[lbo-talk] Bob Again (Was National Review's Top 50 )

[jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net]

> > The anti-disco moment  of punk was full of racism and homophobia. Not in 
> > every case, for  sure, but it's there.
> >
> > Doug
> 
> Which bands? John Lydon left the Sex Pistols to form PiL, which moved past 
> rock music (which Lydon proclaimed was dead) to embrace various raw ethereal 
> sounds from other cultures. The Clash, of course, mixed reggae, ska and yes, 
> disco (and early rap) once they got the three-chord thang outta their 
> system. The New York bands like Blondie and Talking Heads also did this, 
> though in my view the Heads went further and did it better than Blondie. I 
> wouldn't label X a racist or homophobic band, nor The Germs, whose lead 
> singer Darby Crash was queer (and penned some great lyrics), nor Fear, who 
> wrote hard-core ironical lyrics that trashed the whole jock mentality. And 
> then there's the Dead Kennedys' "Nazi Punks Fuck Off," a short stabbing song 
> that I doubt the NatRev kids would find comforting.
> 
> Every genre has its idiots and knuckleheads, punk/New Wave included. But I 
> can't think of a major, influential punk band that sang racist, queer-hating 
> songs. Who am I missing?
> 
> Dennis 

Not the bands, the audience. I would wager than 85% of the time I went to see a punk band play some 
Nazi-wanna-be's and/or skinheads would try (and sometimes succeed) to kick my ass. Many of the fucking 
suburban white kids who came to the concerts did so with violence in mind. I never went in alone, it was too 
dangerous. Trips to the emergency room were almost as much a part of the scene as anything else. The 
fights were usually after the gig was over but I remember a Black Flag concert in Tulsa that was stopped 
because of such fighting. The white boys from the suburbs were even more mad about this so it was hell 
getting out of there. New York was the exception, for me anyway. Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Minneapolis 
even San Francisco (which surprised us for some reason) were all scenes of after concert fights with these 
assholes. Native American punks were few and faw between and not exactly made welcome by a small but 
vocal part of the scene. Even Adam Ant looking like some da-nu-wa--ag-i-la didn't help!

John Thornton