A review by gjpeace
Postcapitalist Desire by Mark Fisher

4.0

I’m definitely not well-versed enough in all the theory being worked through here, but, to Fisher’s credit, his teaching makes me WANT to be. (The passages he picks out from Lyotard, for instance, have had me seriously considering buying Libidinal Economy all week, despite knowing there’s a slim chance I’d ever read the whole thing.) I’d imagine this is more interesting on the whole to those who are familiar with Lyotard, Delueze & Guattari, Lukács, Nick Land, and Marcuse, who all provide the theoretical foundation for much of the discussions. Those seeking more of Fisher’s writing on music and pop culture would be better off looking elsewhere—though this may reveal to you, too, that you’re more interested in Marxist theory than you thought you were.

One of my best friends and I talk often of albums that are “for the heads,” albums with a lukewarm critical (even audience) reception that are actually essential to the artist’s discography or exploration of their overall sound. (Some relatively recent examples that come to mind: Radiohead’s King of Limbs, Sufjan’s Ascension, Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz.) This seems to me like a book for the heads.