It was a very different era. There wasn't iTunes, no Internet, no twitter or Facebook. It was a chance to explore bands based on what you heard at the record store.
I was a few years older when I got further into the "scene", or as much as a prepubescent, precocious child could. It was several years after Sid Vicious' death; Johnny Rotten had gone on to form PiL, and I had moved from the NYC area to Salt Lake City.
From the first time I heard Johnny Rotten growling "right now" and the evil, maniacal laughter that starts Anarchy in the UK, I was a goner.
This was a magical time in the history of punk. There was a vibrant scene on both coasts, as well as Europe. Just watching Decline of Western Civilization, Penelope Spheris' brilliant documentary of the LA punk scene, justifies the hype.
SLC at the time was a crossroads. Bands from both coasts played gigs. There were vibrant local bands. Punks from all over flocked to the region, much like San Francisco in the 60's or Portland in the 90's. There was skiing, skateboarding, a terrific hangout with Raunch Records as well as local radio support. The movie SLC Punk, while attempting to portray it, never quite got it right. It was a few degrees short of truth. Or at least how I remember the truth.
The punk subculture was a great breeding ground for those of us who felt like misfits. I wrote poetry and was best, the prototype for Winona Ryder's character in Beetlejuice. I liked attempting to take pictures of lightening and old cemeteries. I looked more like a cross between a mod and a goth chick, and made it through my teen years with multiple ear piercings and tattoo free.
My son was scrolling through my track listing on iTunes the other day and he wanted to hear my favorite 5 songs of all time on there, but the catch was they all had to be from different artists.
All time?
Different groups?
Wowzers.
Tough call.
So, I fired it up and gave him an aural treat.
5. Bastards of Young-replacements
4. The New World-X
3. When the Angels Sing-Social Distortion
2. Anarchy in the UK-Sex Pistols
1. London Calling-the Clash
Needless to say, little man, who is from the era of Lady Gaga and autotune, wasn't impressed. His father has quite different musical taste than i do. My son likes ska, the mats and the clash. However his 2 favorite songs are poker face and who let the dogs out. But he's 9, and he has a solid foundation of good music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICXdQR1VVhw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
4 comments:
Delightful! I am a bit older but feel of course exactly the same about the psychedelic rock of my time.
I was not allowed to listen to music my mother didn't like growing up and there was a lot of that.My mother preferred music of the forties fifties and early sixties.So I missed a lot of this music.My daughters were allowed to listen to whatever they wanted to.My daughters have introduced me to a lot of music I missed.My youngest daughter introduced me to the sex pistols.I'm going to have to look up the artist 3-5 in my neglected music knowledge i have never heard them.
I can't say that i'm familiar with this music but I can say that your writing about it is great and peeked my curiosity. I'll be looking up and listening if only just this one time. Well done.
Lovely passionate write about how music shapes us. I'm going to have to check thses songs out
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