Distortion and Subversion

Reviews / Votes

'Distortion and Subversion is a creative experiment. The author captivates the reader's interest while providing an accurate and engaging analysis of recent events in Brazil's urban history. Lopes de Barros's powerful narrative is comparable to the potency of the punk music he analyses... I believe that Rodrigo Lopes de Barros's book, which aroused so many nostalgic feelings in me, can provoke in readers the desire for better public transport in Brazil and beyond, and hope for a world without turnstiles.' Caio Fernandes Barbosa, NACLA 'The book sheds light on the different musical scenes that are part of contemporary Brazilian reality, pointing out challenges and contradictions that have yet to be overcome... The author's thesis serves as ammunition for the fight against injustice in cities, which is characterized by multiple disputes, and that reverberates in the unequal conditions of movement. Urbanities without disputes are lifeless urbanities. And the book demonstrates that there are disputes all the time, and that the manifestations of these disputes are a revealing part of our everyday experience.' Alessandro Dozena, Journal of Latin American Geography 'Distortion and Subversion is a worthy addition to scholarship on Brazilian social movements and on punk. As a Luso Brazilianist scholar a punk fan, I found it fascinating.' 'Lopes de Barros provides an intriguingly detailed account of the social interactions between the Brazilian underground punk scenes and the protests that took place in this country since the end of the 1990s. Therefore, this book works as a historical background to better understand not only Brazil's contemporary social struggles but also how social struggles are connected and shaped by a myriad of relationships across cities where music scenes are not isolated spaces, but are intertwined in the whole mesh of life's constantly unfolding metamorphoses.' Jan Koplow Villavicencio, American Music