1. Introduction

The Introduction offers a brief overview of altcom, punk, and some of the intersections between them. It also outlines the chapter trajectory, and sets up a theoretical framework, with a commentary on its applicability. Postmodernism offers a route through perceptions of the ‘postmodern’ condition at that juncture (late 1970s–early 1980s, on the brink of intensification into blatant neoliberalism, with Thatcher’s rise to government as one turning point). Derridean deconstruction is also suggested as presenting certain similarities with the punk approach, as well as being a way to explore the heterogeneity within an apparently coherent structure—this has implications for the possibilities and the politics of resistance.