Determinations
Field notes from searchers and operators
At the intersection of 1950s rock revivalism, pop art, and British camp, glam rock produced music that was both retrospective and genuinely shocking. Marc Bolan took the electric guitar back to its most primal boogie; David Bowie turned persona into high art; Roxy Music arrived already fully formed. The movement lasted only a few years before fragmenting into punk and disco—but in those years it permanently changed what was acceptable in both music and visual culture.
ReadLipstick, Lightning Bolts, and the Birth of Glam
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Glam rock arrived in Britain in the early 1970s like a theatrical detonation— sequins, platform boots, gender ambiguity, and enormous riffs. It made pop strange again at a moment when rock had grown earnest and self-important.
Hooks Sharp as Pins: A Celebration of Power Pop
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Power pop fused the melodic economy of the British Invasion with the production punch of American rock, prioritising the hook above all else. Bright, fast, and finely crafted, it remains the most purely enjoyable of rock subgenres.
Dust and Doubt: What Alt Country Wanted to Say
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Alt country emerged in the late 1980s as a corrective to Nashville's commercial gloss, rooting itself in the rawer traditions of Hank Williams, Gram Parsons, and Merle Haggard. Earnest, messy, and often brilliant.
Patterns in the Static: An Introduction to IDM
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Intelligent Dance Music emerged from the UK rave underground in the early 1990s, prioritising rhythmic complexity and textural depth over dancefloor utility. Challenging, beautiful, and endlessly detailed, it changed what electronic music could be.