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The Brandy Of The Damned (2012)

by J.M.R. Higgs(Favorite Author)

4.26 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0956416357 (ISBN13: 9780956416353)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

The Big Hand

review 1: this book is ambitious and what it strives to achieve it completely pulls off. it tells the relatively brief story of The KLF. what makes it special is the way the author contextualises the bands behavior and attitude to what they were doing. They were a pretty mysterious and unpredictable presence in the musuc industry and this book goes a long ward towards understanding where their head's might have been at. It's also an excellent intoduction to dada, discordians and other fascinating bits of 20th century thinking.
review 2: I'm 3/4 through this brilliant book and with each new chapter I am amazed how much this humble little paperback reveals about global events and cultural responses of the 20th century.For example, Chapter 12: Undercurrents examines the qui... moreet death of 20th century culture - the forgettable early-to-mid 90s.The chapter summarizes the beginnings and endings of cultural climates, citing key events beginning with Darwinism's impact on the pillar of faith in the late nineteenth century to The Great War, the conflict of the 40s, the conformity of the 50s, the liberation of the 60s, the hedonistic self-indulgence of the 70s, and the shift toward material wealth in the 1980s.All of this lead to the 90s - the point where culture simply burned out. "They were out of ideas." Slacker became the iconic low-culture film of 1991. Nihilism peaked in 1994 with Kurt Cobain's suicide, the KLF's burning of a million pounds, and the death of Bill Hicks.And with these events, Higgs declares, "this was the point when the constant creation of new musical genres that had characterized the 20th century came to an end."Higgs refers to 1991-94 as the "Age of Extremes," bracketed by the end of the Cold War and by the birth of first popular web browser.The chapter also touches upon Surrealism, Situationism, Anti-capitalism, Communism, Fascism, Dadaism, The Cabaret Voltaire, Generation X, Tony Blair, George W Bush, The Spice Girls, and how all of these lead us to the new millennium.Other chapters are equally rich in content. Chapter 4: Magic and Moore, (specifically pp 80 - 89) examine the nature of consciousness, Carl Jung, Alan Moore's concept of "Ideaspace," and reality, itself.A thoroughly exciting book, I had to put it down mid-chapter just to collect my thoughts.One thing is for certain - Higgs' book will give you more insight into the mysterious entity that is the K-Foundation than you could ever have asked for. less

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