based on the title of Greil Marcus' 1989 book 'Lipstick traces: a secret history of the 20th century'.in this book Marcus analyzes punk music (mainly Sex Pistols, see be a man. be someone. kill someone. be a man. kill... and The Clash, see rudi can't fail) in relation to the thoughts of the situationists (see twentieth century architects should be building ad... and young guys, young girls. talent wanted for getting...), the dadaists and others.

Marcus' three assumptions are: that nothing very much came out of America; that the British punk scene was "a sort of giant answer record" to 'Anarchy in the U.

K.'; and that Johnny Rotten's singing was a semi-conscious articulation of the entire Situationist / Dada / Cathar heritage.

In 2002 the Foundy Theatre performed a play, based on Greil Marcus' book.

Lipstick traces is also the title of a CD, which was published as the soundtrack of the book. This CD features songs from punkbands and spoken word-tracks from people like Guy Debord (see adventure is dead., spectators of suicide, the days of this society are numbered. its reasons... and work is only justified by leisure time. to admit t...).

The title of the book and the CD are taken from the title of a song by New Orleans R&B vocalist Benny Spellman, who had a major hit in 1962 with 'Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)'.the phrase 'secret history' also refers to the 1996 novel 'the secret history', by MYSTERIOUS AMERICAN writer donna tartt (1963). This book tells the story of the classical Greek class, six students and their teacher, at a liberal arts college on the east coast of the United States, through the reminiscences of one of those students. These seven characters dominate the novel completely, standing forth with the clarity and intensity of actors in a Greek tragedy. The "normal" events of college life - the drug-dealing, the sex, the suicides -, which would have been the subject of most novels with this setting, end up being relegated to insignificance; they are simply the backdrop to the terrible drama that unfolds. THIS BOOK is Variously interpreted as suspenseful mystery, an exploration of the nature of evil, and a comparison of classical and modern values and philosophy.donna tartt is still a friend of her former classmate bret easton ellis, to whom 'the secret history' is dedicated.