Question for Old Punk Fans

[Bolshevik***]

You should rent "The Filth and the Fury" it's great doc about the sex pistols

Really powerful moments from John Lydon in the film whe he talks about them taking on the whole of the english empire with their music, but yet couldn't save his best childhood friend (who he got to join the sex pistols despite his lack of actual bass palying ability) from one lousy heroin addict (Nancy)

why did they even want sid in the band when he had no clue what he was doing?

 

[Terror Zone]

Have you realized that rock stars
Always seem to lie so much?
John Lydon once said he cared
But he never really gave a fuck
Said he'd use the money he made
So that people would have somewhere to go
But now he lives in the USA
and snorts coke after the shows

Why is it that rock stars
Always seem to lie so much?
Joe Strummer once said he cared
but he never really gave a fuck
Said he'd use the money he made
To set up a radio station
to make the airwaves full of something more than shit
Have you noticed we're still waiting?

You must realize that rock stars
Always seem to lie so much
Some will always tell you that they care
But they don't really give a fuck
Still you suckers don't ever learn
That rock stars deal in money not truth
It's good business to exploit you
Just look at Lydon or Strummer for proof

 

[Nomad Nemesis**]

Give me the Misfits (Danzig era), Bad Brains, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys and so on and so forth. Late 70's to mid/late 80's hardcore punk gave us some amazing bands and genre defining albums.

was just listening to Black Flag (whose got the 10 1/2) and DK (give me convenience or give me death).
i got into dk/black flag/misfits in late 85 just as everyone was breaking up.

i like misfits, but all of their songs are about movies for the most part.

 

[caliboi74lv]

I can't imagine Jello cared much about the Sex Pistols politically or musically other than respect for their contribution -as the Sex Pistols were a put together punk band on a corporate label EMI -specifically designed/formulated to fuse the atitude and energy of Richard Hell, the sound of the The Stooges, and the look of the New York Dolls into something they could sell in oppostion to the soft and progressive rock that had stagnated radio. -

Wheras DK was a political DIY punk effort during their entire run -putting out there own label and distro -very different from the Sex Pistols - Plus The Sex Pistols were finished before the Dead Kennedys had national punk exposure so they really weren't contemporaries at all -by then John Lydon was doing the post punk thing.

I have alot of respect for guys like Jello, Cory Rusk, Ian Mckaye, Fat Mike and such -who really do the punk DIY ethic -hand shake contracts etc -They are true alternatives to the radio garbage we are fed.

That's pretty accurate right there. The Pistols were something to cash in on. Corporate America trying to take a trend and make money on.
These you mentioned doing the D.I.Y labels I also have respect for. Ian started Fugazi after Minor Threat. Never signed to a major and kept his shows small, cheap admit, and all ages. I respect Jello for not continuing with DK's to cash in on the band with reunion shows, but would have been nice to see them again with original memebers.

 

[J0N0]

Bit off-topic, but I read this book a 'lil while back and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Punk.

 

[SevenSamurai]

why did they even want sid in the band when he had no clue what he was doing?

Literally, they knew his look and atitude was perfect for the tours.

The Sex Pistols were put together to shake things up -it really wasn't about originality or musicality -it was an image put on the public to shake things up from the stagnant mid 70s

That's why Dead Kennedys are such a different type of band and more important in the grand scheme of things to me. Musically they were amazing -especially compared to contemporaries in Punk rock, their message was informed and important and refreshing, and they were a bunch of jews and a Black guy playing to mostly WASP crowds -totally cool.

 

[Bolshevik***]

Literally, they knew his look and atitude was perfect for the tours.

The Sex Pistols were put together to shake things up -it really wasn't about originality or musicality -it was an image put on the public to shake things up from the stagnant mid 70s

That's why Dead Kennedys are such a different type of band and more important in the grand scheme of things to me. Musically they were amazing -especially compared to contemporaries in Punk rock, their message was informed and important and refreshing, and they were a bunch of jews and a Black guy playing to mostly WASP crowds -totally cool.

i won't deny that dead kennedy's were more authentic, and a better representation of what punk rock was really about, but the pistols helped bring punk rock to the core consciousness of the general populace, which has to count for something.

 

[Oblivian]

Bit off-topic, but I read this book a 'lil while back and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Punk.

I raise you....

 

[J0N0]

I raise you....

Just had a look for it, I don't think it's available over here mate =/

 

[caliboi74lv]

i won't deny that dead kennedy's were more authentic, and a better representation of what punk rock was really about, but the pistols helped bring punk rock to the core consciousness of the general populace, which has to count for something.

Yes, killing punk rawk.

 

[JonesBones]

I can't imagine Jello cared much about the Sex Pistols politically or musically other than respect for their contribution -as the Sex Pistols were a put together punk band on a corporate label EMI -specifically designed/formulated to fuse the atitude and energy of Richard Hell, the sound of the The Stooges, and the look of the New York Dolls into something they could sell in oppostion to the soft and progressive rock that had stagnated radio. -

Wheras DK was a political DIY punk effort during their entire run -putting out there own label and distro -very different from the Sex Pistols - Plus The Sex Pistols were finished before the Dead Kennedys had national punk exposure so they really weren't contemporaries at all -by then John Lydon was doing the post punk thing.

I have alot of respect for guys like Jello, Cory Rusk, Ian Mckaye, Fat Mike and such -who really do the punk DIY ethic -hand shake contracts etc -They are true alternatives to the radio garbage we are fed.

Came in here to post something like this. They were basically a studio creation to cash in on the punk fad. Kind of like the Monkees or Backstreet Boys.

 

[JonesBones]

shallow in what respect? their arrangements were beyond what other punk bands at the time were doing (such as the ramones).

Well some of them couldn't even play their instruments.

 

[Bolshevik***]

Well some of them couldn't even play their instruments.

are we talking recording or live performances? steve jones was a boss.

 

[JonesBones]

are we talking recording or live performances? steve jones was a boss.

I think it just says something about a band when they'll add a guy on an instrument who can't play just for his look.

 

[Bolshevik***]

I think it just says something about a band when they'll add a guy on an instrument who can't play just for his look.

right, however jones played the bass for their album. on the one hand, the band itself could not be taken seriously, and they were in it for the wrong reasons, however their music was more complex than some other bands at the time.

 

[SevenSamurai]

i won't deny that dead kennedy's were more authentic, and a better representation of what punk rock was really about, but the pistols helped bring punk rock to the core consciousness of the general populace, which has to count for something.

Yes it does, but they were more of a one hit wonder. They were "one hit wonder" of punk. -no substance or lasting contributions other than the awakening of a larger audience from their dogmatic musical slumber of the mid 70s

The Stooges, MC5, Ramones, New York Dolls, Rocket from the Tomb, Radio Birdman, and Tom Verlayne and Richard Hell had already been building punk followings for years prior to the Pistol's brief exciting press coverage and tour.

Punk was happening with or without them.

 

[Bolshevik***]

Yes it does, but they were more of a one hit wonder. They were "one hit wonder" of punk. -no substance or lasting contributions other than the awakening of a larger audience from their dogmatic musical slumber of the mid 70s

The Stooges, MC5, Ramones, New York Dolls, Rocket from the Tomb, Radio Birdman, and Tom Verlayne and Richard Hell had already been building punk followings for years prior to the Pistol's brief exciting press coverage and tour.

Punk was happening with or without them.

probably, probably. i guess it's just hard to separate how much can be attributed to them, and how much of it was just a sign of the times. were they just part of the wave, or did they help add a significant amount to it?

 

[caliboi74lv]

Literally, they knew his look and atitude was perfect for the tours.

The Sex Pistols were put together to shake things up -it really wasn't about originality or musicality -it was an image put on the public to shake things up from the stagnant mid 70s

That's why Dead Kennedys are such a different type of band and more important in the grand scheme of things to me. Musically they were amazing -especially compared to contemporaries in Punk rock, their message was informed and important and refreshing, and they were a bunch of jews and a Black guy playing to mostly WASP crowds -totally cool.

The last part of your post I'd add Bad Brains. All black members playin to a majority of white kids and adults.

 

[SevenSamurai]

probably, probably. i guess it's just hard to separate how much can be attributed to them, and how much of it was just a sign of the times. were they just part of the wave, or did they help add a significant amount to it?

the Sex Pistols broke it to a whole next level of exposure in the US because they were seen as a threat to parents and politicians -however it was all a hype media Fad that people forget about and move on to the next thing. There was so little substance. There contribution cannot be denied -but their contribution to what punk is or can be both musically, lyrically, and politically is really very very small compared to other bands of the era who crafted songs for the ages.

Other bands like Stooges, Ramones, Wire, Television, Clash, Joy Division, Gang of Four, were writing songs that would change peoples lives and make them a lasting punk fans.

 

[SevenSamurai]

The last part of your post I'd add Bad Brains. All black members playin to a majority of white kids and adults.

Bad Brains was my first show I ever saw back over 27 years ago. Still the best I have ever seen.