Mixing Pop And Politics: A Marxist History Of Popular Music by Toby Manning
Published by: Repeater Books, out now
A dense and deep dive into the Marxist chronicles of pop culture.
There are some fascinating theories and revelations gnawing away at the text of Toby Manning’s new book, but be warned, this is not a collection to be read in the shallow end. His approach to the world’s greatest art form is to ignore its more superficial aspects and dive head first into politicised (and therefore murkier) waters. Beginning with what he considers to be the blatant mitigation of fifties rock and roll, which Manning views as hijacked by governments keen to prohibit the true and nihilistic violence of the scene. Now seen in a classical and therefore conservative sense, Manning rightly points out “if things were so peachy perfect, why did rock n’ roll happen? Why were the juveniles delinquent, the angry young men angry.”
The book reveals that this is not a history of Marxist rock and roll, which the author concedes would be a very quick narrative but a Marxist view of popular music. As such there are constant lines drawn between the social aspects of the subject and the constant, puritan manipulation from outside forces.
These forces were never as prevalent as in the paranoid sixties and it’s in these chapters where Marxism does make a sort of atavistic sense. From the rise of the English working classes via the decades of Beat happening and television dramas to the thrilling American soul music that was an uprising against social injustice, Manning reminds us that the revolutions of the decade were as political as they were artistic. His section on psychedelia combines the strength of both, sonically shifting musically via artists like Brian Wilson, The Beatles And Syd Barrett and proving that the counter-culture wasn’t as fake as certain commentators have suggested, in reality providing a solidarity and sexual fluidity rarely repeated in the history of popular culture.
As the decades progress, Manning takes a similar scalpel to the likes of progressive rock, glam and punk and it has to be said says very interesting things about each. “There is no such thing as glum glam,” he points out, giving it kudos for being a reactionary movement against the 1967 sexual offences act, although also conceding it would eventually implode into a morass of bubble gum nostalgia. For punk (perhaps the most relevant period in terms of Marxism) he’s more bullish, claiming it was a cultural class war, “a championing of the disposable, the disavowed and the disapproved.”
Whilst all of this is expertly put, there is such an avalanche of references and information that narrative flow is at times sacrificed for water tight but slightly monotone testimony. It needs to come up for air from time to time and at nearly five hundred pages, Mixing Pop And Politics is a very long and serious book. Within that structure of course there will be go to’s and skips due to personal taste but also an unevenness that stands out at times. The rise of radical rap and in particular Public Enemy probably deserves more space, considering its closed fist social revolt and the spectre of rave is succinctly described by Manning but fleeting, considering it was the last music scene to inspire actual physical protest. Much better is his take on the recent modern age, where popular music has constantly shed its identity, making it harder to pin down both politically and culturally.
Over the past twenty-odd years, the new century armed with the internet has warp-sped pop culture into a kind of moralistic no man’s land, where superficial battles are waged over minor threats and the intolerable waltzes past, a monster in plain sight. It’s here that Manning’s book finds its footing, from the right wing, Trump supporting ideology of Kanye West to the crusade of cruelty prevalent in virtually all reality shows once the touch paper had been lit. Even the lighter ends of the pop spectrum don’t escape the spotlight. The Spice Girls hijacking of Riot Girl philosophy shows just how easily true righteousness can be diluted into the mass market. On the face of it pretty harmless until you realise that the same false floor marketing was aimed at the pockets and minds of small children.
Indeed, in many ways, this book highlights a frightening truth for the consumer, in just how manipulated we are as customers by both advertising and censorship to the point of having no real free will at all. When you add to that the digital algorithms currently ghosting us towards both culture and product, then the importance of Marxist values has arguably never been so vital. Manning’s book therefore does carry something of a relevant message and a sense of prophecy.
That’s not to say it hits every mark for me. I found myself rolling my eyes at Manning’s suggestion that the rise of anthemic, hedonist-themed pop in the early part of the 2000s was a direct reaction to social austerity. That seems too wild a reach and simplistic considering the artists he quotes. Vapid, formulaic pop music may have nothing to do with social climate at all. It’s basically the dumbing down of studio talent and motivation to create as much money as possible. I’m not sure the Black Eyed Peas belong in the same political breath as the other artistic luminaries mentioned in this book, which shifts between brilliant insight and over-analysis depending on your tolerance of the Marxist doctrine.
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Words by Craig Campbell, you can read more book reviews at his author profile. He also tweets here
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