Swing!

V. Vale has served as the counter-culture's principle archivist and preservationist. The richly varied subjects of his books read like an anthology of dissent with the status quo. The potentcy of each topic is (or at least was) due in part to its' rupture with the overall views of the general public. The work is comprehensive, thurough and has always provided a great deal of insight to the subject, oftentimes in the subject's own words. SWING! is no exception. It is the definitive text to the what, the who, the wheres and the whys of the neo-swing movement. The one problem I have is that every time Vale releases another great book on another sub-culture, it doesn't seem to be soon after that that sub-group is eventually consumed by the status quo... castrating the subject of its' adverse positioning which debilitates its' power altogether. In this respect Mr. Vale is much like Columbus: A passionate explorer who's arrival foreshadows the coming of many uninvited strangers. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed this book very much. All the musicians, dancers and other luminaries are very commited to this thing that they love very much. Though such a thing tends to be its' own reward, the dedication should be recognized, accredited and applauded which is exactly what this book does. At the same time, there is the imfamous GAP advert as well as some automobile commercials, The Cherry Poppin' Daddy's in an ad for BEST BUY and, of course, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy appearing on MELROSE PLACE, as the halftime entertainment at the ROSE BOWL (complete with flag twirlers in sequense fedoras) and the up-coming SUPERBOWL. In one respect, all this popularity has enabled some great musicians to make a full time living at what they do best and they deserve to cash-in. On the other hand, all this hype does seem to detach from this thing most of what made it interesting to begin with. Like so many others before it, the Neo-Swing scene seems less and less disposed to define itself on its' own terms and more at the mercy of how it is pecieved by an outside population of faddists and other avid magazine subscribers. For me, one of the most appealing things about going to rockabilly and swing shows was the noticeable LACK of Yuppies. That was three years ago. Today, kookery abounds. More actors than action. Too bad.

THE INTERVEIWS ARE GREAT AND ITS CHEAP ITS A GREAT DEA

This book interviews over 15 of the major bands including big players like Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. In addition to the bands, this book covers multiple swing dance groups, clubs, and record labels. For those topics where words simply aren't enough, this book packs hundreds of pictures from milestone preformances to Vice Grip's 1947 Cadillac to Mark Jordan's vintage tie collection.

This book was sooo good. It gave many interviews and tons of pictures. As well as venues where you can go swing dancing. It had lists of bands and music to listen to and go see. I thought this book was really good and everyone who loves swing dancing and swing music should have this book.

I don't really have another book to compare this one to. It has references to tons of Swing people in the San Francisco Area. I am a fan of most of the groups that are featured in it (especially Lee Press-On & the Nails). It gives good places to buy vintage looking clothes, shoes, ties, etc. But if you don't live near S.F. then the addresses of stores won't really help. Overall I enjoyed the book, and I believe it is well worth buying. It also has some very good photos in it.