Getting It on: The Clothing of Rock 'n' Roll

A former instructor at the Parsons School of Design, Jones links contemporary rock superstars to the heroes of ancient myth, but this provocative thesis clashes with the jazzy, turgid prose here. She explains that the ""self-ravaging'' punk antihero ``cathartically and messianically vents collective rage within a tradition of ecstatic martyrdom as he is pelted onstage with assorted objects hurled by fans.'' Depicting costumes as ``transcendental devices in ritual,'' she further maintains that harshly contrasting dual or multicolor schemes descend from the medieval fools and Elizabethan clowns who wore two-toned costumes to symbolize the rational versus irrational division of the mind. Other revelations are less profound: Ozzy Osbourne's 15-pound vermicelli-beaded nylon-chiffon robe (depicted here among the 125 color and black-and-white pictures) is washable. (September 1)