Mindy Clegg holds a phd in modern US and world history from Georgia State University. Her most recent book is Punk Rock: Music is the Currency of Life which comes in August 2022 from Suny Press. Her research focus includes the history of subcultures at home and abroad during the late Cold War period. Her dissertation “Music for the International Masses” brought to light the role the American state played in shaping the global market place for popular music and how that helped facilitate a global, translocal punk movement. Clegg occasionally writes on matters historical and pop cultural at the blog Tropics of Meta. Her work can also be found in the e-book New Worlds, Terrifying Monsters, Impossible Things: Exploring the Contents and Contexts of Doctor Who published by Pop Matters and in The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time published by Greenwood. She currently serves as a part time instructor in US and World history at Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta, GA. Email: mindy.clegg [at] gmail.com
by Mindy Clegg In recent years, social and political conflicts over fandom emerged into general public consciousness. Both Captain Marvel and the upcoming film Joker illustrate the point. Both films stirred contentious debates around gender this past year.1 But many who are either new to fandom or count themselves as casual fans might miss that these…
by Mindy Clegg Forty years ago, a band from Manchester recorded and released their first full length album. It arrived after a year or so of gigs, an EP, and several tracks on a sampler LP put out by their new (and newly created) label, Factory Records. Thanks to producer Martin Hannett, it sounded unlike…
by Mindy Clegg Public discussions of generations lately most often only focus on two generations–the boomers (1946-1965?) and millennials (1985-2000?). Yet many in our culture do not identify with either. One such group, Gen X, represents a midpoint between the two. And it’s a cohort that exerts more cultural influence than is generally understood.1 Once dubbed…