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Pong! Punk Rock died a little today.


Ms. Spam
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Guys ... the Sex Pistols did not call their second studio album "The Greatest Rock and Roll Swindle" for nothing. 1999? Ha! The Sex Pistols called their OWN bluff in 1979.

Kurgan, it wasn't really a Sex Pistols album, it was the soundtrack to the mockumentary film of the same name, and Johnny Rotten (by then, Lydon) refused to have anything to do with it, 'cause he was still taking himself way too seriously at that time.

 

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is the only studio album they ever did.

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I've always viewed the Sex Pistols as being effectively a boy band. Little talent and more about fashion than music.

There are a lot of punk bands who were more talented, have better songs, etc. and I think "Anarchy in the UK" and "God Save the Queen" are quite boring. I also think you are right about it being more about fashion than the music... BUT! It's important to acknowledge that the genre of music was pretty revolutionary at the time,* and that the fashion was intended as a social/political statement (especially regarding class and the economy), which, IMO, elevates the genre above "boy band" for me... regardless of how pre-planned their destiny was (depending on how much you believe from McLaren's lie-hole), and regardless of how much of a joke Sid Vicious was, or a whiny, self-important sad-douche Johnny Rotten became during the final days of the band.

 

I hate when people talk about the Sex Pistols as if they personify/define punk.

Why? It's possible to acknowledge that lots of other bands (like, say: The Clash) were better musicians and songwriters while acknowledging the importance of the Sex Pistols as one of the genre's main faces (or would that be heels?). Like it or not, their "no future," nihilistic attitude basically defined an entire branch of the music.

 

I think it's important not to forget about other bands: The Descendents, despite their plethora of annoyingly put-upon "nice guy wants to get laid but girls only like jerks" lyrics are one of my all-time favorite bands, and also "punk," but embody a completely different ethos. The Dead Kennedys, except for the vocal warble, are a distinct entity from the Sex Pistols, as well. But that doesn't mean SP aren't one of the most (if not the most) important bands -- or personifications -- of the genre.

 

:eek:

 

 

* The "punk" sound and attitude had been around since the mid-1960s in various flashes and pings and pops, but as a fully realized genre did not exist until the mid-1970s.

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Oh I know all that. I don't even dislike he Sex Pistols. I could listen to Never Mind the Bullocks most days. To me they're just clearly inferior to all the other bands listed and then some that it just kinda grates me that often people only associate punk with them and the Ramones.

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But it's a good film. Centres around them being inducted to the rock and roll hall of fame. Really depressing though. Dee Dee died shortly after it from heroin overdose while the film spends time devoted to tracking his battle with it.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

 

 

Oh I know all that. I don't even dislike he Sex Pistols. I could listen to Never Mind the Bullocks most days. To me they're just clearly inferior to all the other bands listed and then some that it just kinda grates me that often people only associate punk with them and the Ramones.

I like me some Sex Pistols now and again, and Ramones, as well. But yeah, other than Iggy, one would almost think those two bands are the ONLY punk bands. My theory is I think its probably because they were the first two that really went main stream, and whose CDs still sell. The Ramones especially get airplay alongside Metallica and Heart, on so many classic rock stations across the country at any given minute. Not to mention both bands have been covered by other bands to death.

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Conversations about the death of punk have probably been going on since a year after punk was created.

 

People whinged about the death of grunge, emo, etc. Music evolves, hop on the train and enjoy the music as it comes. I would be missing out on a ton of good music if I assumed all rock died with the disbanding/retirement of Led Zeppelin.

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