Death Trip

Michael S. Begnal teaches rhetorical and creative writing. His previous books include The Music and Noise of the Stooges, 1967–71: Lost in the Future (2022).

Michael S Begnal's book is diligently researched but passionately engaged with the times and temperature of this wanton act of creativity/destruction . . . a brilliant, compulsive read. - Chris Roberts, Classic RockScholarly, overflowing with detail, supremely well researched and written with genuine enthusiasm and an impressive depth of historical insight, Death Trip documents The Stooges’ journey from post-Elektra dead end oblivion to their miraculous resurrection as Iggy & The Stooges in London in the summer of 1972 . . . Anyone who considers Raw Power to be one of the defining albums of the ‘70s and the savage harbinger of the sound and attitude of punk needs this book. - Grahame Bent, Shindig!American poet and academic Begnal has written a definitive study of The Stooges around their creation of Raw Power. The book is meticulously researched, with the author accessing the archives of long-gone fanzines and rock magazines and interviewing many who were in The Stooges' orbit at the time . . . Punk fans will enjoy Begnal's ability to create a clear narrative of a band that thrived on chaos. And cultural studies types will appreciate his placement of Raw Power as a direct response to the Vietnam War. - Joel Lewis, The WireAs Begnal shows in this focused study, Raw Power captures a band caught between competing impulses toward recognition and toward self-destruction. Drawing on interviews, archival sources, and cultural theory, Begnal places the album within the broader disillusionment of the post-sixties era and the circumstances that sparked punk rock’s emergence as a genre . . . For fans of punk history and music studies, Begnal makes a persuasive case for Raw Power as a foundational work. - BooklistFans of Iggy and the Stooges, as well as general rock history enthusiasts, will appreciate this insight into an iconic album and band. - Library JournalWith scholarship rather than machismo, intelligence rather than bluster, Michael S. Begnal gets to the heart of the Stooges’ lortuous and lonely road to Raw Power: one of the greatest albums ever made. - Jon Savage, author of England’s Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk RockA kaleidoscopic study that criss-crosses and brilliantly illuminates the Stooges’ second act. Michael S. Begnal brings together the methodology of a scholar with the enthusiasm and knowledge of a life-long fan. Death Trip will enthral, inform and entertain die-hard and casual devotees alike as it elucidates, through the story of Raw Power, the lost history of punk before the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. - Peter Stanfield, author of The Yardbirds