Wisdom Of The Punk Buddha By Sam Marsh
(Earth Island Books here)

Before reading this book, I felt that I knew a bit about punk rock and nothing at all about Buddhism.

Having finished it, I'm pleased to say I know a bit more about both.

Sam Marsh may well be known to R*E*P*E*A*T readers as the incredibly talented and uniquely powerful singing drummer behind the wonderfully creative and trail blazing band Bury St Edmund's band, Jacob's Mouse. Then there is his work with Machismo's, Volunteers and more. He also masters all our releases, his Midas like powers ensuring that even wobbly flexis sound like solid gold.

Now this book reveals a completely different side to his character and his skill set.

If you too think that you know a little about Punk and about Buddhism, you might have thought that there would be very little connection between the two. Allow Sam to enlighten you! He links the rebelliousness of punk with the anti materialist philosophy of Buddhism by counterposing amusing, well crafted and very intelligible poems with slightly deeper pieces of prose. This prose draws on personal lived and relatable experience to make even complex ideas understandable, which the poems then illuminate with humour and a deftly light touch to illustrate the theological points being made. Together they combine to show how the best way to achieve peace is to move beyond continual wanting, beyond non stop self promotion and ceaseless senseless striving. Realistic examples are then given as to how this can achieved, or at least begun to be achieved.

As the book progresses you realize there is indeed a link between these aims and Punk rock's rejection of similar rapaciousness, as it its best, it too seeks to find something beyond the thin sound of the mundane nine to five billboard ideal : 'Same old boring Sunday morning, old men out washing their cars'.

As I see it, this isn't to say that campaigning for a better, fairer, kinder world isn't laudable – just that this better world shouldn't be all about commodity fetishism.

I thoroughly enjoyed this original, well written, lovingly produced and thought provoking little book and recommend it to anybody who enjoys Punk or Buddhism, or just wants to know a bit more about the world and how to improve it.

Rosey R*E*P*E*A*T
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Wisdom Of The Punk Buddha By Sam Marsh is available in book shops or direct from Earth Island Books here.

They also publish our very own punk poet Tim Satchwell's 'Combat Rock'; incredibly kindly, they also sent me a copy of the 600+ page intriguing account of the US DIY scene 'A Hardcore Heart' along with Sam's book, which must have tripled their postage costs... Thank you!

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As 'a humble Buddhist Punk', Sam won't like me mentioning the genius of his musical creations, but they really are extraordinary; worth sharing and enjoying.

There's a brilliant article on Jacob's Mouse here and a lot of their work can be heard on Spotify and other streaming stealing stations.

You can also buy selected Jacob's Mouse, The Machismo's and related sounds digitally from Bandcamp here
https://sturmunddrangrecordings.bandcamp.com/

And we have very small quantities of Jacob's Mouse and The Machismo's vinyls and CDs here sold in aid of Love Music Hate Racism, best to check stock before ordering!

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