The cultural production of Cabaret Voltaire
Marxism, the politics of modernism and post-punk
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21873237 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nick Stevenson (0000-0002-0602-4156, University of Nottingham, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 403-419 |
| Publication date | 2021-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Punk & Post Punk (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2044-1983 • E-ISSN: 2044-3706 |
| Publisher | Intellect (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1386/punk_00087_1 |
| OpenAlex | W4205810887 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
This article explores the contribution of Cabaret Voltaire to the history of industrial and electronic music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Heavily influenced by the music of Kraftwerk, the Cabs drew upon the dystopian landscapes of William Burroughs to create a paranoid soundscape. Like Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire’s music was influenced by the artistic movements of the twentieth century (most prominently Dada) and drew upon modernist techniques. Especially significant in this regard was their location within post-industrial Sheffield and the ideologies of post-punk more generally. This discussion offers a critical assessment of Cabaret Voltaire as a form of avant-garde music that sought to carefully position itself in the context of the cultural politics of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Primarily through the work of Marxist aesthetic theory, I seek to offer a critical appreciation of the relationship between Cabaret Voltaire and the influence of Dada and modernism. The aim of the discussion is to reclaim a more critical understanding of Marxism while exploring its arguments in relation to artistic forms of modernism and popular culture. Especially important at this juncture is the rejection of the cultural populism of postmodernism and the reclaiming of a more critical language of evaluation and critique. Here the argument is that whatever Cabaret Voltaire’s limitations they continue to remind us of modernism’s ongoing capacity to offer arresting forms of art and critique
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Ideology · Literature · Marxist philosophy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Postmodernism · Punk · Sociology · Art, Politics, and Modernism · Cinema and Media Studies · History · Law · Music History and Culture
Introduction
Progress versus Utopia; or, can we imagine the future?
The cultural production of Cabaret Voltaire
Jazz as cultural modernity
Radical democracy and the imagination of the commons
Making noise
Everyone's Given Up and Just Wants to Go Dancing”
Post-Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |