(no subject)
Everythings been rather weird lately, cant wait to go to Amhrest tommrow night just to get away from it all for a just a bit.
In other news... I found this article quite interesting.
The idealism that punk is a revolutionary, almost anarchist, movement lives in so few and is dead to so many. Punk has become a youth driven culture that is so quickly to fade in and out of peoples’ lives. Not just the music and lifestyle but the political beliefs as well. The average punk rocker fresh into the scene always has out of reach goals of revolution, personal anarchy, rebellion, protest, etc. against fascism, capitalism, racism, sexism, greed, war, vivisection, poverty, and the other bads and no-no’s. The music usually still withholds these morals and beliefs but slowly seems to be fading. The apathy of the anti-pc movement and the hollowness of the political bands/scenes are step one to the death of punk’s angry anti-establishment message. The American punk scene has lived on punk music for entertainment and conformity. Compromising what once was one of the most powerful of all medias for revolutionary change.
Bullets, skulls, World War II photos, dead animals, nuclear explosions and weapons have all fallen cliché to a boring, regurgitated, empty message. Songs about war and destruction are meaningless. Especially to middle class youngsters who are only looking to rebel against their parents. Not the system! It is noise pollution for follow the leader crusties and it seems like the only people who would even consider taking it serious are kids who don’t have a clue about anything. The same heavy distorted bass followed by some winged skull pressed and reproduced over and over again. Never mind the colorful new spikey band, with a collage from the same photo shoot, singing about the bomb drop and nuclear war. A dead, redundant, message that kids aren’t paying attention to and only buy because it either sounds good or are told it’s cool. Current events and politics are blasphemy at a punk show. Singing about the wrongs of society, the struggles of the indigenous peoples of other countries, political leaders and police oppression are just quickly overlooked for songs to dance to and bands to put on your jacket. Listening to music solely to dance is for discos and let me tell you that disco fucking sucks.
Bands like Crass, Conflict, Icons of Filth, Flux of Pink Indians, etc. all had strong political messages in their music. Most all early UK punk was somewhat politically or socially driven unlike most early NYC heroin pop and their sing along, dance-dance revolutions. It seemed that everywhere else in the world had something to say about government, oppression, working class movements, poverty, etc. except for the United States. Granted there are a few American bands with something worth reading in a lyric booklet and by the 80s there were so many copycat bands that it didn’t matter. Over the years punk has evolved into endless different things. Though, today’s punk scene is so apathetic to its own movement, history and struggle that it can’t even see past getting wasted, looking fancy and being social.
Apathy plagues the American punk scene and the authorities and powers that be love every second of it. There’s no writing on the wall. There’s no protest. There’s no animal rights activism. There’s no direct anti-fascist action. There are no bricks and Molotov Cocktails going through corporate store fronts. There’s no agitation toward the state. There’s no education for the youth. There are 100 kids piling into a VFW hall, paying 10 dollars to see a band that has nothing to say and could give a rat’s ass about the kids. The kids have their plastic, weekend revolution and go back home to suburbia to watch television and download music off the internet.
This isn’t a call for a mass protest or for people to become radical activists. Just think about why you’re punk. What got you into the aggressive, offensive scene of teens and young adults that hate authority and pretty much hate everything? Was it just making friends? Meeting boys/girls? Music to dance to? Something to prove to yourself and your peers? If so, I can assure you that you’re in the wrong subculture. Next time you pick up a 7” with World War II photos on it by a band called Dis_(insert word here)_ you might realize it’s garbage and has nothing to say. If you’re lucky you might actually read the lyrics and what they have to say may actually mean something. It may actually even make sense. The youth needs to read into what they spend their money on. Bullet belts and charges don’t mean a god damn thing in the real world. They don’t say anything and they don’t make a point. What you have to say, your opinions, your life and your beliefs are what you should be wearing on your sleeve. Punk is the best at saying “Fuck off you cunt!” So find something to say fuck off to. Educate! Agitate! Smash the state!
In other news... I found this article quite interesting.
The idealism that punk is a revolutionary, almost anarchist, movement lives in so few and is dead to so many. Punk has become a youth driven culture that is so quickly to fade in and out of peoples’ lives. Not just the music and lifestyle but the political beliefs as well. The average punk rocker fresh into the scene always has out of reach goals of revolution, personal anarchy, rebellion, protest, etc. against fascism, capitalism, racism, sexism, greed, war, vivisection, poverty, and the other bads and no-no’s. The music usually still withholds these morals and beliefs but slowly seems to be fading. The apathy of the anti-pc movement and the hollowness of the political bands/scenes are step one to the death of punk’s angry anti-establishment message. The American punk scene has lived on punk music for entertainment and conformity. Compromising what once was one of the most powerful of all medias for revolutionary change.
Bullets, skulls, World War II photos, dead animals, nuclear explosions and weapons have all fallen cliché to a boring, regurgitated, empty message. Songs about war and destruction are meaningless. Especially to middle class youngsters who are only looking to rebel against their parents. Not the system! It is noise pollution for follow the leader crusties and it seems like the only people who would even consider taking it serious are kids who don’t have a clue about anything. The same heavy distorted bass followed by some winged skull pressed and reproduced over and over again. Never mind the colorful new spikey band, with a collage from the same photo shoot, singing about the bomb drop and nuclear war. A dead, redundant, message that kids aren’t paying attention to and only buy because it either sounds good or are told it’s cool. Current events and politics are blasphemy at a punk show. Singing about the wrongs of society, the struggles of the indigenous peoples of other countries, political leaders and police oppression are just quickly overlooked for songs to dance to and bands to put on your jacket. Listening to music solely to dance is for discos and let me tell you that disco fucking sucks.
Bands like Crass, Conflict, Icons of Filth, Flux of Pink Indians, etc. all had strong political messages in their music. Most all early UK punk was somewhat politically or socially driven unlike most early NYC heroin pop and their sing along, dance-dance revolutions. It seemed that everywhere else in the world had something to say about government, oppression, working class movements, poverty, etc. except for the United States. Granted there are a few American bands with something worth reading in a lyric booklet and by the 80s there were so many copycat bands that it didn’t matter. Over the years punk has evolved into endless different things. Though, today’s punk scene is so apathetic to its own movement, history and struggle that it can’t even see past getting wasted, looking fancy and being social.
Apathy plagues the American punk scene and the authorities and powers that be love every second of it. There’s no writing on the wall. There’s no protest. There’s no animal rights activism. There’s no direct anti-fascist action. There are no bricks and Molotov Cocktails going through corporate store fronts. There’s no agitation toward the state. There’s no education for the youth. There are 100 kids piling into a VFW hall, paying 10 dollars to see a band that has nothing to say and could give a rat’s ass about the kids. The kids have their plastic, weekend revolution and go back home to suburbia to watch television and download music off the internet.
This isn’t a call for a mass protest or for people to become radical activists. Just think about why you’re punk. What got you into the aggressive, offensive scene of teens and young adults that hate authority and pretty much hate everything? Was it just making friends? Meeting boys/girls? Music to dance to? Something to prove to yourself and your peers? If so, I can assure you that you’re in the wrong subculture. Next time you pick up a 7” with World War II photos on it by a band called Dis_(insert word here)_ you might realize it’s garbage and has nothing to say. If you’re lucky you might actually read the lyrics and what they have to say may actually mean something. It may actually even make sense. The youth needs to read into what they spend their money on. Bullet belts and charges don’t mean a god damn thing in the real world. They don’t say anything and they don’t make a point. What you have to say, your opinions, your life and your beliefs are what you should be wearing on your sleeve. Punk is the best at saying “Fuck off you cunt!” So find something to say fuck off to. Educate! Agitate! Smash the state!