Saturday, September 01, 2007

Books I've been reading

Nation of Rebels: Why Counter Culture Became Consumer Culture by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter. This is an interesting book on how capitalism thrives on the so called "rebels" who try to "culture jam" the capitalist system. While capitalism has remained resilient in the face of culture jamming, other aspects of our culture--- for better or worse-- haven't.

Can't Stop Won't Stop about the history of hip-hop by Jeff Chang. Hip-hop, as with early rock n' roll before it, has the moral authority it has because it has been a force for a certain amount of cultural integration across the races.

from the other side of the pond:

Herd: How To Change Mass Behaviour By Harnessing Our True Nature by Mark Earls. I'm always interested in the brand marketing crowd's ever more sophisticated ways of trying to influence us.

Willing Slaves: How The Overwork Culture Is Ruling Our Lives by Madeleine Bunting.