as much as i love a wide variety of music, i keep coming back to the allure of “three chords tuned to exhaustion.” that’s a quote from my poem “Punk” for those three of you who are unfamiliar with it… 🙂 EDIT: i added a link to both a text version and an MP3 of it for those of you interested. it’s down in the comments.
right now, i’m streaming kexp’s sonic reducer show. just heard nomeansno, go like hell, jesus lizard…gits…
punk broke the first time when i was 16-17. i saw early Ramones, Clash, etc. tours, and had the chance to see all the great Boston punk bands — SS Decontrol, DYS, Willie Alexander, etc.
it’s funny — punk is my nostalgia trip, but i’ve never stopped loving the new stuff as much as the old. granted, there will never be another “Guns on the Roof” but there will always be another great and ultimately disposable hardcore song…
that’s part of the allure of punk for me — the idea that it’s the moment captured; no necessary sense of writing for the ages; anyone with rudimentary guitar knowledge can create a punk song that does exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.
i’m listening right now to the station hosting a live touring band from Texas called the Urgencies (and are any band names as good as punk band names?) and they’re putting their own live spin on the show’s theme, the Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer.”
they aren’t particularly great, or original, but they’re perfect.
i may go plug in and bang out a little “Holiday in Cambodia” or even something of my own in a bit, but for now, I’m just gonna listen.

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