A Kiss across the Ocean: Transatlantic Intimacies of British Post-Punk and US Latinidad

A Kiss across the Ocean explores the relationship between British post-punk musicians and their Latinx audiences in the US since the 1980s, highlighting the influence of Latinx culture on their music and styles.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 06 July 2022
Publisher: Duke University Press

A Kiss across the Ocean: Richard T. RodrÍguez explores the connection between British post-punk musicians and their Latinx audiences in the United States since the 1980s. Through a blend of memoir and cultural criticism, he highlights influential bands and performers such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam Ant, Bauhaus, Soft Cell, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Pet Shop Boys. Rodríguez emphasizes the importance of these bands for Latinx kids, highlighting their identification with their glamorous performance of difference. He explores how Latinx culture influenced British post-punk, citing examples such as Siouxsie Sioux's inspiration from Latinx contemporaries and cultural practices and Soft Cell singer Marc Almonds' lyrics attuned to the vibrancy of queer Latinidad. Rodríguez traces the fandom networks that connect these groups across space and time, illuminating how popular music establishes and facilitates intimate relations across the Atlantic. He demonstrates how the music and styles of the 1980s continue to hold significant sway over younger generations, who are equally enthused by their matchlessly pleasurable and political reverberations.

Weight: 358g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478018582