Punk had to die so that WE could live
“Punk had to die so that it could live” (223) Dylan Clark opens his article, “The Death and Life of Punk, the Last Subculture.” He closes it with the following paragraph:
Earlier he claims, “… [Punk is] making its presence felt in the Battle for Seattle, Quebec City, EarthFirst!, Reclaim the Streets, and a variety of anti-corporate movements” (234). But Clark commits a categorical error – it is not Punk itself that lives on, but the punks that once confined themselves to the semiology of this identity. Punk had to die, so that WE could live. The anarchist afterward is not a continuation of the movement, but a definite break with it; at most the punk spirit may carry on in the memories of the bearers of these narratives, but only in those that bother to re-visit it. The aforementioned movements are events in themselves. Attempts to attribute Punk to them is as misguided as attributing to them Liberalism or Platonism, other lineages that might be traced through them should we wish to try. The authentic punk, supposedly is she that realizes the death of punk rock and redirects her attention – alas, there is nothing authentic about this attitude, though it is surely revolutionary in quality. According to Clark, I’m about as punk as they come for being so critical about it. This feels rather tautologous. Maybe it was the prigs that tried to censor the Sex Pistols that were the punkest punks there ever was, for realizing that this whole endeavor was misguided from the start. Thankfully, the passage of time has been able to show us that there is nothing radical in averting ones critical responsibility by shaving the sides of one’s head, and shoving a safety pin through one’s penis.
Cited:
Clark, Dylan. “The Death and Life of Punk, the Last Subculture,” in _The Post-Subcultures Reader_. Ed. David Muggleton & Rupert Weiznierl. New York: Berg Publishers, 2003. Pages 223-236.
Punk had to die so that it could live. By slipping free of its orthodoxies – its costumes, musical regulations, behaviors, and thoughts – punk embodied the anarchism it aspired to. Decentralized, anti-hierarchical, mobile, and invisible, punk has become a loose assemblage of guerilla militias. It cannot be owned; it cannot be sold. It upholds the principles of anarchism, yet it has no ideology. It is called punk, yet it has no name (234).
Earlier he claims, “… [Punk is] making its presence felt in the Battle for Seattle, Quebec City, EarthFirst!, Reclaim the Streets, and a variety of anti-corporate movements” (234). But Clark commits a categorical error – it is not Punk itself that lives on, but the punks that once confined themselves to the semiology of this identity. Punk had to die, so that WE could live. The anarchist afterward is not a continuation of the movement, but a definite break with it; at most the punk spirit may carry on in the memories of the bearers of these narratives, but only in those that bother to re-visit it. The aforementioned movements are events in themselves. Attempts to attribute Punk to them is as misguided as attributing to them Liberalism or Platonism, other lineages that might be traced through them should we wish to try. The authentic punk, supposedly is she that realizes the death of punk rock and redirects her attention – alas, there is nothing authentic about this attitude, though it is surely revolutionary in quality. According to Clark, I’m about as punk as they come for being so critical about it. This feels rather tautologous. Maybe it was the prigs that tried to censor the Sex Pistols that were the punkest punks there ever was, for realizing that this whole endeavor was misguided from the start. Thankfully, the passage of time has been able to show us that there is nothing radical in averting ones critical responsibility by shaving the sides of one’s head, and shoving a safety pin through one’s penis.
Cited:
Clark, Dylan. “The Death and Life of Punk, the Last Subculture,” in _The Post-Subcultures Reader_. Ed. David Muggleton & Rupert Weiznierl. New York: Berg Publishers, 2003. Pages 223-236.
posted by Nicholas @ 6.1.07
1 Comments:
We're all presidents,
We're all congressmen,
We're all cops
In waiting.
We're the workers of the world.
There is the elite and the dispossessed
And it's only about survival,
Who has skill to play the game
For all it's worth,
Reaching out for a scary kind of perfection.
Let's try to keep
As much emotion out of this
As possible.
Let's try not to remember any names.
We'll do it for our country,
For our people,
For a moral vision.
United, we'll make them remember
Our history,
Or how we like to be told...
How we like to be told,
And we rock,
Because it's us against them.
We found our own reasons to sing,
And it's so much less confusing
When lines are drawn like that,
When people are either consumers or revolutionaries,
Enemies or friends hanging on the fringes
Of the cogs in the system.
It's just about knowing where everyone stands.
All of a sudden,
People start talking about guns,
Talking like they're going to war
'Cause they found something to die for.
Start taking back what they stole;
Sure beats every other option,
But does it make a difference how we get it?
Well, do you really fucking get it?
-Against me
posted by Nat
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