Van M. Cagle, Ph.D.'s Page

Van Cagle: Summary:

VAN M. CAGLE, ROCK and ROLL AUTHOR, NEW YORK, NY

RECONSTRUCTING POP/SUBCULTURE: ART, ROCK, AND ANDY WARHOL
by Van M. Cagle

Reconstructing Pop/Subculture is first and only book to trace the multiple ways in which Andy Warhol’s pop art ethos, style, and Factory Subculture directly affected musicians such as the Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Lou Reed (solo), The New York Dolls, and numerous punk bands, including The Ramones and the Sex Pistols. In addition, the book examines how glam, glitter, punk, and post-punk subcultures in the U.S. maintained a startling and calculated resistance to adult cultures, while also directly impacting the commercial music business of the past 30 years.

“The book is brilliant. It stands alone as the best book ever written about the relationship between rock and roll and youth style.” Richard J. Johnson, Rock and Roll Experience Magazine

“Reconstructing Pop/Subculture is the most definitive book ever to address the inner-connectedness between pop art, rock and roll, and youth subcultures. The book is a must-read for all of those who are interested in the history of rock and roll.” Andrew Goldman, Maximum Rock and Roll

“Cagle provides a fascinating look at the socially complex worlds of youth subcultures and their impact on mass-mediated style. This is a provocative and highly recommended text.” Holly Kruse, Journal of Cultural Studies

RECENT BOOK CHAPTERS BY VAN M. CAGLE:
FLAUNTING IT: STYLE, IDENTITY AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ELVIS FANDOM, IN AFTERLIFE AS AFTERIMAGE: UNDERSTANDING POSTHUMOUS FAME.
Van Cagle spent 5 years studying two hundred 18-24 year-old British Elvis fans, most of whom dress in full “1950’s style rockabilly regalia,” and only prefer Elvis’s mid-1950s Sun Studio recordings. Cagle’s account of his experiences with these fans leads to a rich analysis that examines the reasons why today’s working class young people willfully employ Elvis’s rockabilly fashions and attitudes as a way of publicly announcing their socio-economic class. The chapter concludes with a comprehensive discussion of the negative interpretations given to this process by both British and U.S. newspapers.

“Cagle’s brilliantly conceived and clearly argued discussion of young, working class Elvis fans does much more than offer insights regarding this seminal phenomenon. It presents and reaffirms the proper use of media research in understanding the role of popular culture in our lives.” Herbert Gans, Journal of Social Research

CONTEXTUALISM AND IDENTITY POLITICS, published in GOLDEN YEARS, August 2008.

As a result of conducting over 250 fan interviews, the chapter analyzes the numerous ways in which fans perceive the (sometimes fluctuating) sexual identities of onstage rock and roll performers. In December 2007, the chapter won the most prestigious global award in the category of “nonfiction, popular music studies”: The Steirischer Herbst 2007 International Award for Outstanding Publication, Popular Music.” This award is the highest international honor that can be bestowed upon one’s nonfiction writing in the area of popular music.

“Cagle turns the heat up on the music that many love to hate. He takes us to the fresh side of media analysis, offering intriguing views of the ways production as well as reception have played a role in the development of seminal rock and roll acts of the past twenty years.” Alexander Doty, The Advocate

Van M. Cagle began his writing career in the mid-1970s/early 1980s. He is one of the original writers for Creem Magazine as well as New York’s infamous PUNK MAGAZINE---the magazine that, as editor John Holmstrom has stated, “started it all.” http://www.punkmagazine.com/

He is a former music publicist and band manager having promotional campaigns for Iggy Pop Willie Nelson, Alice Cooper, SCREAMS, The New York Dolls, The Ramones, CRUCIAL, and numerous other singers/ bands. In the late 1980s Van served as a concert promoter, and managed over 100 nationwide concerts. In addition, he has served as a popular music instructor at Tulane University and The University of Illinois--where he taught courses in the history of rock and roll, fundamentals of the music business, the history of youth culture, and the history of youth subcultures. In August 2000, Van moved to NYC, where he continues to write and publish, while concurrently serving as a media consultant for a wide range of companies, including ABC Daytime, YouTube, MySpace, NBC, CBS, ESPN, Lifetime Television, Nickelodeon, and PBS. If you are a singer/band member, Mail Artist, or Artistamp artist, Van may be contacted to discuss potential articles (especially his forthcoming book on Mail Art and Stamp Art)

TO ALL MAIL/STAMP ARTISTS:
Van is currently working on a book on Mail Art and Artiststamps. He would greatly enjoy communicating with you and/or receiving Mail Art/Artistamps. Send him an email at vancagle@earthlink.net for further information.

Best, Van Cagle