[.ca] Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century (ISBN 0674535812)

Punks, Pop Culture, and History:
In Lipstick Traces, Greil Marcus explores the Twentieth Century in an interesting and unconventional way by viewing popular music and art as a social critique of Western culture. Marcus asks the question, "Is history simply a matter of events that leave behind those things that can be weighed and measured...or is it also the result of moments that seem to leave nothing behind, nothing but the mystery of spectral connections between people long separated by place and time, but somehow speaking the same language?" (page 4). He uses movements such as Dada, Surrealists, Situationalist, Letterist, and most importantly, the punk movement as his evidence. For Marcus, the connections between the movements are clear, and through his exploration he finds that although there is not an undeviating chronological lineage between the movements, the spirit and strategies employed by the respective revolutionists are eerily similar. The author explains that these movements brought about a new kind of social dialogue, a new language so to speak. This language is left behind in traces through the existence of popular art and music that was influenced by the movements. Marcus acknowledges this connection between the movements and popular culture saying, "All the demands that dada made on art, that Michel Mourre made on God, that the LI and SI made on their time, came to life as demands on the symbolic milieu of pop music" (page 441). He explains that the spirit of these movements all amounted to a conscious desire to create history and denounce the path laid out for humans as individuals. Though it seems somewhat obscure, the strength of the author's argument in Lipstick Traces lies within his detailed discussion of each of the movements. Marcus spends most of his book explaining the key facets of the movements, and by doing this his connections seem to make themselves. Each of the groups attempted to alter reality though rebellion or through an expansive conversation of negotiation, and as the conversation grew, historical and institutional power dissolved (page 444). Through the examination of Dada, Surrealism, Situationalism, Letterism, and Punk, Marcus uncovers the radical demands made on the reality of Western culture during the respective times. While none of the revolutions ever came to any triumphant ends, each of the movements made their mark on reality by pushing the limits of ordinary life and are therefore undeniably connected through the traces that they left behind: the expanded borders of reality. "Everything connected to a totality, and the totality was how you wanted to live: as a subject of an object of history" (page 444). This is the reason that Marcus relies so heavily on the music of the Sex Pistols and other punk bands of the Seventies. These bands conveyed the idea that anyone could reject their reality and embrace the idea of "no future" to the extent that they experience freedom from reality or from the conventions of history. Anyone could be an anarchist, reject order, and embrace rebellion simply by entering into a new social dialogue. Collective destiny was no longer the only option; now an individual destiny existed as well. The desire to change the world continues to manifest itself within social movements and popular culture, what makes Lipstick Traces so important is the fact that it points out that it doesn't matter whether these movements succeeded in their mission to change the world, because by simply existing, they changed history though influencing popular art and music.

an exercise in masturbatory, pointless BS:
"lipstick traces" is nothingbut an incomprehensible mess written by an author driven not by the spirit of dada or punk, but buy the spirit of the dollar signs, a very prevalent one in our culture. the ultimate purpose of this book is precisely nothing, except the opposite of what everything discussed in it respected--money. and jesus, if you actually got into this book, get out of the house every once in awhile.

Lipstick Traces as Seen Through The Eyes of Todayýs Punk:
Lipstick Traces was a failed attempt to bring the punk scene to life. Greil Marcus' failed in his assumptions about what the Sex Pistols did for punk rock. The Sex Pistols are simply the Marilyn Manson of today, there music did little more than provide "shock" rock to a frustrated youth in Britain. Greil Marcus' also failed to realize that punk rock has evolved from the 1970's. It is no longer solely based upon the ideals of damning Christ and supporting Anarchism. He failed to mention that punk rock has become a voice for social reform and not just a tool for shocking a nation. Punk rock has also changed form the 1970's by moving away from the "passive" speech and has turned into action. Punks of today no longer watch as their government fails. Punks riot and protest for a reason, to bring about change, to take in active role in changing the government for the "better" in there own minds. Also the Sex Pistols were not as Greil Marcus would have us believe the sole creators of the punk movement. There action simply led to punk being brought to a broder audience. Johnny Rotten was not the Antichrist he was a lap dog. A man scared to move from behind the microphone and actually take action for what he believed in. Johnny Rotten did nothing more than Mayrylin Manson has done for rock today, bring it into the limelite. Johnny Rotten did not change anything, johnny rotten was a failed attempet at something that could have been more true. The entire first part of Lipstick Traces could have been sumed up by simply stating, "I like the Sex Pistols because they did something different". No more no less. To be fair the second half of the book after Marcus got over his fetish for the sex pistols did have valid arguments and was a joy to read. He clearly and accuratly expressed the ideas of the situationist. Also to be fair I must concider that book was published in the early 1980's and he wrote what he saw to be the punk movement then. But now it has changed, it has taken a more active role. TO BECOME MORE RADICAL AND START A REVOLUTION IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE NATION IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT REFORM IS WHAT PUNK IS NOW ABOUT NOT THE WHAT MARCUS THOUGHT IT WAS.

Just read it!:
Just read it! If you have any interest in Punk music, the Situationists, art, Chaos, just give it a read! It is the most interesting book that I have ever read!

99 Molotov Cocktails on the Wall:
Think non-linear. Think connective. This book isn't exactly art history or criticism, it isn't a manual on how to start an artistic revolution, it isn't sociological theory - but it touches on all these. Marcus traces currents of thought and action in musical and artistic "movements" in an illuminating and inspiring way that swings from such 20th century horrors as Nazi death camps to Michael Jacksons' "Thriller", although he gets bogged down in the second half with the "lettristes" who really, from his description, don't sound exciting enough to spend so much time on. Okay, letter poetry, sounds stupid, what next? The person this book would be perfect for is the edgy artist who needs some instigation (the person who recommended it to me), intellectual "punk rock" fan (I might qualify), or the anarchist with a taste for literature (who I am mailing my copy to). If you are unfamiliar with the situationists, the sex pistols, the dadaists, European revolutions, etc. then this book is a good starting point. (I'd never heard of Guy Debord but the extensive quotes from "Society of the Spectacle" convinced me to rush out and read that, too.)