With MacLaren and the '77 zeitgeist, something changed, and he was a big part of it -- regardless of who the forebears were. (And, yeah, they exist; that's uncontroversial.) He brought something new to the table, whether he was an asshole (which he was) or not. Of course others were pushing in that direction, or doing "proto-" versions of it already. (Hence the genre caled "proto-punk.") The COUM Transmissions were doing absolutely insane transgressive "music"/sex/etc. stuff before MacLaren, also.
People made rock 'n roll before Elvis, too. But, again - that isn't the point.
-B.
On 4/9/10 12:15 PM, farmelantj at juno.com wrote:
"I was about to make Dennis's point. That's not to deny that McLaren has had a lasting effect on pop culture,but Warhol and Lou Reed were there earlier."