About the counterculture in the 1980s

by [deleted]

I'll cut right to the chase just because I don't want people to think I'm rambling: are there any good books out there about American counterculture (history, politics, creative works, etc.) in the 1980s?

Now for the explanation. I've noticed an interesting paradox when it comes to American cultural history: when we think of American counterculture, there's a lot of focus on the 1950s through 70s (from beatniks to disco), whereas the '80s are depicted as the "death" of counterculture under the Age of Reagan.

At the same time, the '80s are portrayed as being about hair metal, John Hughes, and Rubik's cubes. But I know there was the first rumblings of college radio and alternative rock in the form of Husker Du and Talking Heads, subversive films by auteurs like David Lynch and Spike Lee, and Reagan was not as universally loved as he might seem in retrospect. It's just that this seems to be a neglected topic when it comes to the retelling of the 1980s. Are there any good books out there about this?

And it doesn't even necessarily have to be a book "about" 1980s counterculture, as in I'm happy to look into books that deal with other time periods too as long as the '80s are treated with a reasonable degree of depth. Thanks in advance!

El_Chelon_9000

I think you should check out a book called Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain, and also From the Velvets to the Voidoids by Clinton Heylin. They’re both excellent if you’re interested in how punk came to exist.