Okay, now look...right off the top...some might want to call me an old fart, some might call me an outdated a-hole...but I had the good fortune in my youth to be around when there were a lot of great bands out there gigging that most of these newer bands can't hold a candle to.
I wince when I hear someone like Pete Wentz say he came from some hardcore scene somewhere, or a shit band like Good Charlotte calling themselves punk...it hurts me to the core because when I was walking around with a mohawk and tattoos back in the day, that was some real shit. I lived in the 'hood also so between the police, the jocks at school and on the street, the gangbangers and just general assholes of the world...well, let's just say leaving home everyday to go ANYWHERE was a real adventure. And getting BACK home could be a life and death endeavor.
Now, when I see kids dressed up as "punks"...all I see is a uniform. I see a carefully constructed uniform that creates the guise, the illusion, of rebellion without the pain and sacrifice of it. It's truly disturbing to me, in the way that it's disturbing to me when I see young black men and women calling each other "nigger" and "bitch" and those kinds of words...like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X died for nothing, so these kids could become stupid and lazy and worship money and material possessions above love and honor and commitment to an idea.
For a lot of the new "rock star punks", I hear a lot of the old heads are respectful when they are approached by these kids. And they should be, no reason to be a dick to folks who have bought their records and were inspired by them! But I can tell them they suck to their face (and would, given the chance) because I wasn't in a band at that time, but I was there and I know the real from a pose. I would tell the Fall Out Boys and Good Charlottes of the world to slurp my nutsack and swallow every drop of the ensuing load. And one thing that scares me out of my mind is that I could end up being peers with some of these bands! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!
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1 comment:
W'sup Dirty,
I'm not a punk, never was. However, I love real music. Reminiscing: My first real rock concert was King's X opening for Living Colour in San Jose (in the early 90's). OMG. Doug's bass sounded like God was thundering down, together with Vernon's cosmic alien sound, and I knew I was in the right place. Fresh out of college and raised on Jimmy Hendrix, Sly Stone, Isley Bros., Ohio Players, P-Funk, EWF, MJ, Slave, Rolling Stones, and Prince, I had thought that music had been lost to bad radio commercial sell-outism. The Black Rockers were the bridge that got me through the music drought years. Yes, rock with real protest lyrics and real singing. (no dis to Steve Perry -great voice).
I saw Fishbone at Gathering of the Tribes, and Lollapalooza where Angelo pulled out is testes for the 3rd time, or did he streak that time? W'sup wit dat? Anyway, I was surprised to find my old college roommate singing backup for F-bone. I couldn't believe it! I'm a Sista, and the way I tell it, my generation transmuted (created) Hip Hop, a ship that has been sinking for a while. I knew it when MTV became the authority on "rap." I believe music is like all precious and esoteric things... It is a seek and find mission. So, for a while I was all about Eric Gales, Family Stand, Follow For Now, RHCP, 24-7 Spyz (sort of... like I said, I need good singing), and fed up with the rat race city music scene.
Then, in came Arrested Development, Dionne Ferris, Rage Against the Machine, M. N'degeocello, Erykah Badu to make me think that the music was coming back. Hell, I even liked Body count without Ice T. No dis, Ice-T, made it clear that he was my protector at my 2nd or 3rd Lolllapalooza, and positioned crew members near me when the Nazi's came out. That was during Jane's Addiction.
Being an Oakland native, the last time I saw F-bone was at Slim's in SF. It was a kool show almost like a new band. I still miss Kendall and Dowd. There's nothing like skiing a steep run at Squaw Valley to Sunless Saturday, 2nd best End the Reign, and RATM's Killing in the Name of.
All of this to say, that I miss the old days when baggy jeans were new (1990), and when the underground was really overstanding, and I had no fear of entering the pit to be in the front row. I always found and met other sista's up there. Now, I think about keeping my teeth. Espec after Angelo kicked me in the jaw with Doc Martins (luckily it was an almost miss, so it didn't hurt, and he cared to check in with me). He gets Kool points. Alpha Blondy was only concerned about having blonds on stage. Big disappointment. Oh and since I am tweeting about my thoughts, Let me say, I could never get into Bad Brains, but thats just me.
I hope I haven't turned into a blogger. Ugh!
Not really anonymous, Khrizma
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