Table Of Contents
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PAHILSGTARONARDVY EP OSOFT PUSUUDLIBAECRS UIMLNT UUTSHRIECE S TohCfoKeni trDesCtsuoytt inLncnoghh emS auPnbcuunltkusra l Boundaries
Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures
and Popular Music
Series Editors
Keith Gildart
University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK
Anna Gough-Yates
University of West London, London, UK
Sian Lincoln
Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
Bill Osgerby
London Metropolitan University, London, UK
Lucy Robinson
University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
John Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Peter Webb
University of the West of England
Cambridge, UK
Matthew Worley
University of Reading, UK
From 1940s zoot-suiters and hepcats through 1950s rock ‘n’ rollers,
beatniks and Teddy boys; 1960s surfers, rude boys, mods, hippies and
bikers; 1970s skinheads, soul boys, rastas, glam rockers, funksters and
punks; on to the heavy metal, hip-hop, casual, goth, rave and clubber
styles of the 1980s, 1990s, noughties and beyond, distinctive blends of
fashion and music have become a defining feature of the cultural land-
scape. The Subcultures Network series is international in scope and
designed to explore the social and political implications of subcultural
forms. Youth and subcultures will be located in their historical, socio-
economic and cultural context; the motivations and meanings applied to
the aesthetics, actions and manifestations of youth and subculture will be
assessed. The objective is to facilitate a genuinely cross-disciplinary and
transnational outlet for a burgeoning area of academic study.
More information about this series at
http://www.springer.com/series/14579
Kirsty Lohman
The Connected Lives
of Dutch Punks
Contesting Subcultural Boundaries
Kirsty Lohman
University of Surrey
Guildford, UK
Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music
ISBN 978-3-319-51078-1 ISBN 978-3-319-51079-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51079-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017947730
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
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A
cknowledgements
The process of writing a book is long and arduous but ultimately a
greatly rewarding experience. This project was conceived back in 2008,
and I have benefitted greatly over the last eight years from insightful
supervision by Hilary Pilkington. Without Hilary’s intellectual guidance,
her critical eye, her unwavering support and her friendship this project
would not have been possible. Working alongside her has been an hon-
our and an experience to be cherished, and the lessons I learned from
her will be drawn on throughout the rest of my academic life. Anton
Popov provided valuable advice, good humour and assistance, reading
and commenting on many drafts in the latter stages of this project, for
which I am eternally grateful.
My thanks go to the AHRC for funding the doctoral studentship
that enabled this research, to the excellent editorial staff at Palgrave
Macmillan for guidance throughout the publishing process, to my anon-
ymous peer reviewer for their comments and suggestions, and to every-
one who has read draft chapters at all stages of this project.
I have benefited from stimulating conversations with so many col-
leagues over the years, in my department as well as at conferences. I
can’t begin to name all individuals who have inspired me academically
and apologise to any that I inevitably leave out from this list. Particular
thanks go to Matt Worley and Cath Lambert for their recommenda-
tions. Thanks also to the rest of the ‘Punk Project’; Ivan Gololobov,
Ivana Mijić, Yngvar Steinholt, Ben Perasović and Aimar Ventsel, the
Subcultures Network, and the Punk Scholars Network. Mick Carpenter,
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alice Mah, Maria Do Mar Pereira, Keith Popple, Martin Price, Mae
Shaw and Deborah Lynn Steinberg have provided further support over
the years. Helen Anderson, Rowenna Baldwin, Mark Carrigan, Joanna
Cuttell, Louise Ellis, Izzy Gutteridge, Michelle Kempson, Milena
Kremakova, Harriet Palfreyman, Joelin Quigley-Berg all helped enor-
mously and made the writing experience far more fun.
In doing this research I was inspired to finally pick up a guitar and
make some punk noise myself. Cookie, Jim Donaghey, Marcus Green,
Sham Jaffer, Freja Sohn Frøkjær-Jensen, Dan Kerr, Jo Oldham and
Snowy Snowdon all indulged me in fulfilling this dream—it has been
an honour to share stages with them all. Jenny Holden, Jess Kitchen,
Ruth MacDonald, Rowena Scarbrough and Lara Staal all offered their
continued and valued friendship despite my habit of disappearing into
my books for months at a time. My family, Margaret, Joost and Ishbel
Lohman have all been endlessly patient and supportive of me. My part-
ner, Ruth has been a true inspiration to me, academically, personally, and
creatively, and has encouraged me at every turn.
Finally, a huge thank you to all those who participated in this
research, for sharing your stories and experiences with me, and for inspir-
ing this book, I hope that you feel it does justice to your lives.
c
ontents
1 The Connected Lives of Dutch Punks: Contesting
Subcultural Boundaries 1
Punk in the Netherlands 4
The Project 6
A Note on Methodology 9
Insider Research 11
My Path into Punk and My Position in the Dutch Scene 12
Who Are the Punks? 14
Layout of This Book 15
References 18
2 Theories of Punk and Subculture 23
Subculture and the Chicago School 24
Subculture and the CCCS 25
Subcultural Resistance and Class 25
Subcultural Style 26
Internal Critiques in the CCCS 26
Punk as Style, Punk as Art 27
Punk Style 27
Punk Art 29
Late Modernity: Individualisation and Globalisation 30
Late Modernity 30
vii
viii CONTENTS
Individualisation 31
Globalisation 32
Post-subculture 35
Neo-Tribes 35
Scenes 36
Moving Beyond Post-subculture, Defending Subculture 37
Regrounding Theory 39
Substance and Everyday Practices 41
Beyond Youth 42
Resistance 43
Authenticity 44
Geographical Contexts 46
Historical Contexts 49
Regrounding Punk 50
Economic Practices and DIY 50
Social Practices 51
Conclusion 52
References 53
3 Punk Lives On: Generations of Punk and Squatting
in the Netherlands 61
Introducing the Scene 62
A Note on the Historical Context of the Research 64
Dutch Forbearers of Punk 65
The Squatters’ Movement 66
The First Generations of Dutch Punk 67
The Squatters’ Riots 71
The ‘Death’ of Punk and Its (Subsequent) Golden Period 75
The 1990s and Beyond: New Generations, New Forms
of Punk and Punk Nostalgia 81
Squatting and the Activist Scene: 1990s to 2000s 88
1 October 2010 89
Relations Between Generations in the Contemporaneous
Scene 90
Tensions 91
Relationships 94
Sharing Knowledge Between Generations 95
Conclusion 97
References 99
CONTENTS ix
4 Mobility and Connections: In and Beyond
the Dutch Punk Scene 103
Cultural Flow: Mobility and Connections 104
Mobility and Locality in the Dutch Punk Scene 107
Structural Aspects of Mobility 107
Travelling Participants 109
Peripheral Locality 112
Touring and the Building of Relationships 113
Touring in Europe 113
Touring Beyond Europe 117
Resettlement 121
Within the Netherlands 122
International Resettlement 124
Conclusion 127
References 128
5 Punk Is… 131
Avoiding the Question 132
Existing Definitions of Punk 133
Punk Is Music 134
Social Position of Punks 136
Punk as Social Practices 140
Punk as an Ideology 144
Contested Areas of Ideology 146
Punk as Individual Practice 150
Being Punk 150
Being an ‘Active’ Punk 153
Punk Individuality 154
Individual Relationship to Punk 155
Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Punk? 156
Conclusion 159
References 161
6 Punks’ Wider Lives: Punks and Their Politics 165
What Is Politics? 167
Educative Politics 171
Reading for a Revolution 171
Current Affairs 174
