Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

and publish a number of full-length books on music and popular culture, ranging from historical tomes on rave music, glam rock, and the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

era to critical works such as ''Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past'' (2011). He has contributed to ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', '' The Wire'', '' Pitchfork'', and others.

Biography

Early life and ''Blissed Out'' (1990)

Reynolds was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1963Rock's Backpages - Simon Reynolds
/ref> and grew up in

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new to ...

. Inspired by his younger brother Tim, he became interested in rock and specifically punk in 1978. In the early 1980s, he attended

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, which dates back to the 1200s. After graduating, in 1984 he co-founded the Oxford-based pop culture journal ''Monitor'' with his friends and future ''Melody Maker'' colleagues Paul Oldfield and David Stubbs along with Hilary Little and Chris Scott. In 1986, Reynolds joined the staff of ''

'', where his writing was marked by enthusiasm for a wave of

neo-psychedelic rock Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop suc ...

and hip hop artists that emerged in the mid-1980s (including

A.R. Kane A.R. Kane (sometimes AR Kane or A.R.Kane) was a British musical duo formed in 1986 by Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala. After releasing two early EPs to critical acclaim, the group topped the UK Independent Chart with their debut album '' 69'' (1988 ...

, My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy,

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originall ...

and The Young Gods). During this period, Reynolds and his ''Melody Maker'' colleagues set themselves in opposition to what they characterized as the conservative

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

of the era's

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

, and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

, as well as the unadventurous style and approach of most music criticism. Pieces from this late Eighties era would form the remixed collection ''Blissed Out: The Raptures of Rock'', published in 1990.ReadySteadyBook - Simon Reynolds Interview
/ref>

Freelance and ''Energy Flash'' (1998)

In 1990, Reynolds left the staff of ''Melody Maker'' (although he would continue to contribute to the magazine until 1996) and became a

writer, splitting his time between London and New York. In the early 1990s, he became involved in

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

culture and the electronic dance music scene, particularly that of the UK, and became a

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

on the development of what he would later conceptualise as the " hardcore continuum" along with its surrounding culture such as pirate radio. Much of this writing was later published in '' Energy Flash: a Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture'' (1998), a history of the

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and U ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

and later rave genres like jungle music and

gabber Gabber (; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of hardcore techno, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as Hardcore, which is characterised by fast beats, distorted & heavier kickdrums, ...

. The book was published that same year in America in abridged form, with the title ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture''. During this time, he also theorized the concept of "

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation w ...

", using the term first in a ''Melody Maker'' 1993 feature about Insides and then in a more developed form in a May 1994 thinkpiece for The Wire and in a review of

Bark Psychosis Bark Psychosis are an English post-rock band/musical project from east London formed in 1986. They were one of the bands that Simon Reynolds cited when coining "post-rock" as a musical style in 1994, and are thus considered one of the key bands ...

' album '' Hex'', published in the March 1994 issue of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' magazine. In late 1994, Reynolds moved to the East Village in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 1995, with his wife, Joy Press, Reynolds co-authored ''The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll'', a critical analysis of gender in rock. In 1998 Reynolds became a senior editor at ''

'' magazine in the US. In 1999, he returned to freelance work. In 2013, a second expanded update of ''Energy Flash'' was published, with new material on the rise of dubstep to worldwide popularity and the EDM or Electronic Dance Music explosion in America.

''Rip It Up and Start Again'' (2005) and ''Retromania'' (2011)

In 2005, Reynolds released '' Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984'', a history of the

era. In 2007, Reynolds published ''Bring the Noise: 20 Years of Writing about Hip Rock and Hip Hop'' in the UK, a collection of his writing themed around the relationship between white bohemian rock and black street music. In 2008, an updated edition of ''Energy Flash'' was published, with new chapters on the decade of dance music following the appearance of the first edition. In 2009, a companion volume to ''Rip It Up and Start Again'' was published, ''Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews'', containing interview transcripts and new essays. In 2011, Reynolds published ''Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past'', a critical investigation into what he perceives as the current situation of chronic retrogression in pop music, with a focus on the effects of the internet and digital culture on music consumption and musical creativity.

''Shock and Awe'' (2016) to present

Reynolds's eighth book, a history of the glam rock era, ''Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy'', was published in October 2016. In addition to writing books, Reynolds has continued freelancing for magazines, giving lectures, writing liner notes, and appearing in music documentaries. He also operates a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...

, ''Blissblog'' along with various satellite blogs such as the book-focused outlets ''Energy Flash'', ''Retromania'' and ''Shock and Awe'', and the drivel blog ''Hardly Baked''. Reynolds also maintains an archive for his writing, the blog ''ReynoldsRetro''. He resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Critical style

Reynolds' writing has blended

cultural criticism Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

with music journalism. He has written extensively on

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

, race, and

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wit ...

in relation to music and culture. Early in his career, Reynolds often made use of critical theory and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

in his analysis of music, deriving particular influence from thinkers such as

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western pop ...

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels ...

Julia Kristeva Julia Kristeva (; born Yuliya Stoyanova Krasteva, bg, Юлия Стоянова Кръстева; on 24 June 1941) is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, semiotician, psychoanalyst, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who ha ...

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...

, and

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...

and Félix Guattari. He has on occasion used the

Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...

concepts of commodity fetishism and false consciousness to describe attitudes prevalent in hip hop music. In discussing the relationship between class and music, Reynolds coined the term ''liminal class'', defined as the upper-

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

and lower-

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

, a group he credits with "a lot of music energy". Reynolds has also written about

drug culture Drug cultures are examples of countercultures that are primarily defined by spiritual, medical, and recreational drug use. They may be focused on a single drug, or endorse polydrug use. They sometimes eagerly or reluctantly initiate newcomers ...

and its relationship to various musical developments and movements. In the 2000s, in tandem with fellow critic and blogger Mark Fisher, Reynolds made use of

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed th ...

's concept of hauntology to describe a strain of music and popular art preoccupied with the disjointed temporality and "lost futures" of contemporary culture.

Year-end critics' polls

Reynolds has voted in a number of year-end critics' polls, most often for '' The Wire''s Rewind and for ''

''s Pazz & Jop. Since 2011, when ''The Wire'' renamed its year-end poll from Records of the Year to Releases of the Year, Reynolds has cast several votes for songs rather than album-length releases. Reynold's full voting ballots and year-end commentaries for a variety of magazines, going back to the late 1980s, can be found at Reynolds's Faves/Unfaves blog.

Selected publications

Books

* ''Blissed Out: The Raptures of Rock''. London: Serpent's Tail (Aug. 1990). . * ''The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'N' Roll'', with Joy Press. London: Serpent's Tail (Jan. 1995). . * '' Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture''. United Kingdom:

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

(2008). . ** Hardcover ed. (abridged). ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture''. Boston: Little, Brown (1998). . ** Softcover ed.: London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

(1999). . * '' Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984''. London: Faber & Faber (Apr. 2005). . ** U.S. ed.:

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

(Feb 2006). . Full text. * ''Bring The Noise: 20 Years of Writing About Hip Rock and Hip-Hop''. London: Faber & Faber (May 2007). . * ''Totally Wired: Post-Punk Interviews and Overviews''. London: Faber & Faber (Feb 2009). . ** U.S. ed.: Soft Skull Press (Sep 2010). . * ''Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past''. London: Faber & Faber (Jun. 2011). . * ''Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century''. London: Faber & Faber (Oct. 2016). . * ''k-punk: The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher''. Edited, with a foreword, by Darren Ambrose.

Repeater Books Repeater Books is a publishing imprint based in London, founded in 2014 by Tariq Goddard and Mark Fisher, formerly the founders of radical publishers Zero Books, along with Etan Ilfeld, Tamar Shlaim, Alex Niven and Matteo Mandarini. Formation ...

(Nov. 2018). . * ''Futuromania: Electronic Dreams from Moroder to Migos''.

Minimum fax minimum fax is an independent publishing house based in Rome. It was founded by Daniele di Gennaro and Marco Cassini in 1994 and it publishes books of Italian and foreign fiction, and popular non-fiction. Among other foreign authors, it publish ...

(Nov. 2020). . Book contributions * "Ecstasy is a Science: Techno-romanticism." In: ''Stars Don't Stand Still in the Sky: Music and Myth''. Edited by Karen Kelly and Evelyn McDonnell.

New York University Press New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University. History NYU Press was founded in 1916 by the then chancellor of NYU, Elmer Ellsworth Brown. Directors * Arthur Huntington Nason, 1916–1 ...

in collaboration with Dia Center for the Arts (1999). .

Music compilations

* ''Energy Flash'' (1998) * ''Rip It Up and Start Again'' (2006)''Rip It Up and Start Again (Post Punk 1978-1984)''
(November 17, 2006). Compiled by Simon Reynolds.

V2 Music V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

VR1040352

Sources

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Rock's Back Pages
– biography and list of articles by Reynolds
"Worth Their Wait"
- ''Pitchfork Review'' article by Reynolds on British weekly music press and its formative influence

about ''Rip It Up and Start Again''
Seattle Weekly interview
about ''Rip It Up and Start Again''
"Bind and Heal: An Interview with Simon Reynolds"
in ''

Oxonian Review ''The Oxonian Review'' is a literary magazine produced by postgraduate students at the University of Oxford. Every fortnight during term time, an online edition is published featuring reviews and essays on current affairs and literature. It is t ...

'' with Alex Niven about ''Retromania'', 2011.
"Rave Confessions: An interview with Simon Reynolds"
- ''Electronic Beats'' interview about the 2013 edition of ''Energy Flash''
"From Bowie To Gaga: How Glam Lives On"
- ''Pitchfork'' interview about ''Shock and Awe'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Simon Living people English music critics Rock critics English music journalists Melody Maker writers The Wire (magazine) writers English bloggers Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford California Institute of the Arts faculty Writers from London People from Berkhamsted English expatriates in the United States 1963 births The Village Voice people Rolling Stone people People from the East Village, Manhattan British male bloggers

Biography

Early life and ''Blissed Out'' (1990)

Freelance and ''Energy Flash'' (1998)

''Rip It Up and Start Again'' (2005) and ''Retromania'' (2011)

''Shock and Awe'' (2016) to present

Critical style

Year-end critics' polls

Selected publications

Books

Music compilations

Sources

External links