An Ex-Punk Perorates
Do you know what destroyed the punk scene, what truly obliterated the musical ?movement? of punk? I can propose a theory, if nothing more than that: which, I shall do. Firstly, I will state that if you don't think that punk is really dead, then you might as well not read this because I'm working under the assumption that the reader agrees that punk has died, therefore this is not an attempt to prove that punk is dead so much as it is here to postulate why such a death took place.
Here's what the problem is and was, and it is the same kind of problem that faces a lot of musical scenes -- and scenes of non-musical nature, too, for that matter. Punk started dying as soon as it became a requisite of being a member to listen to punk music. Which is to say, in order for a band to be accepted as punk, it became necessary for a band to listen to and, invariably, emulate another band that was already agreed upon by the punks to be acceptable as punk.
Think about it, back in the hey-days of punk, which is to say the late 70's and early 80's, did any of the original punk bands sound any way similar? Did Iggy Pop sound like Sex Pistols, or did the Dead Kennedys sound like the Gang of Four, or did the Ramones sound a damn bit like Circle Jerk? No, not at all -- Hell, the Dead Kennedys had a guitar styling that was basically surf guitar, with a tinge of classic rock'n'roll a la Elvis. These bands: they were all punk, there was no question of their punk natures, and it was great. Punk was punk was punk, it was a random gathering of musicians that really only shared the single characteristic of being antiestablishmentarian in nature.
So, what I am basically saying here is that the same factor that has malformed the British royal family into the horrible nightmare vision versions of human beings that they are, today, is the same one that killed punk, as it was: inbreeding. That's right, punk was cool and then it started fucking its cousins and sisters and shit, and that's not cool, no matter how figurative it may be.
If you take a look at modern punk bands, and, more specifically, the modern punk rock "labels" that exist, such as Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph, you'll see what I mean. All the bands tour together, record together, play together, and (no big surprise) sound the same. Guttermouth listens to NoFX who listens to SNFU who listens to No Use For a Name who listens to Pennywise who listens to Lagwagon who listens to Anti-Flag. It's a big, fat, punk circle jerk where nobody else is invited, and Henry Rollins isn't singing the vocals. They wear each others' t-shirts, even. How cute.
Of course, what probably initiated this situation wherein nobody is hanging out with anyone but those who could get past the bouncer at the door is the fact that once punk got established as the choice antiestablishmentarian thing, well . . . It got elitist. As it goes whenever the same basic thing happens, which is to say that the social rejects got an image and attitude to cling onto it, they took it and horded it to themselves like that selfish eight-year-old fucking bastard down the street who had a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis and never shared when you were in fifth grade. It became the non-conformist trend to conform to what was laid down as the standards of punk, which were created with innocent intent by those who actually treated punk as just a venue for creativity and expression. I don't think I really have to go into detail as to why this is stupid.
So, today, look at what we have posing as punk rock: Avril Lavigne being the apex of modern post-punk failure. Spikes, chains, dyed-hair, safety pins, combat boots, white tank tops, piercings? What the fuck? When did it become punk to dress like a confused, drunk homeless man lost in a thrift store? And all of the horrendous fashion is accompanied by bland, watered-down music that is just the latest rehashing of the last big punk band.
What I want to see is a punk band who listens to jazz. I want to see punks who admit that they have listened to, in the past, bands that were on the radio, and maybe still do (Because who doesn't have sentimental attachment to the bands they grew up with). I want to see a punk wearing a Jimi Hendrix t-shirt, or maybe sporting the image of an old Blues singer. I want to see a punker decked out in a zoot suit (Why, yes, I was a fan of the third wave ska movement, what happened to that). I want to listen to punk music whose influences are so diverse and ecclectic, random and, perhaps, untraceable, that it creates a new and original sound altogether, not necessarily likened to any punk band, at all, ever.
I listen to Strung Out, Nomeansno, Fugazi, Gang of Four, The Offspring, Pulley, Lungfish, Gob (occassionally), LARD, Snuff . . . All these bands still make music today, and they make good music. Which is to say that I am not meaning to imply that no good music comes out of what is left of the punk scene, just that the vast majority of the scene is dead and defiled. It's impure, and that makes me sad. As a contaminated scene, it loses that magnificent quality of being unlike any other venue of society; where you will find the bipedal results of what should've been a stain on a blanket thirteen years ago, instead of a baby. You will see the little fifteen-year-olds dressed in Dead Kennedy t-shirts who think that the stinking filth who tour as Dead Kennedys now are nothing more than miserable failures who manipulated their way into stealing the name. You will not go far without stumbling over a pothead in multiple spiked belts who couldn't find up from down on a map, and is screaming along to Anti-Flag, mindlessly chanting, "You gotta die, gotta die, gotta die for the government, die for the government, die for the government, that's shit."
If this is appealing to you, then maybe that's why you're possibly still a card-carrying member of the punk scene. Me, however? I found my way out of that status years ago, realising that I could stay home and listen to the bands I like without having to endure shit for what I may not listen to and like. If there's truly a difference between the so-called preppy kids ridiculing me for not liking Linkin Park or Staind, and the so-called punks ridiculing me for not liking NoFX and modern Black Flag, then maybe I just missed something essential. If there isn't, which I don't think there is, then . . . I told you so, nyah, nyah, nyah.
This has gotten long-winded, so I'll just be over there, wearing my headphones, listening to some Miles Davis.
Adios.
Here's what the problem is and was, and it is the same kind of problem that faces a lot of musical scenes -- and scenes of non-musical nature, too, for that matter. Punk started dying as soon as it became a requisite of being a member to listen to punk music. Which is to say, in order for a band to be accepted as punk, it became necessary for a band to listen to and, invariably, emulate another band that was already agreed upon by the punks to be acceptable as punk.
Think about it, back in the hey-days of punk, which is to say the late 70's and early 80's, did any of the original punk bands sound any way similar? Did Iggy Pop sound like Sex Pistols, or did the Dead Kennedys sound like the Gang of Four, or did the Ramones sound a damn bit like Circle Jerk? No, not at all -- Hell, the Dead Kennedys had a guitar styling that was basically surf guitar, with a tinge of classic rock'n'roll a la Elvis. These bands: they were all punk, there was no question of their punk natures, and it was great. Punk was punk was punk, it was a random gathering of musicians that really only shared the single characteristic of being antiestablishmentarian in nature.
So, what I am basically saying here is that the same factor that has malformed the British royal family into the horrible nightmare vision versions of human beings that they are, today, is the same one that killed punk, as it was: inbreeding. That's right, punk was cool and then it started fucking its cousins and sisters and shit, and that's not cool, no matter how figurative it may be.
If you take a look at modern punk bands, and, more specifically, the modern punk rock "labels" that exist, such as Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph, you'll see what I mean. All the bands tour together, record together, play together, and (no big surprise) sound the same. Guttermouth listens to NoFX who listens to SNFU who listens to No Use For a Name who listens to Pennywise who listens to Lagwagon who listens to Anti-Flag. It's a big, fat, punk circle jerk where nobody else is invited, and Henry Rollins isn't singing the vocals. They wear each others' t-shirts, even. How cute.
Of course, what probably initiated this situation wherein nobody is hanging out with anyone but those who could get past the bouncer at the door is the fact that once punk got established as the choice antiestablishmentarian thing, well . . . It got elitist. As it goes whenever the same basic thing happens, which is to say that the social rejects got an image and attitude to cling onto it, they took it and horded it to themselves like that selfish eight-year-old fucking bastard down the street who had a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis and never shared when you were in fifth grade. It became the non-conformist trend to conform to what was laid down as the standards of punk, which were created with innocent intent by those who actually treated punk as just a venue for creativity and expression. I don't think I really have to go into detail as to why this is stupid.
So, today, look at what we have posing as punk rock: Avril Lavigne being the apex of modern post-punk failure. Spikes, chains, dyed-hair, safety pins, combat boots, white tank tops, piercings? What the fuck? When did it become punk to dress like a confused, drunk homeless man lost in a thrift store? And all of the horrendous fashion is accompanied by bland, watered-down music that is just the latest rehashing of the last big punk band.
What I want to see is a punk band who listens to jazz. I want to see punks who admit that they have listened to, in the past, bands that were on the radio, and maybe still do (Because who doesn't have sentimental attachment to the bands they grew up with). I want to see a punk wearing a Jimi Hendrix t-shirt, or maybe sporting the image of an old Blues singer. I want to see a punker decked out in a zoot suit (Why, yes, I was a fan of the third wave ska movement, what happened to that). I want to listen to punk music whose influences are so diverse and ecclectic, random and, perhaps, untraceable, that it creates a new and original sound altogether, not necessarily likened to any punk band, at all, ever.
I listen to Strung Out, Nomeansno, Fugazi, Gang of Four, The Offspring, Pulley, Lungfish, Gob (occassionally), LARD, Snuff . . . All these bands still make music today, and they make good music. Which is to say that I am not meaning to imply that no good music comes out of what is left of the punk scene, just that the vast majority of the scene is dead and defiled. It's impure, and that makes me sad. As a contaminated scene, it loses that magnificent quality of being unlike any other venue of society; where you will find the bipedal results of what should've been a stain on a blanket thirteen years ago, instead of a baby. You will see the little fifteen-year-olds dressed in Dead Kennedy t-shirts who think that the stinking filth who tour as Dead Kennedys now are nothing more than miserable failures who manipulated their way into stealing the name. You will not go far without stumbling over a pothead in multiple spiked belts who couldn't find up from down on a map, and is screaming along to Anti-Flag, mindlessly chanting, "You gotta die, gotta die, gotta die for the government, die for the government, die for the government, that's shit."
If this is appealing to you, then maybe that's why you're possibly still a card-carrying member of the punk scene. Me, however? I found my way out of that status years ago, realising that I could stay home and listen to the bands I like without having to endure shit for what I may not listen to and like. If there's truly a difference between the so-called preppy kids ridiculing me for not liking Linkin Park or Staind, and the so-called punks ridiculing me for not liking NoFX and modern Black Flag, then maybe I just missed something essential. If there isn't, which I don't think there is, then . . . I told you so, nyah, nyah, nyah.
This has gotten long-winded, so I'll just be over there, wearing my headphones, listening to some Miles Davis.
Adios.
posted by c.Jay Wrong at
8:38 AM
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