Old Men No Longer Hold the Keys
On a day where old racial wounds were ripped wide open again, I want to take a second to try to tip my cap and make common cause with some folks who have, I suspect, at times, felt like outsiders in their own music scene.
Earlier today I read this very interesting and excellent article by Sarah Lay sharing the thoughts of several women in some really great bands (if you follow my playlists on Spotify, you know that I have featured all of them in my playlists before).
Here is that article:
My goal in writing about this is to celebrate what they are saying.
I will probably disagree slightly in a few places but not because I am right and they are wrong.
I consider this as an attempt to start a cool conversation, and punk is whatever they want it to be (the future of punk is much more in their hands than it is in mine). I am writing this because I enjoy the discussion, not to (in any way) “Mansplain” punk to them.
I am also really glad people are talking about and representing the genre I have loved all of my adult life.
Full disclosure, punk started for me in the early 80’s when I played in my first band and was exposed (by the guitarist) to the self titles Clash album shown above.
Some purists will hate what they are saying, there are parts of what they are saying that I disagree with, but they are saying things that make sense and they are invested in the scene. They have as much right as I do (and maybe more) to come to their own conclusions.
Okay, caveats out of the way, now to the discussion.
Alex Luciano, of Diet Cig, said that she thinks, “everyone has their own idea what punk means” and that, “Punk isn’t pretentious, it’s open to everyone and acknowledges that you don’t have to be a technical pro to play music or make art.”
I totally agree with this, punk is and always has been a movable feast, some punks hated the Clash for experimenting with Reggae and Hip-Hop.
It was about a DIY ethic from the start. It was also a reaction to the excesses and slickness of 1970’s Rock and Roll and it was about being whoever you were (unfortunately, this gave some white supremacists the ability to coopt the perception of the genre in the public mind).
Some old (and forgetful) punks, as the article later explains, are still trying to ignore the contributions of bands like The Slits, X-Ray Specs, Blondie, Patty Smith, The Avengers, Chrissy Hynde and so many others. People forget, for instance, that Siouxsie and the Banshees played at the 100 club punk festival (arguably the genesis point for UK Punk).
Janey from the band Dream Nails said, “We’ve had a lot of opportunities to reflect on what punk is and it’s multifaceted; punk is simultaneously a genre, a subculture, an attitude and also an aesthetic.” She goes on to say, “To us, punk is about living your own truth through political activism, through holding difficult conversations & through strong communities. To us, it’s about speaking and living and trying to change queer women’s truth about navigating a world of horrifying male violence & crushing capitalism.”
Amen Sister!
This reminds me of what bands like Bikini Kill was saying during the Riot Grrrl period or what Queercore bands like Pansy Division were saying in San Francisco in the early 90’s.
When the ‘industry’ or dominant structures of music are silencing you, punk is the idea that you can create your place and say, sing, or scream what you are angry about.
Punk is certainly all of these things and more!
Lucy, the drummer for Dream Nails said: “There is a brashness to punk which has been celebrated for as long as its existence, and it’s boring. In many ways, punk was a reflection of Thatcherism; it celebrated rampant individualism over community.”
Probably the comment I wanted to push back against the most in the whole article. Again, depends on what you mean by Punk. Many of the early punk bands were squatting together in tenements and sharing everything. I think it is a bit crazy to suggest it was a “reflection” of Thatcherism since for so many it was also a “repudiation” of Thatcherism.
There is certainly a celebration of individualism but also a defiance and pride in being who you were and where you were.
Also, not sure I agree brashness is boring, some of the other bands in this very article are pretty damn brash.
Anya from Dream Nails added: “People sometimes accuse us of not being very punk because we don’t get super drunk on tour, we look after each other and we’re obsessed with drinking Sleepytime Extra tea after shows to wind down. But being punk is you doing you, however you choose to define that.”
Don’t have much to add here except to say, that this is a very Straight Edge take. As an old Straight Edge punk (who doesn’t drink), I tip my cap to Anya.
Janey continues: “Punk is an all-encompassing term and it can be owned by anyone. For me the fundamental principle of punk is channeling anger through music. Old white men like to think they own and run it “like they do with everything in the fucking world but that’s an increasingly transparent sense of entitlement that lots of people are challenging now. Everyone’s allowed in it wouldn’t be very punk to say they’re not! However, punk is not a homogenous community, it’s a broad church and the most interesting pockets are at the radical fringes where the feminist punks, punks of colour and queer, trans and non-binary punks are creating safe spaces to speak their truth.”
Amazing. Could not agree more.
This old white man loves that you own punk now!!!
Great on you!
Alex from Diet Cig, says: “sharing your feelings is really radical and supporting your friends when they share is too. this idea isn’t here to discount boldness and unwavering aggression towards oppressors this is a super important tool, just that being soft and kind can also be a form of resistance against that oppression. It’s okay to outwardly share your feelings and engage in femininity, there’s so much power in being kind, being yourself, and supporting others so they can too!”
Wow, how awesome is that. For me punk was often a primal scream, but I love what she is saying here. Really powerful.
After today’s events, I think we could use a lot more caring and a lot less white male anger. Not entirely beyond what Elvis Costello was saying in the early 80’s.
I also love that Alex says that ‘caring is punk,’ kind of sad that we are at that place in the world, but I think it might be true (sigh).
Janey Continues, “Yes, from older men obsessing over the genre punk and saying that we aren’t punk, like they’re some kind of punk police, to a strange fetishisation of female rage. Young women’s anger is still perceived as novel, and is fetishised in an insidious way. Its something that’s so riddled with the male gaze in newspaper pictures of protests that onstage, we get perceived as women being angry as entertainment rather than as conveyors of a serious message we want audiences to take away.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if all older men stopped policing boundaries, sat back, and just enjoyed listening to what spices the next generations have to add to the wonderful 40 year old stew we know as Punk?
Hopefully, I will not be the only old man listening and learning!
Don’t get me wrong, I still have my ideas of what punk is, but they are MY ideas. I like these women’s ideas of what Punk means too!
I love that Cassie of Guttful name-drops Skinny Girl Diet as the future of punk (I really enjoy Skinny Girl Diet too).
All of these bands are well worth a listen, and that was one great article!
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