FREE THE PSYCHIC SOVIET PDF

Ian Svenonius | 270 pages | 24 Jul 2006 | Drag City | 9780965618397 | English | , United States Ian Svenonius - The Psychic Soviet | Drag City

A reissue of Ian F. Svenonius's cult-classic debut essay collection, including brand-new writing in this expanded edition. You'll laugh until you cry. Svenonius's The Psychic Soviet was The Psychic Soviet published before the The Psychic Soviet, before the cronut, and long before our culture thought to ask the Svenonius-like question of whether it was the CIA who actually wrote the Scorpions' 'Wind of Change. Svenonius's love letter to the good old days of do-it-yourself punk concerts, though it's cleverly disguised as a series of Marxian essays. It's often funny, but never in a self-consciously ironic way. The DC singer has never been anything less than political to the extreme. 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 as a religion. The pocket-sized book is bound with a durable bright-pink plastic cover, recalling the aesthetics of Mao's Little The Psychic Soviet Bookand perfect for carrying into the The Psychic Soviet of street battle, classroom, or lunch-counter argument. Small pocket size with leatherette cover. There is a small sketchbook and a place for notes. Full of strange ideas. Begins with - "the collapse of the I flipped through it multiple times in an attempt to understand what I was seeing. Was this a joke? Meant to be social The Psychic Soviet of some sort? The Psychic Soviet. Ian F. The Psychic Soviet Ian F. He was also the host of VBS. Smith, Genesis P. He lives in Washington, DC. The Psychic Soviet (Paperback) | Politics and Prose Bookstore

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. A reissue of Ian F. A 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. The selections are written in a lettered A reissue of Ian F. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. More Details The Psychic Soviet Title. Other Editions 4. The Psychic Soviet Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community The Psychic Soviet. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. Sort order. Oct 26, The Psychic Soviet rated it really liked it. Like Ian Svenonius' now-disbanded rock outfit the Make-Up, there are things to take seriously about The Psychic Soviet and things to disregard. Just as the Make-Up half-ironically fused gospel and punk with liberation theology, the essays of The Psychic The Psychic Soviet meld Marxist theory with pop culture, and the results are sometimes interesting and sometimes silly. Svenonis displays a formidable intelligence in using historical materialism to critique the eugenic subtext of Bram Stoker's Draculadraw Like Ian Svenonius' now-disbanded rock outfit the Make-Up, there are things to take seriously about The Psychic Soviet and things to disregard. Svenonis displays a formidable intelligence in using historical materialism to critique the eugenic subtext of Bram Stoker's DraculaThe Psychic Soviet parallels between religion and rock 'n' roll, provide a revisionist protest against Bob Dylan's "going electric," and expose the exploited gay roots of punk. But he also offers lines like "The smell of coffee is the odor of the Sandinista hospital, maimed by Contra bombs. Ice-cold vodka is the blood of the Russians, raped and murdered by ," or "Of course, Seinfeld 's characters are supposed be read as the four principle psychological components of one person, with Jerry as the ego, Kramer as the id, George as the unconscious, and Elaine as the rationalizing superego" with a straight face. Still, a lot of The Psychic Soviet is also genuinely funny, as in the essay "A Warning to Swedish Girls," which cautions young, provincial Scandinavian women interning in away from their British pursuers. In the process Svenonius lays waste to all of Anglo culture: "[The gay managers of the great British rock groups] whispered conceptual tidbits into the ears of their dashing young pupils, who would have otherwise have been exposed as crazed brutalists. View 1 comment. May 06, Andrew Horton rated it it was amazing. Svenonius perfectly treads the line between schizo steve ranting on the street corner and overfunded "publish or perish" academician in this engrossing, insane, but The Psychic Soviet treatise. This is the type of stuff that you used to get in The Baffler but dipped in DMT - the Beatles and Rolling Stones as opposing socialist ideologies, the death of the and its psychic fallout on the american populace, popularity of drinks as literal drinking of imperialist conquests' lifeblo OutSTANDING. This is the type of stuff that you used to get in The Baffler but dipped in DMT - the The Psychic Soviet and Rolling Stones as opposing socialist ideologies, the death of the soviet union and its psychic fallout on the american populace, popularity of drinks as literal drinking of imperialist conquests' lifeblood the popularity of beer after WWII was literally the drinking of kraut blood; the yuppie proliferation of vodka after the fall of the soviet union was the conquest over the soviet union, etc. Right when you want to chuckle or laugh off such an association, he bombs you with literally 50 more, leaving you less dubious and a little more convinced that perhaps he's on to something. Cannot recommend enough. The Jews couldn't do it as they weren't an evangelical sect, and Zoroastrianism was too hard to pronounce. They longed for the centuries of religious wars and class stratification that had made the "old country" so idiosyncratic, and had given the Euros their veiled neuroses and dark secrets. This idea, whereby a music type is considered the intellectual and artistic birthright of one particular segment of society, is The Psychic Soviet culturally taken as truth, and license to sing or create art of a particular style is permitted only when a special series of criteria are met. Genetic testing is being considered. In a startling turn, Jimmy Page was actually convinced by an angry undergraduate's essay and will now only perform with a harp and a lute: instruments particular to the druids of his genealogy" Shelves: favorites. If you've ever had the pleasure of The Psychic Soviet engagement with Ian Svenonius, you'd soon realize that this former singer of Nation of Ulysses, the Make Up and current-sometimes singer of has a different train of thought than The Psychic Soviet average man. In The Psychic SovietIan effusively deigns marvels of modern chit-chat with more The Psychic Soviet than thou ideas. Svenonius defines the psychological effect of the fall of the Soviet Union on Americans and therein the fall of a once great nation; somehow relates Vampirism as a phenomena erratically timely in nature; likens Hitler's regime to an experience irrefutably Wagnerian; guides us through the logical demise of folk music the infamous fable of "Dylan goes electric", turning on his foundation for a ride with the sexy and glamorous ; tastefully argues "Beatles vs. Stones"; Seinfeld Syndrome; the responsible use of Rock n' Roll; a look at a severely homo-erotic Mordor; and on into the depths. There is something for everyone in this thoroughly surprising pocket-size, hot pink book of essays. Oct 16, George rated it really liked it. As a result, never really thought to pick up this book though i had heard of it from a few people. The Psychic Soviet, trapped in the netherlands with only books in dutch i was handed this and zipped right through it. Lots of funny, insightful, off kilter essays that read like they were written for some freak out acid bath yippie journal in surprisingly good little book. Lots The Psychic Soviet funny, insightful, The Psychic Soviet kilter essays that read The Psychic Soviet they were written for some freak out acid bath yippie journal in the mid 70s, though he holds much The Psychic Soviet those types against the flame in this book. A particular highlight was the essay on imbibing the blood of yr enemies, coasting through coffee, beer and vodka as the drink of the defeated enemies we toast in honor of their defeat in effect consuming them. View 2 comments. Dec 29, Jonathan rated it really liked it. This is more than a book. It is more like a pocket-sized invitation to an alternate psycho-geo-musico-cultural The Psychic Soviet of Mr. Svenonious's creation. It includes a well-written and ironically stereotypical political tract, a series of essays explaining stylistic and cultural changes in the world of popular music for example, explaining how Greenspans economics led to the rise of electronic music The Psychic Soviet nobody can afford a garage anymore, so real drums are out of the questionand a well-thought-out s This is more than a book. It includes a well-written and ironically stereotypical political tract, a series of essays explaining stylistic and cultural changes in the world of popular music for example, explaining how Greenspans economics led to the rise of electronic music -- nobody can afford a garage anymore, so real drums are out of the questionand a well-thought-out series about the popularity of vampire mythology in a society like our own that ritually imbibes in the blood of its vanquished foes or colonialized serfs. The writing is a engaging mix of intelligent satire and engaging social commentary. Think Flight of the Concords meets Duck Soup, in vampire drag, and you are part of the way there. Needless to say, I recommend it for music fans who enjoy oddball arcana. Aug 22, Jermaine rated it really liked it. In this little pink book, Weird The Psychic Soviet front-man Ian Svenonius deconstructs pop culture with a hammer and sickle, with an eye The Psychic Soviet critical theory like a Gen-X Jean Baudrillard or Slavoj Zizek. And there's lots more where that came from. Often hilarious, always insightful, and tiny enough The Psychic Soviet fit in your back pocket, The Psychic Soviet just might be the ultimate mental survival manual for life if you can call it that in the Post-Post-Everything era. Sep 16, Con-core the Destroyer rated The Psychic Soviet it was amazing. This The Psychic Soviet is heavy with the burden of history and yet weighs less than a pound. You keep expecting the punchline of a joke, but those kind of one-liners rarely happen. The ironic style sits perched on the shoulder like a hooded eagle ready to soar, but it never does. Instead Svenonous shows a suprising competence for adapting historical material eg. His essays read like a barrage on the West's most revered This book is heavy with the burden of history and yet weighs less than a pound. My favorite piece is about Hitler and Wagner in which he domonstrates music's ability to prophesize the future. You never know if Svenouis is serious or not, nor does it matter, you will be entertained and stimulated. Jan 11, Diane Ramirez rated it it was ok. I The Psychic Soviet reading this book. Having had no context as to who Ian Svenonius is, I kept wondering -- idiot ic savant or boorish crank? Plodding my way through, while I found many of The Psychic Soviet well-informed ideas interesting, I decided that it just didn't matter to me. Svenonius seems to? I know that he intends for his readers to be riled up by his words; for that I hated reading this book. I know that he intends for his readers to be riled up by his words; for that reason I was too bored to bother. And I don't relish being told that I'm an idiot for not The Psychic Soviet The Truth, any more than I enjoy being labeled "sheeple" by conspiracy cranks. I'd rate the book three stars on its own, but I'd give it one star on personal enjoyment, so let's call it down the middle at two. Nov 08, Dave rated it really liked it. The myth of Dylan going electric and particularly the lamo reaction by the folk community was generated by the recording industry as a response to the threat that folk music presented The Psychic Soviet it. Right now we could have so much more live music in noncommercial settings had it not been for the triumph of electric music over shared acoustic music. But as it is, the tools belong in the hands of the few instead of the many, and I have to go to strip clubs to listen to music. Svenonius also saw through al The myth of Dylan going electric and particularly the lamo reaction by the folk community was generated by the recording industry as a response to the threat that folk music presented to it. Svenonius also saw through The Psychic Soviet the bullshit when it came to The Psychic Soviet York comedies. I saw him the other day but I didn't say anything too, which speaks to my integrity. Dec 01, Sapetron rated it it was amazing. Ian Svenonius: The Psychic Soviet

Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Learn how to The Psychic Soviet JavaScript on your browser. NOOK Book. Home 1 Books 2. Read an excerpt of this book! Add to Wishlist. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. Members save with free shipping everyday! See details. Overview A reissue of Ian F. Svenonius's cult-classic debut essay collection, including brand-new writing in this expanded edition. You'll laugh until you cry. Svenonius's The Psychic Soviet was first published before the iPhone, before the cronut, and long before our culture thought to ask the Svenonius-like The Psychic Soviet of whether it was the CIA who actually wrote the Scorpions' 'Wind of Change. Svenonius's love letter to the good old days of do-it-yourself punk concerts, though it's cleverly disguised as a series of Marxian essays. It's often funny, but never in a self-consciously ironic way. The DC singer has never been anything less than political to the extreme. Svenonius's groundbreaking first book of writings. The selections are written in a lettered The Psychic Soviet 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 The Psychic Soviet 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 Bookand perfect for carrying into the fray of street battle, classroom, or lunch-counter argument. Product Details About the Author. About the Author Ian F. He was also the host of VBS. Smith, Genesis The Psychic Soviet. He lives in Washington, DC. Akashic Books.