Thinking hard and long about Punk Rock (ie- youth) nostalgia of late. Things seemed simpler than. Us versus them. As easy as it is to walk into a Hot Topic these days and buy your image, there was a certain thrill to creating it on your own. Although having to watch your back at all times was no fun either.
Here's a fun game. How many (and what) songs and bands are referenced in the following NOFX tune?
Johnny has a problem
Johnny is out of control
He had a TV party
With the kids in the black hole
Stealing people's mail
And lynching the landlord
Things to do when angry, young and bored
Johnny was only a lad
Johnny hates the scene
First he hit an old man
Then he hit and run Pauline
The record player spinning the best times I never had
So why do my old records make me sad?
Cause they're so bad
And no one seems to understand
The glory of guitar
When out of tune
The off timing
The singers who can't sing
The beauty of flaw
He's a teenage vegetable
This is the last resort
He's got PCP in his veins
He lives inside a quart
Johnny is a punk rocker
Johnny is he queer?
Johnny needed two bags
And a car to commandeer
Johnny wasn't liked much
But he had a lot of friends
Waits on stage
Eating ludes
A mindless brainwashed pig
Johnny was a good man
Till the day that he got shot
He had a jacked up chevy
That could blow you off the spot
Johnny always needs
More than he takes
Forgets a couple chords
Forgets a couple breaks
Johnny says he's bound
By only six strings to this world
Johnny Quest hates sellout bands
And Johnny Punk snorts ritilin
And Johnny is an angry amputee
NOFX - "Jaw, Knee, Music"
Was it really better "back in the day"? It seemed to me, that shit was alot more dogmatic. Those CBGS's Sunday matinees were a perfect example. Everybody looked the same. I had long hair back than and although I knew plenty of skins, I could never be in their little club because I wasn't cutting my hair.
It was nice back when the biggest issue was arguing who was more Punk.
My enemies are all too familiar.
They're the ones who used to call me friend.
I'm coloring outside your guidelines.
I was passing out when you were passing our your rules.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Who's punk what's the score?
Jawbreaker - "Boxcar"
Look at me, I'm in the front lines
I just came to have some fun
I've never seen this band before
I'm not like them, I'm hardcore
Government Issue - "Asshole"
Not gonna glorify the past, it was the same
We felt like the fire couldn't be contained
And it was you and me against the world
But we were already eating out of their hands
Dillinger Four - "How Many Punks Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb?"