Post-punk’s critical antagonism has been replaced by pop’s PR-driven complacency

Evidence

If the revolutionary tumult of the post-punk era was characterised by restless dissatisfaction, anxiety, uncertainty, rage, harshness, unfairness — that is, by an atmosphere of relentless criticism — today’s pop scene is suffused with laxness, bland acceptance, quiescent hedonism, luxuriant self-satisfaction (ALL those awards shows!) — that is, by PR. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1090

Categorization

• XREF: Extends ch12 and ch61 on what ended with punk; the criticism-vs-PR polarity joins Fisher’s recurring account of how the culture industry absorbed antagonism. — connects to: Entryism turned punk’s flaunted seams into Photoshopped seamless pop; Serious pop criticism contested common sense while popism ratifies consumerism — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1212; Post-punk’s critical stance is not repressed but made unthinkable by late capitalist pop culture. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1006

Broader Connections

• Serious pop criticism contested common sense while popism ratifies consumerism #corroborates (0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1212