*Punk And New Wave Commentary, Part II
*Guest Commentary
(This came from a reader via e-mail and reflects one person’s opinion. I agree with some parts and differ on others. The tone is blunt and he sure isn’t out to make friends. I edited and shortened this Manifesto, as the author has the writing skills of a distracted twelve year old. Should you take any of this personally? I don’t know, how thick is your skin and who cares what you think anyway. This isn’t a high school bathroom soap opera like alt.punk. This is reality, man! This is PUNK ROCK !!)
Let’s get to the frigging point: Punks are losers, idiots, posers, drunks, druggies, fascists, crybabies, bullies and wimps. I’m embarrassed to have been associated for the last ten years with such dysfunctional zeros. Sure I still like the music (DKs, Mudhoney, The Birthday Party, and especially The Ramones) but I’m sick and tired of being lumped together with racist skinheads, drunk rooster heads, goth depressives and screaming straight-edge arseholes with too many opinions on how everybody should lead their lives, considering they’re a bunch of skinny boys who still live in their suburban homes and collect a healthy salary from their parents.
Punk politics are either pseudo-intellectual leftist propaganda or simpleton chants of “Kill, kill, kill” or “fight, fight, fight”. Punks accomplish nothing. They huff and they puff but at the end of the day they have no money, no self-respect, and no reason to be taken seriously by the majority of people in the real world who couldn’t care less if punk rockers live or die. And why should they? All they give the world is hate and stupidity, and they should expect the same back. They’ve formed little social circles of fellow idiots who sit around bitching about anarchy and government and rules and how they’re human too so they aren’t responsible for the dumb s—t they do every day to themselves and others. Things like stealing, destroying property and beating up anyone smaller at shows just because they can. And their heroes are losers too. GG Allin, Charles Manson, Sid Vicious - all losers and they’re loved because they’re losers who became famous for being losers. That’s their only hope - even a worthless ass can live forever in infamy to be cheered by fellow asses and spit on by everyone else.
Before I rip into each group I hate individually, this is all you need to know about me: I’m 27 years old, married and have lived all around the U.S. I got into punk about ten years ago, and while I can look back and say the whole experience was good for me, the scene losers have been petty, spoiled, naïve, violent and intentionally socially & mentally retarded. I don’t need punk anymore, and if punk doesn’t need me, that’s great! Right back at ya, you smelly nobodies!
Vegans: Little Hitlers who fantasize about slaughtering humans as some kind of payback. They’re so full of self-righteousness it makes me puke organic chum. Worst of all is how they smell. Vegans don’t bath much. Is soap and shampoo made from animal products, or are they trying to grow yummy veggies in their pants?
Goth Punks: Please kill yourselves before I kill you myself as a favor to the rest of us who actually “live” life. You’re a bunch of high school drama club poetry life-hypochondriacs. Life sucks for everyone, but only goths dress up like Halloween all year round and literally beg for pity. Are you happy when you’re depressed? I hope so, otherwise your black-lipsticked, cadaver pale asses are really in trouble. American punks have always enjoyed their depravity, while British punks can be miserable all the time. It rains over there a lot too. I know, move to Transylvania and suck the peasants’ blood. Sharpen your teeth. Wear a cape. Play Dungeons and Dragons for real. Oh, you do that now? Nerds. Go smoke some cloves. (My Dracula imitation) Blah! blah! blah! I vant to punch your face and make you bloody! Blah!!
Skinheads: You’ll never shake the nazi label so don’t even try. Why do you dress like a working class British cartoon version of Popeye? America and England are so completely different in their class systems. Why take on the trappings of a culture you’ve never lived under? Because it makes you look tough? Because you want to be part of a violent gang? Even the anti-nazi skins are violent as hell to anyone in their path. Spare me your crap about pride and unity. Oi Oi Oi = Nazi, Nazi, Nazi…….
Straight-Edgers: Minor Threat also had a guy who looks like Popeye. Screaming “Live your own life!” and “Follow these 47 rules (or else!)” in the same breath is contradictory and exposes you for the upper-middle class suburban white kids you are. You live at home yet think you can dictate rules to everyone else. My advice: drink a beer, smoke pot, get laid, say no to the trust fund, and live a life of moderation. Why are most straight-edgers fifteen years old? Because it’s useless to them by the time they graduate and the songs are too damn preachy. Nice $35 band-logo sweatshirt, fuzz head.
Riot Grrrls: Please hate me because I’m male. I consider myself pro-feminist but you haven’t earned my support. You want it all - men to treat you like equals (or superiors), men to be neutered, men to leave you alone. What the f—k do you want? Don’t expect my support when every time I turn around you’re screaming for mass castrations. Sexual nazis, that’s what you are.
Metal Punks: Dumb, stupid, moronic, dense, shallow - hey, where’s my thesaurus?
Some more things I hate:
I hate all the crap about major labels. Anybody who’s even shaken hands with a major label rep is branded a Sell-Out. Big deal if a band is on a major. I worry about how they sound. Hate a band if they’re crappy. Don’t create purity tests nobody can pass. Punks scream Burn The Witch too much. Punks eat their own. Calm down.
I hate the paranoia that passes for political theory. Fine, everybody’s out to get you. Never trust anybody or anything. Call yourself one of the chosen few. Live in a compound and shine your rifles. Maybe Charley Manson will be released or Jello Biafra is looking to form a political party. Remember, only you know the truth, and THEY are out to silence you. Always look over your shoulder and be sure to constantly sweat like a pig in summer.
I hate losers who dress like carnival caricatures of menace and evil, and then expect to be taken seriously. If you dress like a freak, don’t be surprised when you’re treated like a freak. Nobody’s under any obligation to see past the tattoos, black lipstick and boiling hatred on your face to find the beautiful, hurt little child within.
I hate punk on the internet. Alt.Punk is such a pathetic, catty little social club. It reminds me of grade school. What, can’t make real friends so you have to log on and create cool punk identities for yourselves like in the days of CB radio? I imagine if the internet punk elite ever met in person they’d all cringe in disgust and dies with boredom. Most punk websites just plain suck. If I want to see a list of your record collections I’ll come over and we’ll have a slumber party. The internet has the potential to bring the world together, yet all you can do is make lists of what records you bought since you first got into punk last year. Too many people attempt reviews when they have no idea what a band sounds like. I wish I had a dime for every time I’ve read a review that sums up a release by saying “It’s really punk sounding”. The best looking sites have the least content. The worst looking sites have content that sucks and goes on forever. Gimme Flipside any day.
That’s it for me. I’ll still buy stuff when I want, but from now on you can keep your pettiness, hatred, snobbishness, gloom & doom and fascist rantings. What’s that you say? Maybe I was never punk in the first place? F—k me if I don’t want to be punk anymore? No, no, f—k you. And since I’ve discontinued my internet access by the time this is posted, I get the last word... F—k You, Punk.
(written in 2000)
[2007 Update: This web site no longer exists, so I assume Corporate America got to them somehow – maybe with a huge cash bride, or maybe even their deaths!]
An E-Mail I Received, And What I Wrote Back In My Infinite Wiz-Dumb
Hi,
I'm starting a webzine called citizen565 (http://www.citizen565.com). Our main theme is that corporations have taken over daily lives and that we should fight back.
Your readers might be interested in something like this. If you're accepting
submissions, I'd like to write something
anti-corporate for your site to help get out the word.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Best,
565
Vandals Wanted at Citizen565.com
http://www.citizen565.com/
Revolution begins at home!
Dear Citizen 565:
I checked out your site and understand where you're coming from. I think you're a smart person and maybe you have good intentions. I also think you're using too much of the same impotent neo-anarchist rhetoric as the last forty such sites I've seen. You'll never accomplish anything beyond possibly selling some offensive bumper stickers and building a really cool web site for disgruntled have-nothings to bitch about the grand conspiracies that keep them down, or however the hell they account for their lack of personal accomplishment and happiness. Why do I know you won't cause a dent? Because the powers that be and the human sheep they herd for profit couldn’t care less about you and your cause. And there's no way you can force them to.
Even Gnome Crapsky admits 80% of the population are by nature slaves to current trends, be they political, social or cultural. Most people like fast food, top-40 music and expensive clothing with a built-in obsolescence of six months. Most people's minds default to the lowest common denominator, and all your reading lists and t-shirts won't change that. They lead their lives of consumption and you have yours of tearing down The System. People will agree and disagree with you in any of a number of combinations. If you cross the line by getting in people's faces about the choices they make, you open yourself up to ridicule and even violence. And over what, brands of soda?
I like your "10 Things You Can Do" page: Buy Independent, Do It Yourself, Protest, Get Involved, Get Heard, Don't Use So Much Stuff, Break The Tobacco Habit, Pay With Cash Instead Of Credit Cards, Get To Know Your Neighbors, and Enjoy Life. The last part I like the best because many so-called anarchists are either kids in school acting out an intellectual stage of rebellion and/or miserable losers driven by failure, hate and the hope of dragging down others with them.
During the Democratic National Convention last week in Los Angeles, dozens of people protesting our culture's reliance on the automobile decided to block rush hour traffic. They were promptly arrested and thrown in jail. If I couldn't go home after a long day at work because some dimwit social engineer on a bike decided he was going to teach society a lesson, I would have punched him in the throat and thrown his bike into my car to be donated to the Salvation Army. Why, because that's what happens when you screw with me. I'm happy you have a cause you believe in strongly, and I'm happy you know what's best for me, but try to detain me from my own life and I'll rip your head off and piss down the hole.
Corporations are evil. Fine. Don't buy from them. Don't listen to commercial radio or watch TV. You really can say NO to popular culture if you choose not to. You're never going to bring down Starbucks or General Motors by protest or vandalism. You're a bug to law enforcement and a write-off to corporate America. All you're doing is making common areas look like crap with stickers and graffiti. I really hoped during the WTO riots in Seattle a shop owner would blow the head off a rich kid out for a night of fun. I would have laughed and laughed because these spoiled future lawyers and stockbrokers have no sense of reality, that what they do for fun has repercussions for themselves and especially others. Anarchy is an extreme sport to these asses. If you think that by shutting down a McDonalds the former employees will find better, higher paying jobs, you should stop looking in the mirror every time you speak and try rubbing some brain cells together. The real world needs a lot more work before it will ever be truly tolerable, but that's the world we live in. Anyone who believes anarchy can succeed in practice can’t be taken seriously.
Here's some things you should focus on instead of manufacturing a war you can’t win: strengthen anti-trust legislation, work to increase the minimum wage, ensure funding for public TV and radio, build up your local music scene, start record labels, and vote. Any effort you make to destroy capitalism in order to replace it with socialism or the dementia of anarchy will and deserves to fail. I don't want to hear variations on the same garbage from The John Birch Society or Jello Biafra, Pat Buchanan or Mao. Make things better if you want to improve the world - don't expect me to believe it can ever be an episode of the Care Bears.
My overriding desire in life is to be left the hell alone to pursue my own little happiness. I don't oppress anyone, I don't litter, I mind my own business for the most part and I give more respect and courtesy than I ever get back in return. If that's not good enough for you, if you think I'm part of the problem because I'm not part of the solution as you see it, that's fine. I don't need you and you certainly don't need me. If tomorrow morning I find the entrance to my gym blocked by protesters against vanity, out of respect to their beliefs I'll be sure to leave a few teeth remaining in their mouths before I go in to lift. Fight the power!
New Wave Didn't Always Suck
There was a time - ages ago, when kids danced to music that wasn’t hard rock, soul, funk or disco. Some of these kids were nerds, some were punks, and others were just different, but most were just normal kids who liked to dance but didn’t like the rock scene and the disco thing. In the late ‘70s your main choices were rock or disco – and the divisions ran deep. For an even smaller group there was new wave - call it watered down punk, space alien machine rhythms, bubblegum pop, or disco without sex or soul, but there was a brief time when new wave was the most innovative and fun music around. Sadly, as new wave became more popular, scores of horrible dance bands hopped on the bandwagon and devolved the genre into commercial drivel before it withered away completely.
The original new wave began for real around 1977 with artists like Elvis Costello, The Buzzcocks and Devo. Until it faded into nothing by 1983, new wave showcased many divergent styles, including electronic, rockabilly, ska, reggae, power pop, surf, girl group, garage, and even some of what is now called old school punk. There were many new wave dances, most characterized by the hips staying rigid while the rest of the body moved about. This was the antithesis of funk.
Small labels like Sire, I.R.S., Stiff and Virgin dominated the early years, soon to be out-spent and out-marketed by majors, especially Columbia/Epic, who signed everybody from Elvis Costello to the Psychedelic Furs. Big record companies made new wave very popular, then they helped kill the format by changing the music into MTV-friendly top-40.
By 1980 disco had worn out its welcome. New wave was gaining in popularity with radio-friendly groups like The B-52s, The Cars and the Talking Heads. The Majors decided there was money to be made taking new music and making it more like the old, because disco was sexy, and sexy sells. New wave was many things, but sexy it wasn't, at least not as the mainstream saw it. So, they made the music sound more like disco and replaced the geeks (Elvis, Joe Jackson) with pretty boys like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet.
New Romance killed the new wave, video killed the radio stars, and history was re-written by the winners. These days new wave nights feature ABC, Duran Duran and Culture Club. Long forgotten are Lene Lovich, The Jags and The Fleshtones. What was once an edgy alternative is now remembered as a dumb/cute ‘80s trend. In the ‘70s a new wave club's play list might jump from Robert Gordon to The Ramones to Joe Jackson to Bob Marley to The English beat to Joy Division to Ultravox to The B-52s to Elvis Costello to the Sex Pistols to The Bay City Rollers to Blondie - constantly changing the pace and cleverly grouping songs by style or subject matter.
Early new wave and punk were for many one and the same. The same magazine that covered the Ramones and Sex Pistols also covered Ian Dury, The Buzzcocks and The Wipers. And just how do you classify The Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Stranglers and Devo? More punk bands have covered Devo than maybe any other group. Punks distanced themselves from new wave, mostly because hair bands adopted the new wave label and drove the music into the ground. I can't blame them completely, considering new wave brings to mind Boy George and Adam Ant. Still, there was a time when new wave was cool, and it's sad few people remember those years and the groups that made them great.
Here's a very incomplete list of great new wave bands. Many were one hit wonders, some ran out of creative energy and should have quit sooner, while others grew into other styles of music:
Elvis Costello, Kraftwerk, Ultravox, Devo, Translator, OMD, The Specials, Joe Jackson, Lene Lovich, Thomas Dolby, Robert Gordon, Vapors, The Wipers, Psychedelic Furs, Joy Division, Fabulous Poodles, Flash and The Pan, The Undertones, Rezillos, Rubber Rodeo, Romeo Void, Split Enz, The Police, Stranglers, Squeeze, XTC, Iggy Pop, Klark Kent, Buzzcocks, Sector 27, Feelies, Skafish, English Beat, Bad Manners, X-Ray Spex, Wall Of Voodoo, Plastics, Plastic Bertrand, Pere Ubu, Wire Train, Our Daughter's Wedding, Oingo Boingo, Cars, Gary Numan, Selector, Nina Hagen, Go-Go's, Blondie, Talking Heads, General Public, Gang of Four, Fleshtones, Fingerprinz, Translator, Pretenders, New Musik, The Cure, Human Sexual Response, Jam, Graham Parker, Bauhaus, Warren Zevon, U2, Mike Oldfield, Payolas, Alternative TV, Violent Femmes.. (add yours here)...
Top-40 Envy
Yeah, I know, punk is the greatest, everyone else are sheep, radio sucks, everybody envies how free punks are, and it's not just music but a way of life. But seriously, wouldn't life be simpler and more affordable if whatever they played on the radio and MTV was just the best music ever? If you could order twelve CDs for the price of one through Columbia House? If you didn't have to buy records because the radio gives you the songs you love all day? And, you can borrow CDs from just about everyone because these everybody has the top CDs? For the sake of this argument you can't just say top-40 sucks, because that's not the point. What I'm saying is that being punk is a full time job and I'm not always in the mood to sit in silence because what's on the radio isn’t worth it.
I don't listen to the radio because, as I'm not allowed to argue, it sucks, but I don't lose sleep over it because that's just how it is. But honestly, how sweet it must be for your average shmoo driving to work or a night on the town. Every song's a hit and it must be good because they wouldn't play it if it wasn't, right? Are these people sheep because they let the music industry decide for them what’s good? On one level the answer is yes, but on another, what's the big deal? It's just music! Punks delude themselves that they're better than Joe and Jane Mortgage because punk is personal, political and is an overflowing toilet of Meaning. Punk is the only form of music that wastes 24 hours a day defining itself. This keeps punk's collective brain marginally active, but who else cares? And should they?
Do punks do more charity work than the clueless wonder jamming to Neil Diamond in her Ford Pinto? I doubt it. Do they give more money to charity? Yeah, right, they don’t have money so they give their time. Are punks better people than non-punks? Since punks are almost by definition screw-ups I'd say in comparison punk operates at a moral deficit. I like punk, you like punk, the guy in the corner who looks like a lab rat likes punk, but punk is not the answer to the world's problems. It’s not the answer to any problem and is often a problem itself.
In a way I envy people who don't take music seriously and can find pleasure in whatever is on. Radio is free and doesn’t ask you to do anything. If you don't mind programmers choosing what you listen to then every new song they play is a whopping bonus.
Would I like to see a world where punk is top-40 music? The radio was great for me until about 1983. For a while WLIR was heaven. Anyway, if punk was top-40 I'd be forced to listen to Barry Manilow and Sade just to be my difficult, belligerent self. Either way I lose.
Bad Reporting Strikes Again
Lord knows I'm as guilty of generalizing as the next dink, but sometimes I see it elsewhere and it drives me nuts. An LA Times article on the new Blondie reunion contains the following:
"(Blondie) was one of the most successful and trend-setting bands of its time - a group that between 1978 and 1982 generated four No. 1 hits, each of which helped define a moment in pop history. The most notable of these records, "Call Me", which showed that producer Giorgio Moroder's sensual, synthesizer-driven sound could work as effectively in rock as in disco; "Rapture", one of rock's first ventures into the emerging rap scene; and "The Tide Is High", which is cited as an influence by dozens of ‘90s neo-ska outfits"
First there's this nonsense about mixing rock and disco. Either it's disco or it's not. Either it's fire or ice, and it's either up or down. Add disco to anything and it becomes disco. What part of that don't you understand? Blondie was one of the early bands of the ‘70s NY scene. That doesn't make them the Dead Boys. Blondie started as a garage version of ‘50s & ‘60s girl groups. They made it big ‘ as a new wave band with "Call Me". Pretty soon it was full-time funk, disco and rap. Whatever claim they held to the name punk is in history and location only.
Here's the generalization part that drives me nuts - to say "The Tide Is High" influenced dozens of ska bands is a joke! Have you ever heard a ska band cite this song? Would they even admit to it? Do you imagine dozens of bands have done so? No. Is this information available on Lexus/Nexus for a writer to find and report? No. The writer is making a point but it doesn't fly. Is this the end of the world? No, but with each false history the truth becomes that much fuzzier. Call it punk revisionism in a top-40 disco world. Say it enough times and becomes true. I hate disco nazis. Seig Hustle.
When Punk Politics Fail
The first letter in a recent issue of Flipside was from a man by the name of (oh, heck, why use his real name when a series of fake insult names is ten times better ) Looney Tunes, presently serving time for vandalizing a McDonald’s Grimace statue. It seems Nutcase McGee attacked every Grimace he came across because he’s a capital A anarchist who suspects purple inanimate objects are the root cause of capitalistic oppression.
In his response, Flipside editor Al pointed out contradictions in Butterfly Net Size 43's logic, but he avoided the obvious – which is that Fruitcake Crankshaft is mentally ill and his views have no validity. Paranoia and anti-corporate rhetoric are so ingrained in punk politics it’s a cardinal sin to criticize any idiocy or insanity on the part of anybody in the scene. The more convoluted the plot the more real the conspiracy has to be. The more anti-American the rhetoric the truer it is. This is crazy. A certain level of distrust in authority keeps us from being easily taken advantage of by media, economic and political forces, but a line must be drawn between rational wariness and irrational paranoia. A person who attacks every Grimace statue is not making a political statement – he’s just Kookoo for Cocoapuffs. If punk wants to be taken seriously it needs to distance itself from every loser who crawls under its banner for support and validation. Punk politics is a leftist form of McCarthyism equal to all the fears and hatreds of the extreme right.
I’m sick of the world being defined in terms of the Exploited Proletariat vs. Evil Capitalist. The rhetoric is Communist Dogma 101 and has been so thoroughly discredited by history and present events. Communist regimes have proven to be bankrupt in every category. Marxism is nazism only in practice. It’s also condescending, as if adults are Pavlovian dogs made to foam at the mouth by simple images and incendiary rhetoric. As if working people think like cavemen (boss fat and rich and bad. Worker strong and good. I hate boss) The Proletariat is code for pawns easily led around by their fears and class hatreds. They’re socialism’s answer to America’s patriotic rednecks.
Since communism is a joke even in the few remaining communist countries, punk’s jumped headfirst into anarchy as a philosophy. Anarchy - where you litter and don’t bathe to bring about the fall of society and the rise of a peaceful co-existence that can only exist in the absence of all authority. Marxism is a social pathology. Laws don’t turn people into murderers, rapists, arsonists, thieves and thugs. If you think they do, you really should get some therapy before that twisted rubber band you call a brain snaps and all hell breaks loose.
Did you notice that college campuses are a hotbed for democratic movements in communist countries and communist movements in capitalist countries? This only proves rich American children have no idea how good they have it.
The goal of a good political system is to strike a balance between forces who never see eye to eye. If both sides are equally unhappy you’ve probably struck the right balance. Not everyone wins. It would be nice but it rarely happens. Either the rich want to retain power or the poor want to gain power. Either way a select few run things and everyone else struggles to keep their heads above water.
Why do punk politics fail? They give paranoia and petty hate equal time with workable solutions that might have a chance of success in the marketplace of ideas. Punks make up a tiny percentage of the population, yet when punk encourages bizarre thinking it’s a sign to the rest of the world it’s only a joke. Punks have neither the numbers nor the organizational skills to start a revolution. At best they’ll be cannon fodder for a larger, nihilistic Marxist movement who sees them as useful idiots. No Grimace-hating crazy is going to take down The System. Who needs society, you say? Unless you live in a cave you are a part of society whether you like it or not, and I have news for you, society doesn’t need you either if you’re not going to be of any use. Punks are both smart and dumb because while many “mean well” they fall for every useless daydream put in front of them. At one level it’s optimism but on another it’s a delusion that either makes you passive and ineffective or aggressive, destructive and worthy of all the prison time you get. Either way, everyone loses.
But who cares what I think? It’s not violent, it doesn’t make a cool slogan to go on a patch, and it just wouldn’t be punk.
The Johnny Rotten Show ?!
Cable network VH1 has commissioned a pilot for a talk show starring Mr. Personality himself, John (you can call me Rotten if the price is right) Lydon. It'll never work because Rotten's whole persona is based on sarcasm, which kills interaction and gets old fast. He's a smart guy and let's say maybe he could control his nastiness long enough to chat with guests. Who'd tune in to see that? The world expects one thing from this history-revising egomaniac - bitter soundbites and a wide-eyed look of naughtiness.
I know he's smarter than he comes off and I'm sure he wouldn't get this chance unless he's proven himself to be capable of intelligent conversation, but the man's famous because he's a punk cartoon - nobody cares if he's also smart and a good talker. They wouldn't want to know either.
Entertainment Weekly reports the show "won't be a conventional talk show but rather a platform for the rocker to explore his 'unique perspective on pop culture'." John knows his bread and butter is his bitterness, so what choice does he have but to be bitter? This will only win him a small cult following pulling from his ever-diminishing fan base. VH1 is MTV for an older demographic. This show wouldn't work on MTV because The Kids couldn’t care less about old farts, and some of the VH1 crowd may have enjoyed Rotten's antics back in ‘77 but they sure don't want to wallow in snide rudeness now. They're stockbrokers, lawyers and parents. This guy's a memory, not a TV personality you'd watch more than once (just to say you did).
It must really gnaw on Lydon's ego that the producers of his show were really hoping Sid and Nancy were still be alive so they could do "The Weekly Heroin Hour".
My Kiss-Off Letter To MaximumRockNRoll
On October 6, 1994 I wrote a screw-off letter to MRR. Not that I thought they'd care, but I thought maybe I could make someone there feel even more paranoid and superior:
Dear MRR,
Just writing to say goodbye. I’ve missed only five issues of MRR over the years and have enjoyed your coverage of the scene. I don’t know if I’ve changed or if you have, but MRR is a chronicle of pettiness, rationalizations, conspiracy theories and a dangerous hypocrisy that diminishes the generally positive visions provided by our music. MRR’s problems start at the core of its editorial mission. A marxist-based, anti-capitalist revolutionary imperialism seems to be MRR's obsession - not equality, not peace and not justice. From you these concepts are empty buzzwords straight from The Communist Manifesto.
I often agree with you but what you say has little to do with the basic ideals you claim to uphold. All tyrants deserve to be taken down, not just U.S. supported ones. Murderers, torturers and rapists must be stopped regardless of their politics. One side’s atrocities can’t be swept under the rug simply because you support their ideology. Don’t separate equal acts of hate and violence into “wrong” and “justified”. When you do it shows your blind stupidity. The worst thing you ever did was to create the MRR news section with the promise to report the TRUTH behind the lies of the media. Does this save me the trouble of drawing my own conclusions? Thanks! I don’t need lies and conspiracy theories from the John Birch Society and I don’t need them from MRR. If you have any faith in your position don't just tell one side of a story - let the readers decide. I think Mykel Board and Ben Weasel are allowed to contribute columns just to piss off the MRR faithful into action, not for editorial diversity. Balance doesn't come from being as paranoid and hateful as those you hate.
Here’s how I think MRR can be improved: LETTERS: carry less whiny letters in the vain of “Why can’t people get along?” or “I thought punk meant being..”. The “I have halitosis. Why won’t people talk to me?” letters make us look like crybabies who won’t be happy until the entire world changes to our liking. COLUMNS: Make points and back them up with evidence. Stop this daily diary crap. Columnists are not celebrities. I don’t care what you did on your summer vacation. What’s your ideas? Why should I believe you? Board’s daily fluctuations between victimized nice guy and child molester is the story, so he may be the bizarre exception. WHATS THE SCOOP: ask more intelligent questions or insist on more intelligent answers. Are we this incoherent as a group, or is this section just an excuse to get friends of your contributors into the zine? MRR NEWS: More balance. More faith in your readers’ intelligence.
MRR is full of hypocrites and scene fascists. Thanks for the past. I’d wish you luck, but I don't want to sound insincere. Buh-bye!!
The Class of '77
This started as a review of the new Blanks 77 CD, but there's much about the whole ‘77 thing that drives me nuts. I have nothing against nostalgia, but ‘77 and the punk scene of 1977 exist in parallel universes, like Superman and Bizarro World Superman.
Let's start with the name. When someone mentions "77", 99 times out of 100 they have no friggin' idea what they're talking about. Those with the strongest attachment to "77" were at best Bart Simpson's age when the Sex Pistols and The Clash released their first records. "77" is an inaccurate mixture of punk genres and dress codes. It's the politics of The Clash, but not really; it's oi, but not really; and it's leather jackets, spikes and a sound stolen mainly from The Exploited, whose first LP came out in 1981, years after the Pistols blew up and the Clash gave up punk for musical growth.
It's also American kids pretending they're poor and British. No matter how sincere the effort, there's something dishonest about acting like you come from another country you only know through records, movies and episodes of Benny Hill. There's another old school movement based on '79 street punk bands like the UK Subs, Stiff Little Fingers, DOA, and less cartoonish oi bands like The Business. It's ten times more real than the new '77, but I still don't see why Americans pretend they're British working class.
Then there's the @ anarchy symbol found in Blank 77's logo, which for years meant little more than an excuse to get drunk and destroy property. As if screaming "Anarchy!" when you toss a trash can through a storefront window magically transforms vandalism into political protest. Anarchy in it's utopian (non-existent) form is non-violent and a belief society can exist without laws and authority. Anarchy is just another wishful- thinking political philosophy, but it's ironic a belief there’s no need for laws is used to condone harmful lawlessness. In the UK of 1977 the nazi swastika was a punk symbol, a truth explained away by saying the kids didn't mean it as a tribute to Hitler but as a vague symbol that pissed people off. Maybe so, but claiming ignorance to the meaning of such an important symbol doesn't say much for the intelligence of your cause, now does it?
Rancid played the old school game with limited success until they recorded the best Clash record The Clash never recorded (...And Out Come The Wolves). Blanks ‘77and others record decent music but they miss the point - today's ‘77 movement is a foggy nostalgia for a time that may never have existed in a place they probably never visited. I'd rather see bands do covers of old songs and styles then pretend it's really twenty years ago. I'm glad the kids are doing their best to keep the spirit of '77 alive, but it’s funny to see how they get it wrong. It's not the end of the world, but please get the history right. If you do, you'll look a lot less like a goofy cult of teenage Japanese Elvis Impersonators.
The Kids Define Punk
Punk has been around for well over 25 years now and still nobody agrees on what it is. Is it a style of music, an attitude, a frame of reference, a political system, a spiritual philosophy or just a trendy way to dress and act? Truth is, punk could be everything since everything is punk now. I just named it the All-Core movement. Punk is as vague an idea as Art. Art is silly because we're not supposed to judge what is art. Is an old sneaker painted blue a work of art? Hell, yeah, if it's done by an ARTIST. What is an artist? Why, a person who creates art, of course. If everything is art, then nothing is art. Is punk as ill-defined as art? Maybe not, but punks spend as much time defining what isn't punk as they do what is.
Most agree punk is an expression of rebellion, as is all rock and roll. Punk is defined by each person as they experience it, and no one person can define punk in exact terms beyond their own interpretation, because punk, like art, is whatever you think it is. You can agree, disagree or walk away, but unless you're a fascist you can't expect everyone to agree with you. That said, anyone who considers Barry Manilow punk is just an ass. Can we all come together and agree on that?
In hundreds of zines since the ‘70s, defining "What is Punk?" has been the national pastime. The internet is only the latest forum for this debate. Below are some examples of how The Kids through the years have defined punk:
"...rock/youth music has always been "crybaby music". All innovative people who make passionate statements railing against life or society can be called crybabies - from Schopenauer to Suicidal Tendencies, from Nietsche to The Nihilistics." - Alan. MRR #16, 1984.
"Punk has no classifications such as Oi, Hardcore,. If Punk had classifications how would it be Punk? Punk music is unclassified." - John. Alt.Punk 1/31/97.
"Straight Edge is not some set of rules carved in stone which must be followed by all straight people. It is a feeling people get in their hearts which helps them solve certain problems that come up in their lives." - Jon. Suburban Voice #24, 1988.
"It's not positive, it's not intelligent, and it's certainly not political. Punk Rock is hate, chaos, Nihilism, destruction. Punk Rock is being 15 years old and getting a haircut that your parents hate. Punk Rock is self-mutilation and wanting to die. It's ignorant, uncaring, and depressing. It's "damaged", "suicide", and "fugg off". That is the definition . Punk Rock is dead, and that's fine with me." - Matt. MRR #85, 1985 (editor's note: Matt is either dead now or married with 3 kids working for IBM.)
"It has nothing to do with the clothes or music, it's the way you feel, the way you've always felt.." - Shawn. Punk Planet #8, 1995.
"As far as "loud fast rules" goes, damn straight boy! That's what punk's about, you panty waist. If you don't like it, tough!" - Jes. Suburban Voice #30, 1991.
"Punk Rock is a movement that is supposed to be separate from society." - Craig. Flipside #39, 1983.
"Punks have evolved into individual cultural outlaws who exist in loose groups. They are like Beatnik Hippies." - Rich. Flipside #66, 1990.
"The entire band has to play absolutely flat out, with as much intensity as they possibly can. Otherwise it isn't very punk. This often results in playing so out of control as to be sloppy. But punk isn't really about playing music that is note-for-note perfection. That often happens, but it isn't very important to Punk Rock. What is absolutely essential is to hold nothing back, which allows the energy of the music to reach levels usually unattainable in other genres." - Shied. Flipside #103, 1996.
"..why should something mean more because someone like Ian McKay said it, as oppossed to a regular kid...this is hardcore and we're all supposed to be equal...get it????...It doesn't matter how "Old School" you are, it doesn't always make you right...." - Elliott. alt.punk.straight-edge
Mr. Old Punk Drowns In A Stream Of Consciousness At A Punk Rock Show
The Queers, Screw 32, Groovie Ghoulies - February 8, 1997
These kids can't be over seventeen. ... One torn condom and tonight could have been "Dad, can't you wait in the car or something? This is so embarrassing."... If you're under 21 they mark an "X" on your hand. Straight-edge irony… All the stereotypes showed up, yup. Guys in gas station work shirts. Howdy, "Sparky"! Grrrls in Catholic School skirts and ripped stockings… '77 punks - wait, these kids weren't even born until '81. Lots of anarchy patches. Is it required to scream "Anarchy!" when you're about to do something really stupid ?... Some punk pin collections are on display. Nobody can wear just one!.. Goth librarian chicks with greasy hair and cat glasses. Skins - there's two kinds of Skins - big and mean and scrawny and rodent-like... There's always a Japanese kid with bleached hair. Is there some kind of weird quota?.. A slightly retarded guy is dancing silly to The Groovie Ghoulies. When he's not looking, various adult children pretend they're punching him. The first to connect I'll grab by the collar and pants and run him into a wall. Maybe he'll be crippled and then he can laugh at himself for the rest of his life... The Ghoulies are great... Is it humanly possible to have a mohawk and earn more than minimum wage?.. Two guys are joke-dancing The Twist. Like slamming is an art... Guy at the door says 40% of the crowd comes back every Friday regardless of who's playing. Guess that's a "scene", but it's less a concert than a hangout with bands playing. Has it always been like that? Probably... Screw 32. Oh no, another serious, hard, fast, preachy band that makes Minor Threat look like the Dickies… Must escape the music and cigarette smoke. Smoking - slow death begun thru insecurity and continued thru addiction. Lou Reed paraphrased Freud when he sang "life is just to die" (Sweet Jane)... The Queers. Amazing a few months ago they were great but they stink tonight. How'd that happen?.. Lots-o-people just looking around, wondering if they're standing correctly or doing something wrong with their hands. I'm not, because I'm concentrating on it really, really hard. Dance or stand still and be cool? My consciousness of other's self-consciousness is making me self-conscious… Weird -- attractive people intentionally looking ugly and ugly people who look better in rags and a bad attitude... Some numbnuts will slam dance to muzak if you let them... Herds of kids in the back - too loud to talk - not into the music - sitting quietly - staring vacantly -- back again next week! … Guy in front of me wearing spikes around his neck. Want to say (in nerd voice) "Geepers, Mister, nobody's gonna choke YOU anytime soon!". Then wipe my nose two feet down my sleeve and cackle… Counted seven punks who might be in their 30s. "Hi there, we should all hang out together. We're OLD!!!!!".. Which reminds me, I should leave early. Busy day tomorrow… The Queers were so much better last time anyway... I hate cigarette smoke. Now I'll have to shower before I sleep... Hope my ears don't ring all the way home.....
Call It What You Will, It's Still Disco
I couldn’t care less if you're into Nine Inch Nails, The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy or whoever else is recording techno industrial dance music these days. I don't listen to any of it. Why? It's disco! As a geezer punk I have never liked disco and never will. I hope these groups sell millions of records as long as I don’t have to listen to it, but please, PLEASE, don't equate techno with punk and hardcore. Just because you dress alternative and believe in D.I.Y. doesn't make you punk. It's about the music. Alternative isn't punk either, but that's another annoying story.
A little history: ‘70s punk was an alternative to dinosaur rock and a complete rejection of disco - the most obnoxious expression of sexuality humans ever created. Saturday Night Fever was a mild depiction of how shallow disco was. Only two types of people are into ‘70s disco: kids who weren't of age back then and now think it's cute, and old losers who haven't been laid since 1979. Back then you were either into rock or disco, but never both. Rock clubs sponsored special nights where disco records were either burned or smashed into pieces.
As punk was consumed by hardcore punk around 1980, new wave slowly changed into disco to fill the gap left by the dying disco trend. Bands like Duran Duran and ABC replaced the faster new wave beat with slower, funky disco beats. If you can thrust or gyrate your hips like a stripper, it's disco or funk, but if your hips stay still while the rest of the body moves, it's new wave. This is a simplification, but I'm a simple guy.
What brought this rant on? An article in Entertainment Weekly titled "Rock Is Dead. Long Live...?" E.W. usually walks a fine line between objective journalism and "everything is great, go out and buy it NOW!" industry self-promotion. Here they just lay out the industry's hopes of making techno the Next Big Thing. The music industry does this all the time. If you need your tastes dictated to you by media, hop on the bandwagon now while you can still call yourself Old School. Otherwise just roll your eyes like a slot machine and await the next trend blitz. From other readings, I understand industrial is now separate from techno in that it's closer to heavy metal. We’re doomed…
From the article: They quote David Bowie as saying techno is frenetic and pertinent to modern life. He uses it on his latest CD. Then the article asserts Low, Heroes, and Scary Monsters indelibly influenced techno. This is absurd. Kraftwerk is the old electronic influence for all electro-disco alternative music. From Bowie they stole his Diamond Dogs glam sense of style. Later on in the article there's "Techno is the new punk, if do-it-yourself ethos counts as a benchmark". Now I'm spitting mad. If this is true then EVERYTHING is punk. At one level or another everything is done by individuals, even the friggin' Banana Splits. Punk is defined by many things, but it is by its very nature a rejection of other things - disco being #1. In the ‘70s and most of the ‘80s alternative music styles were more segregated than today. Now everything is bunched together to maximize marketing potential. Now being 10% of ten things is normal, where once combining only two styles was considered different.
A big issue in punk is "Is Punk Dead?" Many times I wish the answer were yes. Why, because "dead" would be a measure of punk's influence on popular culture. There will always be punk bands, even if they sell ew records. There are still doo-wop groups and barbershop quartets. If punk being dead will stop top-40 wannabe alternative bands from superficially stealing from it, then I'm all for punk being dead. It would be nice if punk music was more popular so there would be more bands and more money spent supporting the scene, but if the music, culture and history are going to be bastardized, then forget it. New Wave is now a joke because it was assimilated into top-40 and disco. Don't let it happen again to punk and hardcore.
(written probably in 1999, whenever rave was very popular)
Screaming At The Newspaper About Disco
(from
Spencer's Gifts on-line)
"Be a hit at all the raves with our very cool Wing Pouch! A velcro strip keeps
the brightly colored plastic pouch in place as you dance the night away. A
zippered compartment rests against your back to hide all those stashables and a
flashing light on the front features replaceable button cell batteries.
Available in Green and Purple."
Stashables? As in drugs? Or candy shaped like drugs? Gosh this sounds like fun, with all the dumb and instantly obsolete crap to buy, and sucking on pacifiers between swigs of sugary smart drinks to prolong the effects of drugs or candy shaped like drugs. And how about staying up for three days straight in a warehouse packed with smelly, sweaty rich kids chasing their hands in the air to music whose tempo never changes, even once. God, was punk ever this stupid? Was I ever this stupid? Not even close, so let's have some fun at the expense of others.
Oh shut up that ravers are just having fun. What is it a celebration of? Daddy's money? Possible psychedelic-chemical meltdown? It's just the latest manifestation of disco - black funk dumbed down for whitey’s consumption. I was there when disco began, I watched disco die and take good new wave with it, and now I've had the displeasure of seeing it rise again as industrial, techno, house and every other unholy sub-genre there is and shall be.
Disco is shallow, stupid and both the cheapest and silliest expression of ego and sensuality ever conceived. It has no basis in thought and nothing can be learned from it. It's all about a beat, dancing sexy to the beat, wearing the right clothes while dancing sexy to the beat, and taking the right drugs to keep you dancing to the beat. That beat is a finger tapping me on the forehead, torturing me with its monotony, its lack of substance, its pure worthlessness. I know not everything has to have deeper meaning. Disco is not a neutral force. It's pathetic. I can't simply brush it off as someone else's fun. There are many things on which I have no opinion. There’s also many things I have no interest in, yet I wish those into it all the fun and luck in the world. Things like fishing, camping, gardening and making candles. Disco is up there with Civil War reenactments on the scale-o-stupid. One is racist, the other a mental void.
The only entertainment I derive from rave culture is the knowledge that entire carloads of ravers have been known to fly off cliffs.
What set me off on this was a piece in the L.A. Times Weekend Section that catalogued various styles of music found under what's generically called Rave. As I read it I was yelling at the newspaper "It's all the same crap! Some of it's slow, some of it's fast, some of it's mellow and some of it's harsh! Don't encourage the insanity!" And right here, there's a style of disco rave called hard-core?! Did they ask permission from the punk council? No, of course not - it wouldn't have been given. I'm surprised the article didn't have this definition of industrial: disco for pissed-off skinny bi-curious white guys.
F---k
S---T
UP!
I received an e-mail that ended with the happy advice to “F--k S--t Up” (FSU for short). At first I thought it was what all psycho-anarcho-punkos say to encourage random acts of violence, hate and stupidity. You know, to help bring about the glorious state of anarchy where we all live in the peace and harmony that can only exist when there are no laws and social structures, since they alone cause crime and inequality.
My first reaction was revulsion because stupid slogans and their literal meanings have been the cornerstone of what passes for punk politics since day one. When I park my car at night I don’t walk away wishing that my s--t get’s f--ked up. When I lock my apartment door I don’t imagine how thrilled I’d be if someone broke in and f—ked up all my s--t.
When I see a neighborhood riddled with graffiti I think it’s a slum, and when I see barbed wire framing highway signs to prevent tagging I feel like I'm driving through prison grounds. I differentiate between people in real need and people who crap themselves and then complain about the smell. I also think people who litter are inconsiderate turdstains on society's map whose problems go way beyond being untidy.
The next day someone told me FSU is a positive thing, like when you say something is “The S--t” it means it’s great (bad = good). My tolerance for slang shriveled up and died. My video store blasts hip-hop and I’m sick of hearing endless Shout Outs. Yeah, I know all about the function of slang, its cultural implications, how yesterday's slang becomes today's real words and yippie yappy yahooey – but my desire to be spoken to in code has dropped to zero. Don’t test how hip I am with language, and don’t make me guess what the McF--k it is you’re trying to tell me. Talk to me, not at me.
I was an English major and had more than a passing interest in Linguistic Paleontology - the study of migration through analysis of language and pronunciation. I stared at maps that detailed the phonetic pronunciation of the word “oil”, and not only does this tell you I’m a geek, it proves to my own satisfaction I have an appreciation for the fluid and ever-changing nature of language. Code language has been commercialized to the point where it’s as organic as Twinkies. I’m in my house, I’m wearing a hood, playing with my yo-yo, sitting in my crib, my diaper isn’t funky fresh and I’m sending a shout out to my mom to change me. If I could come up with an equally goofy line for punk clichés believe you me I would use it here too. My problem is not with the Rasta who talks a brand of English requiring translation, it's with the American kid who throws in an occasional "I and I" and then quickly scans the room to see if anyone noticed.
I’ve also come to believe cursing should be limited to hate, some comedy and when you stub your toe. There’s an old saying in comedy that goes “If you can’t think of anything funny, curse.” Some jokes just aren’t funny unless you work blue, but I’ve seen too many amateurs curse uncontrollably because it’s an easy go-to when you either have no talent or no confidence in your ability to make people laugh. Curse words are by design shocking because they're inappropriate and in theory only used when really needed or against one's will. To use curse words as regular speech takes away their power to shock and offend, and eventually we'll have to come up with new curse words. F--k that noise!
I'm Too Old For This!!
or
Gutter Punk Jamboree
Washington, DC gets exceedingly humid in the summer, and as I stood outside a local punk show surveying 25 gutter punks lying on the sidewalk all I could think was "It's not the heat, it's the stupidity." It never occurred to me that gutter punks literally sprawl in the gutter like the guy on the back cover of 1983's UK compilation Drunk and Disorderly III. The American gutter punk look is also British, not from the original Sex Pistols era but from ‘79-‘83 when street punk bands like The Adicts, GBH, The UK Subs and The Exploited were in their prime. Why a British influence on kids who've never been to the UK? I'd guess the dress to shock aesthetic, the squatting thing, the exotic, foreign nature of it and the slogan "No Future".
The gutter punks at this show were from fifteen to seventeen years old, and I bet not more than a handful knew anything about punk beyond their mohawks, boots, ripped t-shirts and a dozen or so records. Gutter punk also is a term applied to tribes of homeless kids who beg for change when they're not shoplifting. Who knows who’s homeless or just pretending to be.
Crusty punks are gutter punks who proudly don't bathe. In my day we called these people bums. As these kids rolled around on the concrete, screaming at each other and trying to shock the locals (12th & U Street is a tough part of DC. The locals could wipe out these kids in a heartbeat), I felt a lot older than my 36 years. I turned to a guy from El Salvador who was there to see his friend play and said, "They look like idiots, don't they?" He smiled and nodded, and we both starred as one really fat kid stumbled around drunk (or acting drunk), screaming stupidity and acting like an ass in the restaurant next door. For all their hardass posturing, it was obvious us these losers weren't a threat to anyone but themselves.
Then all of a sudden a long haired guy rushed out of the show and said to a skinhead, "Did you call me a faggot?!" While the skin was looking away he sucker-punched the skin, which is usually a death sentence, but they fought a little bit and that was it. I vowed never to see an all-age show again unless I really, really, really want to see a band.
Your average US punk is about fifteen years old. Why? The teens are when you question your identity and as a reflex action rebel against authority with a generalized belligerence. You can rebel as a rapper, a heavy metal head banger, a punk, a surfer - the menu of approved teen rebellion has exploded since I was that age. Punk was around in 1976 but it wasn't readily available. It was hidden away in tiny hellholes like CBGBs and I wasn't tough enough to hang around the Bowery at night. I’d say few people were.
By the time you graduate or age out of school you can't expect to make a living with a blue mohawk and "F.U." tattoo on your neck unless you know a serious manual trade where it doesn’t matter. Don't get me wrong. Many punks never give up the life and do just fine in the real world, but enough drop out, sell out, whatever you care to call it, to make the fifteen year average still apply. For three years I lived on an average income of $7,000-$8,000. I shared cheap apartments, drove a used car and never went hungry. I did it and could do it again if I had to. Yeah, I know, punk's not about money and it's never giving in to the corporate whore, blah, blah, blah. I respect that when it comes from an adult who may have no money but is happy. When it comes from a kid who lives with his parents in suburbia, I can only nod my head and smile.
Social workers recognize gutter punks as a category of runaway and homeless kids. Punk didn't make these kids drop out and run away. A Harley doesn't make you join the Hell's Angels. These are outward expressions of what's inside. Punk is neither the cause nor solution to these kid's problems.
There's something about punk that makes it little more than a rebel stance for most, discarded like a toy once the belligerence of youth is spent. Maybe it's the aggression or the dress-to-shock look. Maybe it's the strident politics and hollow cries of "Anarchy!" Maybe after long days at work you don't have the energy to smash the state anymore. And maybe you remember you like the songs from your childhood that come from the Disney tape your child watches all the time. I've seen it happen.
When I look at gutter kids I see odorous examples of one of the dumbest attitudes you can hold. Many I saw were nervous and uncomfortable, constantly looking around with the same questions on their faces: 1) what the hell am I doing? 2) Am I doing whatever it is I'm trying to do correctly? and 3) Is it obvious I'm a coward? They should worry less about being punk enough and more about not being a punk cartoon. When I looked into these kid's eyes, I saw some good people buried under the grime, but also serious hatred in some and self-hatred in others. It’s not pretty.
There's all kinds of punk and punks out there. Just because you like the same music I do doesn't mean I accept your faults. I've met old punks who've managed to avoid the 9 to 5 world and I've met more than my share of successful people who still like punk music a lot. There's more to being punk than being Drunk and Disorderly. I'm sure The Kids couldn’t give a flying screw if some guy as old as their dad decides to drop out of the concert scene. I care even less.
(Written most likely around 1998)
[2007 Note: This must have been from 1999 or so. Sadly, I imagine by now the punk internet is even worse off since the newness washed away a long ago.]
The Punk Internet
The internet is like the greatest thing, right? Wrong, Mouse Myron. The internet is slow, boring and stupid. 99% of punk things on the internet look like a fifteen year old’s mid-term project. -- "Hi, my name is Albert, but my friends call me 'Anarchy Al' because I begged them to. If you have twenty minutes, please download some pictures of me and my friends skating behind Wal-Mart. School sucks, but Bad Religion is rad. Send me CDs for review. Last Halloween I dyed my hair red. Definitely cool. Write me. Somebody. Please?" Good for Al, but punk web zines are to printed zines what McDonalds is to Wolfgang Pucks.
A major problem with internet punk is that search engines do a horrible job of cataloging sites. Type "Punk" into five search engines and you'll get five different sets of returns, each as arbitrary as the next. To combat this, various collective "Rings" have popped up to make specialty searches easier. There's ska rings, punk rings, goth rings, rings for specific bands, etc.
Want to add your day-glow skate punk site to a skate punk ring? Simply download a graphic, add your site to a list and maybe soon you'll get a few quick hits by slackers spending a solid ten minutes surfing through thirty sites on a ring. I e-mailed a few people on rings and asked how it's worked for them. The answer is always "I don't know, but I figure it couldn't hurt." Woopie!
Links are both pretty good and really bad. Good in that you may find a well-selected set of interesting sites, and bad in that most link pages are reciprocal back-scratchers of dead or equally vapid sites. If someone wants to spend time running a punk ring, it's better than doing nothing, but it's still a time eater as long as so many sites are dead or just suck.
The goal of punk on the internet should be gobs of actual CONTENT and an effective search capacity for finding what you're looking for. Until these two things happen, the internet is still just a flashy library with thousands of crappy books thrown into a big pile.
Back
To Home Page
To
Next Page