Editing Psychobilly (section)

===Lyrical style===
Lyrically, psychobilly bands tend to favor topics and imagery drawn from [[horror films|horror]], [[science fiction]] and [[exploitation films]], [[violence]], lurid [[human sexuality|sexuality]], and other [[taboo]] topics, usually presented in a comedic or [[tongue-in-cheek]] fashion reminiscent of the [[camp (style)|camp aesthetic]]. Shawn McIntosh and Marc Leverette note that while rockabilly and punk scenes took their retro "nostalgia very seriously, striving for authenticity", in the psychobilly scene, the "aesthetics of kitsch, camp and cheese" are openly embraced.<ref name=mcintosh>{{cite book |last1=Leverette |first1=Marc |author-link1=Marc Leverette |first2=Shawn |last2=McIntosh |title=Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead |year=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810860438}}</ref>

Psychobilly bands drew on "all eras of horror, from Gothic novels and classic films to schlocky cold war flicks to psychological thrillers and splatter films."<ref name=mcintosh /> Psychobilly songs make reference to slashers (The Meteor's ''Michael Myers'') and serial killers (e.g., The Frantic Flintstone's ''Jack the Ripper'').<ref name=mcintosh /> Most acts avoid "serious" subjects such as politics. Original psychobilly act [[The Meteors]] articulated a very [[politics|apolitical]] stance to the scene, a reaction to the right- and left-wing political attitudes dividing British youth cultures of the late 1970s and early 1980s.<ref name="Downey, 77"/> This attitude has carried through later generations of psychobilly. [[Nekromantix]] frontman [[Kim Nekroman]] describes: "We are all different people and have different political views. Psychobilly is all about having fun. Politics is not fun and therefore has nothing to do with psychobilly!"<ref name="Downey, 78"/>
Nate Katz explains the rationale for psychobilly's apolitical stance as follows:<ref name="furious.com"/>
<blockquote>
1980 was an important year for Britain. Recently elected [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s policies led to a drastic decline in employment, especially among the blue collared and youth (Kim, 2005). A year later, there were five [[race riot]]s within the London area... On a political level, London was incredibly tense. Fans of psychobilly (known as psychos) wanted none of this, or at the very least a break from the stress created by the political world. By establishing an unwritten rule that the music was to be [[apolitical]], psychobilly music became a method of escape from the real world.</blockquote>

Katz notes that at the "same time [in the 1980s], the revival of the B-movie, particularly the return of horror movies, occurred...[,] such as ''The Howling'', ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'', a remake of ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'', ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'', and ''An American Werewolf in London'' (All 80s Movies). Psychos gravitated towards these movies due to their lack of seriousness, mindless gore, and enjoyed the throwback to the original [[B-movies]] of the 1950s."<ref name="furious.com"/>