[kj] OT: "Punk's Not Dead" documentary

[GREG SLAWSON]

For about the millionth time, Oliver, you hit the nail on the head. I remember in college (from 81 to 85), my rather large circle of friends being dumbfounded that I listened to bands like Black Flag, Minutemen, Flipper, etc. It was almost to the point where people didn't even make fun of or try to debate my musical taste, because they didn't understand what I liked or why I liked it. My best memory is of someone downstairs from me saying that (the Minutemen) sounded like someone playing up and down a scale, and that Flag (whose records I'd often sing along to) just sounded like a guy screaming. Another very clear memory is of a friend, one of those very cynical guys who pokes fun at everything (to be fair he would cleverly ridicule stuff like Hewy Lewis and the News--"The Heart of Barney Clark is Still Beating/His Lungs and his Chest are not Breathing" and whatever that horrible New Romantic group that sang "Gold" was called--"You Are OLD/Always depend on your Social Security..."). This guy actually went to a Black Flag show with me in 82 or 83, just so he could ridicule the band. He actually did this to Chuck Dukowski's face while he palyed bass during the show, to which Chuck told him, "You didn't have to come to the show, you know". This was also the show where Henry Rollings, in just a pair of golf shorts, crawled across the floor for about 10 minutes during a slow tune, through all the spilt beer and broken glass...what a great evening!> Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 23:10:22 -0500> From: bigblackhair at sbcglobal.net> To: gathering at misera.net> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: "Punk's Not Dead" documentary> > The rampant historicizing of punk nowadays esp. in the endlessly-cranked > out documentaries, biopics (Ina Curtis _Control_) and especially books > sort of gets to me only because I think it creates the sense that > everyone loved punk rock, post-punk, whatever, and younger people don't > realize that for a lot of people being into punk was a kind of > isolating, bizarre, fringe culture thing that was seen as very > antisocial; many people found punk actually very frightening into the > late 80s. It became associated with Satanism (the Satanic Panic) and > schools I went to began instituting dress codes where you couldn't wear, > for example, more than 50% black. The Sex Pistols Nevermind the Bollocks > barely broke the Top 100 when it was released, and didn't go gold until > the early 1990s, in the wake of Nirvana. Members of the respectable > media and bands like The Who claimed they hated punk and usually did > "scare the public" hit pieces on it, etc.> > Now with all this glossy "let's look back" stuff it makes it seem like > every one and their mother liked it, and ... sorry, it wasn't like that. > People liked Bel Biv Devoe and C & C Music Factory. Where are the > documentaries about that? About the morons and idiots? They were the > majority. (Still are.) It sucks especially for some of us who were > actually physically threatened etc by jocks at school for having weird > hair, only to see the same jocks years later moshing and shit, when it > became okay and safe to do that.> > -Oliver> > > > > Leigh Newton wrote:> > We'd still like you even if you just got into it yesterday, Oliver. That's the attitude associated with punk rock (or any form of anything, for that matter) that bugs me the most. The underlying impression I get from all these recent biographies/docs is that if you weren't there when it initially happened, then you're just a poseur who gets all their shit at Hot Topic and is being ironic. There's nothing better than being an archeologist and uncovering all these gems from the past. Hell, only a few weeks ago did I finally get around to checking out Neu!> >> > > >> > > > _______________________________________________> Gathering mailing list> Gathering at misera.net> http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering
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