Book Review: Pandemic! 2: Chronicles of a Time Lost

Abstract

socialist, drew on ‘the heritage of 1968 and hippiedom during the crisis of the post-war social democratic settlement and the beginnings of neoliberalism’ and it was this especially ‘potent context’ that made his work so powerful (p. 272). This is not to deny his agency or his sheer charisma, but rather to locate it within a formative sociohistorical environment that goes a long way to explaining his enduring resonance. Whether Strummer’s influence will endure into the long, unwritten future is unclear. The romantics who attend events such as Strummer of Love and International Clash Day will surely hope so. Gall, pragmatic and objective to the last, ends the book with thoughts on the conditions necessary to sustain Strummer’s relevance, and on the importance of further exploring music as a ‘terrain of struggle’ in the ‘culture wars’ (p. 278). Readers seeking another Strummer hagiography will be disappointed; those seeking an insightful, thought-provoking and inspiring analysis of popular music’s intersections with politics, and a critical dissection of the musician’s role in promoting political ideals, will be delighted.