the lumpenproletariat, the anarchosyndicalist industrial workforce, the disaffected petty-bourgeoisie, and, of course, punk. Getting pissed as a fart is a typical part of these lifestyles (and I like that!), but it might not always (or ever) contribute to overthrowing social structures of oppression, inside and outside of our scenes. This collection provides crucial and self-critical insights on, well, sober living for the revolution – without just preaching to the already converted. Highly recommended!
No myths, no bummer, no bullshit! At least I can fucking read this sober book.
I remember so well my first Seein Red concert ... The anger about issues in society was expressed in this raging, fast and furious music in this really energetic way – which made complete sense to me and which I could completely relate to. This is something I remembered by reading these interviews and articles – and it sparked my enthusiasm once again.
It’s always great to read how people are trying to make a radical change by combining personal and social choices with a broader political perspective in a positive sense, with the idea of building up something. These texts are not just about rage and frustration, not just about anger, but also about an effort to create an alternative, more constructive way to deal with life.
This clamour of voices, essays, and manifestos shows that there’s more to nay-saying the intoxication culture than male posturing and aggressive dogma. With interventions by queers, the sXe sisterhood, and anti-imperialists, alongside many other activist goals and players, Sober Living for the Revolution creates a gloriously messy tale of straight edge history and idealism, told with unfailing passion and an eye for challenging the scenes’ own myths and shortcomings. Straight up, this book dares to document, talk back, and re-engage the sXe idea of creating community through putting original pleasure, dissent, and care back centre stage.
A refreshing addition to the ongoing documentation of punk and political subculture, this book accomplishes the remarkable task of being highly relevant both as a focused academic resource about political straight edge and as a source of potential inspiration for a broad range of activists who want to change the world. Kuhn captures the visions and ideas of key straight edge figures from various generations and from around the world in order to present a multi-faceted and fascinating read regardless of whether one was previously familiar with straight edge subculture or not. We all face the challenge of seeking change in a world where profit is made by clouding the minds of tired souls. The existence – and prevalence – of a straight edge movement with progressive elements needs to be remembered and examined. If nothing else, this book should help set the record “straight.”