Daniel Avery, Instagram reel
“My final verdict is that the book is so readable I want to re-read a few chapters again, just live in all this music and splendor... A lot of humor and wit, some post-40 wisdom that only comes from looking back…. The mention of REM's Murmur as an American Cocteau Twins (backed up with interviews and writing of the time) is a reminder as to why I enjoy reading Reynolds and loved getting these dispatches; there is new knowledge, new lenses of appreciation.
- WaneLietoc, r/indieheads, Reddit
"An insightful history, mixed with fond memoires of writing for Melody Maker, one of the weekly "inkies" in the UK's exuberantly opinionated music press ― Financial Times, Best Books of the Summer
!NEW!
Very fun chat with Fran and Babs at Overunderrated Podcast
Very nice review by Eamon Sweeney for Arena on RTE Radio 1
Interview with David Eastaugh for the C86 Radio Show podcast – main site or Spotify
interview with BBC Radio 6 Huw Stephens
Check out Instagram.com/simonreynoldswriter/ for the latest news about the book
IMMINENT
Interview with Robert Quinn / Wasteland Receiver (Resonance FM) - soon
interview with Robin Allender for The Allender Calendar podcast - soon
RECENT AND OLDER COVERAGE
Lovely long review from Susanne Christensen for the pan-Scandinavian arts magazine Vagant
Extract from Still In A Dream at The Wire website - on the dawn of post-rock versus the rise of Britpop, Seefeel versus Pulp...
Kieran Press-Reynolds chats with Dad for GQ - long, rambling, occasionally goofy colloquy with my firstborn
My Baker's Dozen on reinvention of the guitar at The Quietus - with a YouTube playlist to accompany.
Moonbuilding - lovely review by Neil Mason (scroll down a ways)
Matt Moore at Lost Tempo appraises not just the new book but the entire Reynolds bibliography
Financial Times best books of the summer
Word In Your Ear podcast - fun chat with Mark Ellen and David Hepworth - Word In Your Ear podcast - the episode with me now available on Apple and YouTube
Quietus news story by Christian Eede on Still In A Dream, with comments from myself and from the cover designer Henri Holz
"Still in a Dream is Reynolds' clearest attempt to write close to his own life, with attention directed towards his work in the Melody Maker editorial office and the love affair with the American journalist Joy Press, to whom he is now married. This forms the framework for some overarching thoughts about work (what society wants from you) versus art (dreams and desires) and what opportunities existed in the transition between the 1980s and 1990s to escape society's expectations and create alternative worlds that went under the radar of a more utilitarian parent generation.
"One of the best things about Still in a Dream is the many descriptions of the material conditions under which the music – and Reynolds’ own journalism – came into being…. A small gap exists in time where they can create a life outside the demands of society. There is room to dream, and thus the music also sounded floating and yearning….
"Compared to Reynolds’ previous books…. Still in a Dream is a broader account of the connections between the individual and the collective and how cultural currents can wash through us and create oceanic trends…. Reynolds weaves all these stories together and gives a kind of portrait of a moment in time. The stories about being a music journalist in London, and what this community was about, are some of the most interesting things about the book. He takes self-criticism at some points and surprises with his music historical revisionism…. Reynolds is aware that the many journalistic conceptualizations have not always been for the best... In Still in a Dream Reynolds tries to sneak away from the labels. It fits well with the dream theme. He captures some currents under the language, and some melodic textures outside the reach of the official narratives. Maybe it's possible to bathe in the pink mist and still have new experiences." - Susanne Christensen, Vagant
"Simon Reynolds is the kind of music writer who makes you want to rush out and listen to a hundred bands you have either never heard of or heard of / meant to check out / never got round to. If you dabbled with any of his previous books (Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84 is one of our particular faves) you’ll need little encouragement to make a beeline for this one..... An essential purchase for the muso in your life, Still in a Dream is as entertaining, informative and combative as a night out with your gig going buddies." - Bookmunch
"Through the fug of nostalgic haze, [Reynolds] brings his subjects and their times to crystal-clear life, with plenty of the kind of new, exciting pin-sharp thought we came to adore from the very best of the weekly music press . . . Still in a Dream acts beautifully as a thorough, thoughtful examination of the many featured bands and their music, as an encapsulation of the societies in which they emerged, and as a memoir of the formative years of Reynolds' adult life" -- David Pollock ― Record Collector
"His writing is passionate. . . it's a thrill ride. If you weren't there, you'll wish you had been" - Uncut
"An insightful history, mixed with fond memoires of writing for Melody Maker, one of the weekly "inkies" in the UK's exuberantly opinionated music press ― Financial Times, Best Books of the Summer
"We know and appreciate the Simon Reynolds authority and formula but, Still in a Dream, is worth more than the value of considered critical conversation . . . not so much a memoir or biography, unravelling the person, but a grand hat tip and bow to the bands and their music . . . In the end, Still in a Dream will be personal for some readers too: triggering stops and starts as you retrieve vinyl, CDs and other memorabilia to revisit with fresh interest" -- Ngaire Ruth ― Louder Than War
"For those of us who lived through the late 80s and early 90s, it’s a bit disconcerting to see this period of music eulogised through multiple articles and books. But every so often, a ‘must-read’ book emerges from this literary mountain, and Simon Reynolds, ex-Melody Maker journalist, has written a remarkably detailed account of what you might term alternative music.... There are some interesting stories from the perspective of somebody who was definitely there and most likely wore the t-shirt. It’s one for the music nerds, but it’s written with a real sense of joy. Even the most ardent student of this period will surely not be familiar with everything here; there’s plenty of scope to learn... It’s an extraordinarily detailed work, nostalgia for a pre-Internet age. It will be of interest to anybody interested in the music of the period" - No More Workhorse
"Still in a Dream is not only a masterful cultural and social archaeology, like the in-depth analysis of post-punk Rip It Up and Start Again... or the critique of the stagnation of contemporary pop Retromania ... Reynolds' new work is also a consolidation of his own memories hidden in articles, interviews and concert reports, which leave traces of the printing ink on his fingers even after four decades."- Richard Imrich, Fullmoon
"I've never dropped everything so fast to read a book immediately after receiving my pre-order.... It's a good book. It met my sky-high expectations" - Richard Balmer (Goodreads)
"Long-awaited follow-up to the 2006 classic Rip it Up and Start Again. And by far the best Simon Reynolds has written.... Nearly every band covered in this book I fell in love with; the music, the way they looked and dressed, the music press at the time... the concerts and festivals I attended when these bands were in their pomp. I feel privileged to have been at an age to appreciate everything going on around 84/85/86/87. Reading this I get exactly the same impression that Simon Reynolds had, and this privilege and passion pours off every page. If you were my age around the time period of this book. If you fell in love with any/all of the band's mentioned in this book, then this is a book for you. A perfect accompaniment to his Rip It Up and Start Again. Thank you Simon for bringing back so many memories. Highly recommended." - - Bookends (Amazon.co.uk reviewer)
"Enjoyed this more than Reynolds’ “Rip It Up and Start Again”... Much more personal and sensational than his recounting of Post Punk history. These years clearly have much fondness attached to them from him which makes this a joy to read." - Aaron Hodgetts (Goodreads)
"Reynolds is a great writer. Many visceral, haptic descriptions of music that made me immediately put the book down and look up whatever song he was waxing lyrical about.... I loved hearing Reynolds discuss the critical 'battles' which took place within the independent music zine world (who did Melody Maker think was the future of music, and how did this show that NME's position was retrograde, old hat, soporific?). A lot of this reads like an impassioned plea for the value of criticism. It reminded me of how much I owe my aesthetic taste to those who write about art, who helped me see its value – it's beauty." - Luke McCarthy (Goodreads)
"Reynolds is one of the sharpest minds in music journalism, and like his other excellent books, this one is no disappointment. Taking a HUGE area of music to cover, he depicts his time writing for Melody Maker in the 80s / 90s and the emerging explosion in indie rock." - Nick Cubs (Goodreads)
ENDORSEMENTS
"Still in a Dream is more than just a celebration of some enduringly wonderful music - it's a great book full stop, Reynolds' best yet. Bringing together the sugar hiccup enthusiasms of his music press youth with the harsh wisdom of his extremely online old age, it covers everything from the sensual sublimity of the Cocteau Twins to Big Black and the genesis of edgelordism, from the little undergrounds of C86 and shoegaze to the pyrrhic overground victories of Grunge and Britpop. It's warm, funny, sometimes startlingly honest, and a very timely reminder that 'withdrawal in disgust is not the same thing as apathy'
- Owen Hatherley, author of Militant Modernism and The Alienation Effect
"Still in a Dream is as important a work of art as any of the records that inspired it. Simon Reynolds's erudition and judgement is at the service of the music he so passionately loves, his words meeting the songs on an equal footing thanks to an innate lack of ego which allows his insights to float amidst the notes in an ether of sonic luminosity
- Tariq Goddard, founder of Repeater Books and author High John the Conqueror
'Much like the melodies of the music itself, this book feels like a story which has been waiting to burst out and shine for an eternity. Every band detail is fascinating but the real joy lies in Reynolds being entirely enraptured by a scene, the tales of someone blissfully caught in the heart of a storm'
- Daniel Avery, deejay and producer
‘The alternative guitar rock of the late 80s was imaginative, expansive, experimental, and ultimately - and perhaps unexpectedly - proved to have a lasting impact on the way pop sounds in the 21st Century. Simon Reynolds was there, filing dispatches from rock's cutting edge: part-memoir of a lost world of music journalism, part critical analysis, Still In A Dream brings an important and exhilarating era vividly to life’
- Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
PLAYLISTS AND FOOTNOTES
Still In A Dream YouTube playlist
Early activity here at the Still In A Dream Footnotes blog - The Lost Epigraphs and Lodestar Quotations - with much more to follow in due course
TRANSLATIONS
German version from Ventil Verlag. November 2026
American translation on Da Capo January 2027
Spanish language version is due from Caja Negra Editora in Argentina. 2027.
Italian version from Minimum Fax. 2027
French version from Audimat. 2028
"American translation"? So will Pavement become Sidewalk?
ReplyDeleteJust got the book and very much looking forward to getting stuck in. I had to laugh at the “Howard fucking Jones” bit, I suspect your reasons for this would fill a sizeable novella of its own! Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI just thought it was self-explanatory! Mainly I had no idea he had a career that late in the Eighties.
DeleteYour sheer wrath!! He hasn’t gone away either, he was on the cover of Classic Pop a while ago. A magazine I thoroughly enjoy reading, having been an ‘80s pop kid that subsequently discovered the British music press. I got hooked on the NME with occasional dips into Melody Maker, which may have been due to availability in regional Australia as much as anything else. And how much I could afford to spend. I’ll stop there, cheers Simon.
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