Blogpost: Carpet Bombing Culture – Banksy and Punk in London

Posted by T • August 14, 2021

Posted by T • August 14, 2021

Carpet Bombing Culture – Banksy and Punk in London

 

In the realm of counter culture, there is no shortage of publishers pumping out the good word with the best of intentions. 

However, when it comes to offering more than the barren message and an added layer of aesthetically pleasing attention to detail and a tad bit of eye candy, pickings are slim.

Enter Carpet Bombing Culture.

Essentially, Carpet Bombing Culture is a publishing house that thoroughly understood early on that the delivery of premium quality art does not have to compromise the intensity of the messaging that is meant to be conveyed – au contraire, with their premium offerings and meticulous attention to detail, they infiltrate the mainstream and capitalise on en vogue topics to leap in with maximum input without ever diluting the tenets of them pursuing the guerrilla warfare that is 21st century everyday life.

Carpet Bombing Culture has accomplished a business model which enables them to be agile, affordable and relevant without running danger of being less compelling than any of its mainstream competitors, with the added bonus of Carpet Bombing Culture having its focus firmly set on being a catalyst to ignite action and provoke thoughts.

An example par excellence for Carpet Bombing Culture’s approach is the book on a street artist that has been covered a myriad times before by both mainstream and independent media, i.e. Banksy.

CBC’s “You Are An Acceptable Level Of Threat” clocks in at two-hundred and forty pages and not only comprises the depiction of Banksy’s street work from the late 1990s to the present day via five hundred photographs, but embeds it in contextualising commentary, descriptions to help the uninitiated understand and illuminating essays. 

In a sea of books on Banksy, this definitely constitutes a highlight and the essential one to have in your library.

Let’s enter the time machine and head back to examine the genesis of punk rock in a photographic manner, shan’t we?
 
Carpet Bombing Culture’sPunk London 1977 zeroes in on the epicentre of where punk rock emanated from, i.e., the venue known as the Roxy situated in the middle of a derelict slum called Covent Garden via the photography of Derek Ridgers. 

The result is a collection of over one hundred and fifty photographs, which expertly and opulently document how birth was given to one of the most significant subcultural phenomena of the twentieth century.

No matter if you have been there and done that or joined the movement when it became more palatable in the mid-1990s, this book will engage your senses as it captures the spirit, youthful energy and uniqueness of the first wave of protagonists shaping a movement for which there was no blueprint at the time. The result is a raw and beautifully intense depiction of what rebellion looked like when it was in its most original state, long before it became commodified.

Highlights include photographs that I have not seen in this form before, e.g. Adam performing before Adam & The Ants formed; a very early incarnation of The Slits fronted by Ari; Debbie Harry channelling her exuberance at the Hammersmith Odeon and a youthful Dave Vanian of The Damned.

Given the quality of the abovementioned release, if you got a modicum of appreciation for underground culture, checking out Carpet Bombing Culture’s catalogue of releases is a mandatory exercise.

T • August 14, 2021

More recent blogposts

PJ Harvey @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt

Posted by T • March 14, 2025

PJ Harvey Sydney Opera House Forecourt 13 March 2025 Sydney, Australia photo courtesy of Daniel Boud and the Sydney Opera House.Caption Some artists perform. PJ Harvey transmutes. Like a figure walking between worlds, she never lingers too long in one place, never allows herself to fossilize into nostalgia. Instead, she reinvents - without ever severing the thread that binds her … Read more

The Get Up Kids/Ozma @ The Glass House 3/7/25

Posted by Aaron H • March 14, 2025

The Get Up Kids - Credit: AMH The Get Up Kids just finished the US leg of their 25th Anniversary Tour for their seminal album, Something To Write Home About with 2 nights at The Glass House in Pomona. Of course, I didn't wanna miss it. Following support from Indie-Rock band, Ozma -- who ran through tracks from their first … Read more

Chat Pile/Gouge Away @ The Glass House 2/22/25

Posted by Aaron H • March 4, 2025

Chat Pile Fans - Credit: AMH Chat Pile are about to wrap up their US West Coast and Canada tour with Gouge Away this week. I was fortunate enough to catch the sludgy rockers when they came through Pomona last week. Nightosphere - Credit: AMH Kansas City's Nightosphere has opened the shows every night. The trio's unique blend of shoegaze … Read more

Cursive/Pile @ The Glass House 2/14/25

Posted by Aaron H • February 18, 2025

Cursive - Photo Credit: AMH In a time of a lot of bullshit going on, spending Valentine's Day with my wife and Cursive at my favorite venue was a great escape. Cursive are out on the road in support of their newest album, Devourer, with support from Boston-Rock quartet, Pile. I hadn't previously heard of Pile and was surprised to … Read more

Luke Combs @ Accor Stadium

Posted by T • February 2, 2025

Luke Combs 01 February 2025 Accor Stadium Sydney, Australia On a balmy February evening in Sydney, country music fans from across NSW flocked to Accor Stadium for what promised to be a historic night. Luke Combs, the global superstar who has redefined modern country music, made history as the first country artist to headline a full stadium tour in Australia … Read more

Wardruna @ Enmore Theatre

Posted by T • January 28, 2025

Wardruna 25 January 2025 Enmore Theatre Sydney, Australia photo courtesy of Wardruna In the humid haze of a Sydney summer evening, the Enmore Theatre became a portal to another realm, a sacred space where time and place blurred. On January 25, 2025, Wardruna delivered a transcendent performance that not only captivated but transported its audience into the heart of Nordic … Read more

Best of 2024 Playlist

Posted by Loren • January 23, 2025

Sometimes I get all introspective and ask myself why I do this. Not very often, but the answer is always because I like music. It's that simple. I like to discover new stuff and I like to share it. Every year, the staff at Scene Point Blank sink a ton of time into 3 big Year End features. Part of … Read more

Lung @ Lee's Palace

Posted by Mirela Z. • December 10, 2024

Lung @ Lee's Palace Toronto, ON Canada November 19, 2024 Have you ever heard a distorted electric cello, with intense vocals and heavy drum beats? Powerhouse duo, cellist Kate Wakefield and drummer Daisy Caplan, are not to be underestimated! Seeing them for the first time perform live has left me wanting more! Read more

Better Lovers @ The Observatory 11/30/24

Posted by Aaron H • December 5, 2024

Better Lovers: Photo Credit - AMH Better Lovers are making the rounds again, this time with a new full-length LP, Highly Irresponsible, released earlier this Fall. The hardcore mash-up of ex-Dillinger Escape Plan and ex-Every Time I Die members recently brought their show to So-Cal, and I had the pleasure of seeing how things have been going since last year. … Read more

Rise Against/LSDunes/Cloud Nothings @ HOB 11/20/24

Posted by Aaron H • November 28, 2024

Rise Against Fans - Photo Credit: AMH Rise Against decided to hit the road this past fall and brought along L.S. Dunes. Depending on your city, different acts opened the show. Cleveland, Ohio's Cloud Nothings covered the crowd warm-up duties on their run through California. With a bill this stacked, I didn't want to miss it. Cloud Nothings - Photo … Read more

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025