Whatever Happened to Punk?
This morning I was listening to This American Life while running errands around town and they did a story about the lawsuit filed against the Dead Kennedys in the 1980's.
In 1985 the DK's released an album called "Frankenchrist" which included an HR Giger poster called "Penis Landscape" in every copy of the album. The mother of a 14 year old who bought the album sued on obscenity charges. The prosecutor saw the poster, but never bothered to listen to the album. He got slaughtered, because when you put the poster together with the commentary of the DK's it's not so obscene anymore. The jury was hung, the case dismissed, and life went on for all. Oh yeah, and this was in the midst of Tipper Gore and th PMRC cracking down on evil rock music.
Once upon a time punk rock was more about the attitude and the commentary than it was necessarily about that particular SOUND. It was about doing something different, making a statement, standing up for change. Listen to the songs of the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, the Sex Pistols, DOA... these punks had things to SAY, and the intensity of the music was as much a manifestation of their anger as anything else. (Or maybe not, but that's how I always saw it).
In the midst of Regan-era politics and culture wars this music helped fuel me and others like me. It helped me get through all my teen angst bullshit, and it made me realize the benefit of a vocal minority, and that there were others out there like me. And when you really get into the lives of these guys you start to realize that they aren't so different from you and me. Henry Rollins was bored to tears by school. Nancy Spungen (the love of Sid Vicious' life) was most likely an undiagnosed schizophrenic. And Sid was so in need of love he let her use and abuse him. Why, it's amazing that I didn't become a punk rock queen myself.
Now I may just be giving away my status as a thirtysomething here, but what happened to the commentary of the music? What I see called "punk rock" today is more about the hair and the black and the intense rhythyms than it is about the message.
Not into the punk thing? OK, well once upon a time Public Enemy was telling us to "Fight the Power," and now we've got Outkast telling us to "shake it like a polaroid picture."
And there's something deep inside me that wants to believe that if the musicians of today could just find that voice, could be compelled to speak out against W and the war and all the other stuff going on in the world today it would offer a counterbalance that this country definitely needs right now.
My hope is the music is probably out there, but I'm too tied into my old music and the adult contemporary station on the radio that I'm not keying into it. Someone, please, give me hope. In the meantime, I think it's time to go CD shopping.
In 1985 the DK's released an album called "Frankenchrist" which included an HR Giger poster called "Penis Landscape" in every copy of the album. The mother of a 14 year old who bought the album sued on obscenity charges. The prosecutor saw the poster, but never bothered to listen to the album. He got slaughtered, because when you put the poster together with the commentary of the DK's it's not so obscene anymore. The jury was hung, the case dismissed, and life went on for all. Oh yeah, and this was in the midst of Tipper Gore and th PMRC cracking down on evil rock music.
Once upon a time punk rock was more about the attitude and the commentary than it was necessarily about that particular SOUND. It was about doing something different, making a statement, standing up for change. Listen to the songs of the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, the Sex Pistols, DOA... these punks had things to SAY, and the intensity of the music was as much a manifestation of their anger as anything else. (Or maybe not, but that's how I always saw it).
In the midst of Regan-era politics and culture wars this music helped fuel me and others like me. It helped me get through all my teen angst bullshit, and it made me realize the benefit of a vocal minority, and that there were others out there like me. And when you really get into the lives of these guys you start to realize that they aren't so different from you and me. Henry Rollins was bored to tears by school. Nancy Spungen (the love of Sid Vicious' life) was most likely an undiagnosed schizophrenic. And Sid was so in need of love he let her use and abuse him. Why, it's amazing that I didn't become a punk rock queen myself.
Now I may just be giving away my status as a thirtysomething here, but what happened to the commentary of the music? What I see called "punk rock" today is more about the hair and the black and the intense rhythyms than it is about the message.
Not into the punk thing? OK, well once upon a time Public Enemy was telling us to "Fight the Power," and now we've got Outkast telling us to "shake it like a polaroid picture."
And there's something deep inside me that wants to believe that if the musicians of today could just find that voice, could be compelled to speak out against W and the war and all the other stuff going on in the world today it would offer a counterbalance that this country definitely needs right now.
My hope is the music is probably out there, but I'm too tied into my old music and the adult contemporary station on the radio that I'm not keying into it. Someone, please, give me hope. In the meantime, I think it's time to go CD shopping.
posted by Swankette at 12:46 PM
2 Comments:
Maybe I'm not listening to the right music, but I remember the music from the 60s -- anti-war, rebellious, etc. Now, it seems like it's all about sex. There is no true outrage anymore....
Want political outrage? Try the newest albums by Emenem and Beasty Boys.
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