The audience was gradually getting nervous as Black Midi extended songs beyond recognition, almost stopped playing altogether, engaged in prolonged stop-start patterns with satanic pleasure and then, all of a sudden, started the next song without even waiting for applause. This was exciting, dangerous, finally a band pushing boundaries of technical possibilities, song structure and…
About leather jackets and hotpants
Music and fashion are not strongly linked anymore. As a result, almost all physical manifestations of belonging to a particular group are gone. No occasional sighting of a skater with baggy jeans or a punk in black leather jacket can change that fact. We live in different times. Today it is more important to all…
Why all girls should listen to X-Ray Spex
If I was President of the world I would make sure all girls owned a copy of ‘Oh bondage, up yours!’, X-Ray Spex’s debut single from 1977. “Why?” you might ask. “and why only girls?” The answer is simple, elementary, and reveals itself in the first 30 seconds of this iconic Punk song. First Poly…
Give me convenience
Because I was too young, Because I was too shy and too scared, Because I was too young, (not) much too young, Because fear was not my best friend, Because I was (still not Neil) young and fading away already, Because the spotlight frightened me (and still does decades later), But mainly because I was…
We’re a happy family
Sitting here in Queens Eating refried beans We’re in all the magazines Gulpin’ down thorazines In April 2001 Joey Ramone died from Lymphoma, not even 50 years old. Five years earlier The Ramones had stopped playing together, but even though that formally ended one of the most influential (punk) rock families, Dee Dee Ramone couldn’t…
Punk ended with Spiral Scratch
Punk ended on the 29th of January 1977. On that day Buzzcocks released their Spiral Scratch EP. Singer Howard Devoto left the band more or less at the same time, stating that punk rock had already become restrictive and stereotyped. Why did Punk end with Spiral Scratch? Because it was the first punk record…
Before The Fall
Frankly I was shocked when a friend told me recently I didn’t like Nick Cave’s early work. There are a few certainties in my life, and I thought Nick Cave was one of them. His observation was true though. Reading old notes, and doing some serious soul-searching made me realise I only started liking Nick…
Defining a genre: Wire
Last Summer I was travelling Switzerland by train. All boringly predictable until a young guy stepped in. He couldn’t have been older than 25 and what instantly surprised me was that he was wearing a Wire T-shirt. Not just any Wire T-shirt, but a T-shirt of their iconic debut album ‘Pink Flag’ (1977). I say…
Revitalising Punk and Protest
To all the people who believe the political events of 2016 will lead to a revival of Punk. It will not happen, at least not in any influential way, until: you come out of bubble and start engaging with the people you are supposedly protesting for. It’s nice to write ironic comments on Twitter or…
High School Hell
Even in retrospect I hate High School. My High School years were by far the most unhappy years of my life. Big deal, you might say, every teenager is unhappy, right? But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about growing up, feeling insecure about your place in the world and your relationship…
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