I used to say the exact opposite to anyone who called me a punk, but I've learned that being such a cynical asshole is no way to be. Anarcho-peace-hippie-insert-buzzword-here punks Crass said the same thing I did in 1978 when punk was just getting started for most of the world (in fact, I stole it from them, I did):
"Yes that's right, punk is dead
It's just another cheap product for the consumers head"
This of course earned them the wrath of The Exploited, who retaliated with "Punk's Not Dead", which was to become a battle cry for many. Was one side right? No, but neither side was wrong either. Both had good points and bad. Perhaps Crass' declaration of punk being dead on arrival was a bit hasty and melodramatic. Crass hated the Sex Pistols and The Clash, who were selling loads of records in the UK. But that was due to a different factors: with the 'Pistols, shock rock won the day. They frightened England and attacked her sensibilities. Thus, they sold records. Meanwhilst, The Clash's appeal stemmed from a furious attitude and genuine songwriting ability, not to mention early signs of fusion between punk rock and reggae. The whole notion of punk, which already starting to become a "stale cartoon" then, had nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, The Exploited sought to cling to the idea of punk, instead of rejecting the label as Crass did. This would lead to the current state of affairs in the USA, where a whole generation of punks are reviving this idea, clad in black leather covered with patches of none other than The Exploited, and torn with scissors rather than thru actual wear and tear, while they blast their Casulaties records and pick up some Manic Panic Midnight Blue to re-dye their 8 inch trihawk. It seems as if some of the trailblazing done in the 80s has been forgotten - bands like the Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Black Flag, and The Descendents tossed conventional ideas of what punk is in the garbage and created their own art. Unfortunately, in some cases, this pioneering has been mutated into something horribly sinister - the inception of hardcore by bands like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and the Gorilla Biscuits has led to the wasteland of sludgy, Victory Records-style tuffguy metalcore touted by bands like Earth Crisis and Hatebreed, and The Descendents beautiful "I'm a nerd, but I don't care, so fuck you" rock has been co-opted by generic emo and geek rock. It's really a sad place we're in now . . . but hey, change could be coming soon: if Bush is elected, it could spawn a similar furious explosion of musical creativity and originality to that that the Reagan years brought.
Interesting how such a simple phrase could conjure up so many words and thoughts.
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