Punk Icon Poly Styrene Dies
Feminist punk innovator Poly Styrene, former frontwoman for the British band X-Ray Spex, has succumbed to cancer at age 53, Pitchfork reports. Born Marian Joan Elliott-Said, Styrene broke boundaries in the macho realm of punk rock, influenced future generations (i.e. the riot grrl movement) and made a batch of extremely catchy music. In her words, “I said that I wasn’t a sex symbol and that if anybody tried to make me one I’d shave my head tomorrow.”
Below, from the documentary Punk in London, performing circa 1977.
Former Sex Pistols Manager Malcom McLaren Dies at 64
From BBC News:
Malcolm McLaren, the former manager of punk group the Sex Pistols, has died in New York, aged 64, his agent has said.
McLaren, the ex-partner of designer Vivienne Westwood, was believed to have been diagnosed with cancer a while ago.
He set up a clothes shop and label with Westwood on London’s King’s Road in the 1970s and was later a businessman and performer in his own right.
The couple had a son, Joseph Corre, the co-founder of lingerie shop Agent Provocateur. His agent told the BBC McLaren passed away on Thursday morning. Spokesman Les Malloy said he expected McLaren’s body to be returned to the UK before it is buried in Highgate Cemetery.
Jay Reatard Dead At 29
Modern-day garage rock wunderkind Jay Reatard has just died in his sleep in his home at age 29.
An underground sensation and cult hero in Memphis since his teens, Reatard had just recently begun to get more mainstream attention, as evidenced by a lengthy and fairly silly profile in the New York Times this past summer.
He leaves behind a large body of recordings, as well as a reputation involving excessive drug use, stage antics and violence at shows, and feuds with other artists. If you haven’t heard his abrasive, punk-inspired music, now’s a good time to take a listen…he always lived up to his name.
Muslim Punk Rock: A Mashup of Piety and Politics
When I went to Austin for the 2009 South By Southwest film festival I spent a lot of time with the director of a film we had just acquired for distribution, Rip! A Remix Manifesto. The director, Brett Gaylor, is part of a Canadian production company called Eyesteel Films and they had rented a funky little house a little way out of town. It became the place to hang after the last screening of the night, and I got to talking to another director in the Eyesteel stable, Omar Majeed, who was making a documentary about Muslim punk rock. I knew a little bit about it from the Soft Skull Press book The Taqwacores, published by my friend Richard Nash.
Fast forward several months and Omar’s film is now starting to screen at festivals and arthouse cinemas. Check out the official site for screening info, and here’s the trailer:
Meanwhile, the film is attracting some serious media attention…
