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Simon Reynolds

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Simon Reynolds, born in London in 1963, is an influential British music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock. He has contributed to The New York Times, Village Voice, Spin, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Observer, Artforum, New Statesman, The Wire, Mojo, and Uncut, among others. He currently resides in the East Village in New York City with his wife, Joy Press, and his son, Kieran.

Contents

History and career

Reynolds' first experience writing about music was with the Monitor, a fanzine he helped to found in 1984 while he was studying history at Oxford. The publication only lasted for six issues. When it was discontinued in 1986, Reynolds was already making his name writing for Melody Maker, one of the three major British music magazines of the time (the other two being the New Musical Express and Sounds).

In 1990, Reynolds left Melody Maker and began doing freelance writing, splitting his time between London and New York. The same year, he published Blissed Out: Raptures of Rock, a collection of his writings from the 1980s. Until his switch to freelance writing, Reynolds had focused mainly on rock, punk rock, post-punk, and pop. But in the early 1990s, he became involved in rave culture and the electronic dance music scene. He began writing about electronic music and became one of the foremost music critics of electronic dance music.

In 1994, Reynolds moved permanently to the East Village in Manhattan. In 1995, Reynolds co-authored The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock’N’Roll with his wife, Joy Press. Sex Revolts is one of the major reasons why Reynolds has gained a reputation for the discussion of gender roles in music; the book is a critical/clinical analysis of the theme of gender in rock. Click [here] for the New York Times review.

In 1998, Reynolds published Energy Flash: a Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture in the UK and became a senior editor at Spin magazine. In 1999, Reynolds went back to doing freelance work and published the American version of Energy Flash in abridged form, titled: Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Energy Flash is a comprehensive history of what became rave music, starting with Detroit techno and Chicago house and tracing the evolution of the music back and forth across the Atlantic, all the way up to the late 90's. Reynolds combines analysis of the music, social background and history, and interviews with big names of the day. One of the most notable aspects of the book is Reynolds' analysis of the role of drugs, particularly ecstasy, in rave culture. Click [here] for a synopsis and review.

In 2005, the UK version of Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 was published; the American version came out in early 2006. Rip it Up is a history of post-punk, defining the genre and placing it in the context of 70's and 80's music. Click [here] for the New York Times Review. He runs a [website] to promote Rip it Up.

Reynolds has continued writing for prominent magazines, as well as his blog, [Blissblog]. He will be featured in the upcoming book by Spin magazine: [Spin: 20 years in alternative music], due out Fall 2006.

Critical theory

Reynolds has become well-known for his incorporation of critical theory in his analysis of music. He has written extensively on gender, class, race, and sexuality, and their influence on music. The Sex Revolts discusses gender in rock. In his study of the relationship between class and music, Reynolds coined the term "liminal class," defined as the upper-working class and lower-middle-class. This is a group he credits with “a lot of music energy” [link].

Reynolds has also written extensively about drug culture and its relationship to and effect on music. In his book, Generation Ecstasy, Reynolds traces the effects of drugs on the ups and downs of the rave scene. His evidence of his interest in the topic can be found in Generation Ecstasy, and in [his review] of Trainspotting, among other things.

Reynolds was influenced by philosophers as well as music theorists, including:

Reynolds says that he has been greatly influenced by Marxist thought. He talks about concepts like commodity fetishism and false consciousness where they apply to music (Reynolds spoke of the two examples mentioned in relation to hip hop).

Books

External links

Sources

 

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