Reflections on a Revolutionary and Music

Abstract

After spending years in prison for armed actions with the French urban guerrilla group Action directe, Jean-Marc Rouillan shared in an interview his reflections on the role of music in his political development and on the broader politics of rock‘n’roll. This essay responds to Rouillan’s reflections. Noting rock‘n’roll’s dual identity as rebel music and a mass commercial enterprise, the essay sees hopefulness, naiveté, and arrogance in Rouillan’s insistence that to stay true to its roots rock music must shun profit. The essay argues the value of recovering radical moments in popular culture while cautioning against idealizing cultural forms.

Keywords

• Action directe
• Clash
• rock‘n’roll
• Bowie (David)
• Clapton (Eric)
• Garcia (Jerry)