With many incarnations, The Fall (1976-2018) were one of the most influential bands to emerge in the British Post-Punk Scene. Their unique sound and distinct iconography have had a lasting impact on music fans and performers alike. This book disassembles The Fall’s significant contribution to music. Based on up-to-date original research, the book separates fact from fiction and offers a thorough investigation into The Fall and their founder/leader Mark E Smith, in particular. Given The Fall’s complexities (their wide range of influences; multiple line-ups and ‘anti-music’ stance), the book draws upon a wide range of academic disciplines, including ethnomusicology, sociology, literary theory, linguistics, journalism, cultural studies, and film and media studies, in order to unpack the group’s influence and legacy.
Foreword: (Gavin Friday) Introduction: Mr Sociological Memory Man (Martin Power and Eoin Devereux) Chapter 1: Spoiling all the Paintwork: Mark E. Smith, Art Renegade (K. A. Laity) Chapter 2: Suzanne Smith in Conversation with Eoin Devereux Chapter 3: ‘A letter so simple, yet disgusting in a stroke’: writing-out the (typo) graphic strangeness of The Fall (Paul Wilson) Chapter 4: Psykick Dancehall – the paranormal world of Mark E. Smith and The Fall (Ben Lawley) Chapter 5: ‘You can leave me on the shelf’: The death of The Fall and Mark E. Smith (Martin Myers) Chapter 6: Dead Beat Descendant: Mark E Smith’s Life, Death and Mourning as a Cult Hero (John Fleming) Chapter 7: “What’s a computer?” Corpus linguistic software v the complete Fall lyrics. (Matt Davies) Chapter 8: Searching for the right word or phrase that would put a chill up the spine… Investigating the lyrics of Mark E. Smith using thematic and corpus-based discourse analyses. (Elaine Vaughan, Brian Clancy and Eoin Devereux) Chapter 9: I Am Damo Suzuki Lost In Music. (Mike Glennon) Chapter 10: Remembrancer/Rememorator/Amorator: Oblique Tactics and Clear Intentions in The Fall's The Remainderer EP. (Samuel Flannagan) Chapter 11: Literary Perversion. (Kieran Cashel) Chapter 12: The Fall In Ireland (Michael Mary Murphy) Chapter 13: Montagu Lomax and The Fall: ‘The Madness in My Area’ (David Meagher and John McFarland)
Eoin Devereux is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick, Ireland and Adjunct Professor in Contemporary Culture at the University of Jyvasklya, Finland. Martin J. Power is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick, Ireland.
Reviews for Always Different, Always the Same: Critical Essays on The Fall
At last! The brilliant, wry and acerbic Mark E. Smith gets a book that perfectly captures the multi-dimensional, complicated and always fascinating artist he was. Eoin Devereux and Martin Power's Always Different, Always the Same: Critical Essays on the Fall provide a well-rounded portrait of the Mancunian legend that will thrill die-hard fans and new converts alike.
