While we are decades away from Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the effects of his conservatism are still affecting the country today. Whether it was through policies in economics or his attempt to morally right the country as he saw fit, punk rock’s response to the former president was blunt and scathing. Robert Fitzgerald has collected these verbal assaults in his book, Hardcore Punk in the Age of Reagan.
Similar to Steven Blush’s American Hardcore, Robert Fitzgerald’s text races back and forth through locations and discusses many of the punk rock scenes that emerged and their corresponding compilation albums. For every band you recognize, there are about five you probably haven’t heard of; Hardcore Punk in the Age of Reagan excels at cataloging these bands. It doesn’t matter if the band was well-known or extremely under the radar. Fitzgerald treats those smaller bands with the same respect as the legends who endured. If American Hardcore was the broad strokes of an overall painting, this book is the finer detail.
There were almost as many reasons to criticize Reagan as there were songs about him. On top of the songs about Reagan’s policies regarding religion, war, race relations, and economics, there were songs about Reagan being a Nazi due to not ending selective service and John Hinckley Jr.’s failed assassination attempt on the former president, and the American Dream. The American Dream was always an easy target because, while most people strived for it, they did not or had not met it. The sad thing is that many of these bands’ critiques were not wrong. However, Fitzgerald rightly takes down the rampant homophobia on both sides of this debate. Whether it was coming from punk rockers or conservative religious groups like the Moral Majority, and acknowledges that it was wrong.
I think we’ve gravely misunderstood what a punk rock college class would look like. While it’s great that we’ve reached a point where history acknowledges the thorn punk rock became in Reagan’s side, there are sometimes inconsistencies in these academic books about punk rock. This wouldn’t be just dudes sitting in classes having a casual conversation about records.
One thing that gets under my skin with these academic punk rock books is they consistently misname people. For example, DI’s frontman Casey Royer’s last name is listed as Rower. Small errors like this give me the impression that they either need a better editor or a better subject. The writing is dense and neutral as expected in academic text, and the only attacks on Reagan come from the lyrics and song titles referenced.
The book’s outro compares the author’s subject to Donald Trump, noting their similar polarization to that of Ronald Reagan and his piggybacking on Reagan’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. Fitzgerald also discusses punk rock’s critique of presidents since Reagan. While punk rock’s response to George W. Bush echoed the 1980s albeit more organized, only Jello Biafra has consistently criticized the American government. Bad Religion, Naked Raygun, and a few smaller bands are among the few who have recently released albums criticizing Trump and openly expressing their disapproval.
All that being said, there is space for Robert Fitzgerald’s book. Hardcore Punk in the Age of Reagan can be a great companion piece to Steven Blush’s American Hardcore. Punk rock completionists will enjoy the discography of the bands in the back of the book. If you are more of a history buff or political nerd, you can compare how different things aren’t. For as researched as it is on these punk rockers’ responses, it is just as researched on Reagan’s flawed policies. Hardcore Punk in the Age of Reagan is available here through the University of North Carolina Press for purchase.
