Today's youngsters devoting themselves to punk rock would be equivalent to teenagers back in the '60s dressing in zoot suits and "digging" Cab Calloway.
Punk got it's just desserts...The once raw and rebellious anthems of Iggy Pop and The Ramones are now being used as TV commercial jingles to hawk crappy corporate goods and cruiseline fun packages.
Anytime you can attach a name to a "movement", the initial reactive visceral spark which spawned it has long-since faded.
Here come the followers and joiners: What should I wear? What do I say? What do I play? Just tell me what you want.
Everyone fancies themselves oh-so-unique dependent on the select exclusive group of their choice being fine with their carefully cultivated and affected uniqueness which, by mere coincidence, just happens to mirror that of everyone around them.
Words like "underground" and "counterculture" and "alternative" and "punk" and "rebel" and "green party" and "hippie" and "riot grrrl" and your-desperate-to-set-yourself-apart-cliche-here have always meant the exact same thing: extra WHITE.
In the worst, homogenous, soulless, self-conscious meaning of the word. The regular big bad racist homophobic sexist narrow-minded jingoistic world can't hold a candle to these lots when it comes to exclusion, judgment, and self-righteous "my side right or wrong"-ness.
When Johnny Rotten and Lawrence Welk go into the recording studio (not together), they have the same goal in mind: to cut GOOD SIDES, hopefully of interest to their studiously pandered-to market-researched demographic.
If you need to constantly fall all over yourself at every turn advertising what a "rebel" you are in every aspect of your life in a desperate attempt to convince people of that fact, chances are you're just a "punk". Trying to convince yourself more than anyone else.
Everyone needs to shut the fuck up, stop expressing themselves, and know that, unless they're Little Richard, they have no business whatsoever making "music", "punk" or otherwise.
Here's something for all you pre-pube "revolutionaries" to chew on...Did you know that two of The Ramones were known for smacking the wimminfolk around? And I don't mean one isolated instanceâ??I mean repeated incidents with more than one woman! I have very, very, very good sources these days, fellas!
Undersized ex-New York Doll Johnny Thunders (center)â??ALSO a known woman-beaterâ??meets Sid Viciousâ??who reputedly KILLED his girlfriend! ROCK ON, punx!
<img src="http://www.lamette.it/lamette/fototeca/punk/0039.jpg" alt=" - " />
Far more shocking and damning is the fact that the Ramones were noted sticklers for punctuality and professionalism in their band. REAL punk rockers are fine with tardiness and a lax business acumen. That's just how rebellious they are for goodness sake.
-----
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/team_dupek/9eaca847.jpg" alt=" - " />
