Sophie reviewed We Were Going to Change the World by Stacey Russo
It matters if you were punk
5 stars
Probably because of the time I was growing up (high school in late 90’s), but it always felt like we had to keep an ironic distance from the term “punk” and we felt like we couldn’t unambiguously refer to ourselves as punk. I wish that wasn’t true for us, and it’s refreshing to read about people who did embrace the scene.
This is a great volume for anyone interested in the history of punk and the possibilities of oral history.
A favorite quote: “Punk gave people permission to express themselves without necessarily having the technical ability to do it. It taught me that I don't have to wait until I'm perfect at anything to do something, whether it's creative or political or any other aspect of my life. If I see something that needs to be done, I feel empowered to do it, even if I do it in a …
Probably because of the time I was growing up (high school in late 90’s), but it always felt like we had to keep an ironic distance from the term “punk” and we felt like we couldn’t unambiguously refer to ourselves as punk. I wish that wasn’t true for us, and it’s refreshing to read about people who did embrace the scene.
This is a great volume for anyone interested in the history of punk and the possibilities of oral history.
A favorite quote: “Punk gave people permission to express themselves without necessarily having the technical ability to do it. It taught me that I don't have to wait until I'm perfect at anything to do something, whether it's creative or political or any other aspect of my life. If I see something that needs to be done, I feel empowered to do it, even if I do it in a way that's not traditional or in a way that someone else would not have done it. Punk forced me to hold myself responsible for taking control of my life and not waiting for somebody else to solve my problems.”