Ranters & Crowd Pleasers

Rock 'n' roll critic Marcus follows the punk rock scene as well as more mainstream music in this assemblage of reviews and articles published in Rolling Stone , the Village Voice , Artforum and elsewhere. For Marcus ( Lipstick Traces ), punk was a salubrious cultural explosion, bent on a cleansing negation like the Dada movement. He likens the Sex Pistols to novelist Margaret Drabble: both grapple with the plight of people attempting to live without a belief in the future. Although his focus is on punk groups like the Clash, the Mekons, Gang of Four and the Au Pairs, Marcus ranges far afield to discuss Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, the Go-Gos and the Rolling Stones. Fans of his previous books will enjoy having these pieces in one volume. (May)