New Books Network Max Brzezinski, "Under Pressure: A Song by David Bowie and Queen" (Duke UP, 2025)
Dec 19, 2025
Max Brzezinski, a scholar of popular music and author of 'Under Pressure,' explores the iconic David Bowie-Queen collaboration that changed pop anthems forever. He delves into the song's creation amidst contentious studio sessions in the early '80s and discusses its themes of collective struggle and societal pressure. Brzezinski contrasts Bowie and Mercury's perspectives and analyses how 'Under Pressure' reflects late-capitalist challenges while integrating various forms of love. Ultimately, he highlights the song's ongoing relevance in today's political landscape.
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Anthems Reimagined As Emotional Collective Tools
- Anthems shifted from institutional propaganda to emotional, collective touchstones across the 20th century.
- Max Brzezinski argues pop anthems repurpose collective feeling to model new social imaginations.
Deindustrialization Fragmented Collective Music
- Postwar cultural shifts and deindustrialization weakened large totalizing collective projects.
- This fragmentation pushed anthems toward either niche subculture songs or generic, feel‑good pop anthems.
Hendrix Turned An Anthem Into War Sound
- Jimi Hendrix's Star-Spangled Banner performance inserted machine‑gun and warfare sonics into the anthem form.
- Brzezinski contrasts that charged performance with Brian May's more virtuosic, less political take.