The Psychic Soviet
$19.00
by Ian F. Svenonius
You might not guess it from this pocket-size (pink plastic covered!) book we’ve got for sale, but Ian has a lot to say. Funny… intelligent… concerned with both politics and music: all things you’d want in a mate, so why not in a book.
Called The Psychic Soviet, after the central framing essay, it consists of both new articles and ones published previously in places like Index, BBGun, Dot Dot Dot, Sound Collector, Plan B, and Weird War World, among others.
The essays, written in a scholarly yet engaging style, should clear up much of the prevailing confusion regarding events of the last millennium by exploring the use of rock ‘n’ roll and art by the ruling class, and the sinister machinations behind popular fiction, film, and television serials, among other cultural outlets.
This new, expanded collection of essays and articles from one of the mainstays of the Washington, DC, underground rock and roll scene, The Psychic Soviet is Ian F. Svenonius’s groundbreaking first book of writings. The selections are written in a lettered yet engaging style, filled with parody and biting humor that subvert capitalist culture, and cover such topics as the ascent of the DJ as a star, the “cosmic depression” that followed the defeat of the USSR, how Seinfeld caused the bankruptcy of modern pop culture, and the status of rock and roll as a religion. The pocket-sized book is bound with a durable bright-pink plastic cover, recalling the aesthetics of Mao’s Little Red Book, and perfect for carrying into the fray of street battle, classroom, or lunch-counter argument.
Flexibound | 270 pages | Akashic Books; Illustrated edition | 2020
Ian Svenonius is an American musician, notable as the singer and mouthpiece of various Washington, D.C.-based music groups including The Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain and the Gang. With his projects, Svenonius has released more than 15 full-length albums and more than 20 singles, EPs, and splits. Svenonius is also a published author and an online talk show host.
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