My life...is apparenlty good enough for you to be reading about.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Warning: This Record Causes Ear Cancer

Who says I can't be a gutterpunk at age 22?

The article Rekindling the punk flame shows that "a spate of upcoming documentaries shows that a movement some had declared dead may be newly relevant for today's youth...If punk is dead, as has been said, it appears to be kicking and digging its way out of the grave."

Why? "The Adolescents are celebrating 25 years of punk," he says. Next year will be the 25th anniversary of Penelope Spheeris' "The Decline of Western Civilization," a pioneering documentary on the early L.A. punk scene featuring an emblematic poster image of Crash. This year is also the 25th anniversary of Crash's death"

I do'nt know if that's the only reason why. Maybe it has to do with commercialization of the Ramones, selling Sex Pistol shirts at K-Mart, or CBGB's million-dollar TShirt industry. Punk's Not Dead attempts to explain the connection of early punk rock to today's scene.
"[It] takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties...the Ramones and the Sex Pistols [are] drawing bigger crowds than ever, "pop-punk" bands have found success on MTV, and kids too young to drive are forming bands...Meanwhile, "punk" has become a marketing concept to sell everything from cars to vodka, and dyed hair and piercings mark a rite of passage for thousands of suburban kids. Can the true, nonconformist punk spirit still exist in today's corporatized culture?...Punk's Not Dead dares to juxtapose pop punk's music and lifestyle against the roots in the 70s and 80s."
I can't wait to watch Alk3, The Ataris, and Jello Biafra compare themselves to each other. Maybe we'll get a treat from Henry Rollins to "define punk rock." At least it looks like some pretty sweet bands will be reviewed. But I'm confused as to why there are very few "hot topic/pop punk/corporatized" groups? The Subhumans may offer a good opinion, but I hope it is rebutted by a good many comments from the young pop punk mallrats; isn't that what they are comparing to the 70s/80s scene anyway?

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home