Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers the origins and development of Do-it-yourself (DIY) culture and practice in relation to music and associated forms of underground and alternative scenes since the emergence of punk in the mid-1970s. It shows how underground music scenes within cities have been celebrated or condemned for their visibility. The book examines the connections between music, youth culture and urban life using a perspective drawn from case studies undertaken in Catalonia and Mexico. It focuses on the construction of gender in alternative music-based youth cultures. The book also examines Home Economics, a Wellington-based, semi-regular event organized by an initiative of local artists who transform homes into underground performance spaces. It offers important insights regarding the various contexts within and around which collective memories become embedded in forms of underground and alternative music and associated forms of DIY cultural practice.