Daniel Rachel, author and musician, talks about his book, This Ain't Rock'n'Roll: Pop Music, The Swastika, and the Third Reich. What do John Lennon, the Animals, the Rolling Stones, the Clash, Lady Gaga, Blondie, & Pink Floyd have in common? They all flirted with the imagery and theater of the Third Reich. From Keith Moon and Vivian Stanshall running around London in Nazi uniforms to Siouxsie Sioux and Sid Vicious brandishing swastikas in the pomp of punk, generations of performers have associated themselves in troubling ways with the aesthetics, mass hysteria, and even ideology of Nazism. Whether shock factor, stupidity, or crass attempts at subversion, rock ‘n’ roll has indulged these associations in a way not accepted in any other art form.

Daniel Rachel is a former musician-turned-award-winning and bestselling author.