are there still punks?

Alternately, no there are no longer any punks.

I now have images of legions of hip kids milling round a huge academic library occasionally talking about music amongst their idle chatter. Whilst they go about their business from his lofty perch on a second floor balcony a seemingly innocuous librarian looks on benevolently. He smiles to himself for little do they know who this man is...

THE ANSWER IS "NO"

i find it somewhat strange that "punk" as a fashion mode has been so persistent--go to the belmont/clark area of chicago and you will see them in droves.

(im very biased. i didn't get along with the punks in my high school, no matter how much i loved the stooges )

It is bizarre, though, seeing kids were weren't even born in `82 wearing Exploited t-shirts (and even the Exploited were third or fourth wavers themselves).

yawn

By 1977, it was already a uniform.

yawn

By 1977, it was already a uniform

True, which only underscores how staid said uniform is today.

so what? why can't they like the Exploited?

Did I say that they couldn't like the Exploited? I'm more just astounded that anyone listens to the Exploited anymore.

There are still plenty of punks but there isn't any punk any more.

Stew does have a miraculous way with words, and were I wearing a hat right now, I would take it off to him.

I'm astounded anyone did in the first place!

Never mind the hat, just slip out of those bondage trousers and come here, big boy.

So... yeah.

Oh, you mean the William Burroughs definition of "punk"? I'm sure they still exist too.

My favourite 'though was an extremely small T-shirt that said "Daddy, what's a Sex Pistol?".

It was almost enough to make me want to procreate, simply in order to dress some future little Stewart Jnr. in tiny little bondage trousers and DM's....

That was ALMOST.

Aja?

In some ways I want to be able to say say "Yeah, they're enjoying themselves and not really upsetting anyone - it's a bit of shame they can't think of something new and have to call what they're doing "punk" when it only bears the most superficial resemblance to punk, but what the fuck?".

At the same time 'though there's a bit of me that wants to jump up and down and start frothing at the mouth and screaming "what the fuck has this got to do with punk? Don't these little twats realise that trying to conform to some diluted and redundant image of something that's been dead for 25 years and has completely lost it's ability to shock anyone, instead of coming up with something of their own, is the absolute antithesisof punk?"

-- sleeve

HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE

You are now two lines into writing your first street punk anthem, but you don't really get it, do you?

Also -- they throw good parties.

Two lines into the worst fucking song ever? For the smallest group of the biggest dipshits on the planet? Great.

and relentless OTMFM by same.

There are vast legions of crusty punk kids in continental Europe.
As much as I despise them (the dirt and aimlessness, but especially the begging with dogs thing which I find totally unpunk) I suppose it's still better than if ""we"" lost them to the banking industry/insurance business/insert globally nefarious job here.
Oh and

Also -- they throw good parties.
-- A|ex P@reene
Fuck no they don't. You're disgusting. Maybe the rich US trendy-style punks do but I seriously doubt it.

This is so not about the UK, the US, or even music anymore AND IT SURE ISN'T ABOUT CLOTHES. Once a punk always an anarchist, it's one of those things.

And to be 100% perfect, this post should read :
sexpistols r the fucn creatrs of punk in mi eyes nd there aint no cunt what will tell me different
-- yazmin

I AM ALIVE

haha yep! hard times....palmer's bar...triple rock.....also. they have a wierd fascination with really tall bicycles.

blunt -- please note that European crust-punks /= American crust-punks. The ones I'm talking about often have jobs and run co-ops and fix bicycles and shit -- they don't beg. They do put those stupid fucking bandanas on their dogs, though.

Go to the May Day Parade, though! They show off their most dangerous/crazy bikes every year.

SO LETS CHANGE THIS

wahts' the deal with these dudes? i feel like they came on my radar circa the 1999 WTO riots in seattle -- a glimpse into this network of black clad anarchists living off the grid out of protest but still seemingly attempting to engage in a dialog with a society that they viewed participating in as some sort of sin. on the one hand their relentless co-oping and dedication to community seems admirable; on the other, it sometimes seems merely self serving, a way to coast thru life on the shoulders of your fellow crusties. what does 'punk', broadly conceived, have to do with this? can punk's stripping away of classic-rock excess be seen as analogous to crustie attempts to live 'off the grid,' free of the immoral detritus of modernity? and does (first wave)punk's implosion and what we have identified as crustie 'aimlessness' speak to a flaw in the sort of puritanism, a confusion of means with ends? conversely, does the ineffable spirit of DIY in early punk, present in music that might sound nothing like it, speak to the potentials of such a lifestyle or ethos as a springboard towards meaningful dialog with and change of society?

In order to yer questions:

1. We are many, and not all dudes.
2. That was a long sentence, but "punk" relates to the scene in that many folks listen to and identify with "peace punk" music, Crass etc. (see DIRT tour above). Also the folks at Profane Existance have made a dedicated, if at times drunken and horrifying, effort to infuse more modern punk with some of the Crass influence (to oversimplify in a most horrifying way).
3. Yes, but not all of those folks life "off the grid", many are urban scavengers.
4. Yes. Except for the vegans who have to eat processed food.
4. Key question. The balance between givers and takers is what anarchism seeks, in part, to address and perhaps redress. I refer you to the "Carnival Of Chaos" book, although it's out of print. Well, anyway, freeloading is indeed an issue. I have had houseguests who were parasites and others who were awesome. You just have to draw boundaries and be clear.
5. Yes yes yes oh yes it does.

I work next to a site where generations of "urban scavengers" have demonstrated their utter lack of respect for just about anything including themselves. Their dogs are cleaner than them. They scatter shit lightly all over the plaza, whereas their owners shit in bags which they throw into a pile on the opposite side of said plaza from where they live. Or attempt to rot faster than most. Or whatever it is they do.

Since most of them clearly could go back to mommy & daddy tomorrow, am I to understand that the latest anarchist-revolutionary technique is to borrow parts of the punk ethos and attire, and and set ourselves apart from society, forming little groups ? How is this relevant in more than a superficial, visually shocking sense and is that enough of a contribution to be considered more than plain disgusting lazy-ass freeloading ?

Do they inspire you to change the world for the better ? Are they providing an interesting model for proactive people who could choose to get involved in a socially constructive activity instead of working for MegaCorp A or B ?

But have you ever read Slug And Lettuce? This is a serious question, as per the original poster...

nope, no punks

"All it is is just another uniform now,....which, ultimately & ironically, was the very thing it arguably railed against."

yeah, I know the story. Same thing happened with mod. Weird that that is a retro look when originally its ethos was so anti retro, always trying to be a step ahead. The ethos of mod presumably switched into a different later youthcult that wouldn't label itself with a hasbeen timewarped label?

With punk though I thought it was about self expression but that does seem to have become ossified by '77 or possibly a little later when it fed and then fed off the Mad Max look.
I always think the idea of a 'Spirit of '77' movement capturing the height of punk is at least a year if not 2 late. Maybe that's the point the media and record labels got hold of it? I assume that most record label versions of 'the punk sound' were distortions/diffractions of band intentions, no matter how classic the lps concerned are viewed now.

I think a generic punk is as sad as a generic hippy would have seemed in '76 or whenever. But then I think a generic anything is not as good as an individualised one.

yer there still r punks..nd if u say ur a punk be 1 be a anarchist ns listn 2 the music

― sexpistol, Sunday, December 18, 2005 12:25 AM (5 years ago) Bookmark

underrated post

i am a punk

i am eating ravioli & listening to black flag

still here, still punk

I picked up a new issue of Profane Existence the other day, and while the music reviews were depressing (derivative, uninteresting, everything compared to other older bands) I was pleased to see a number of good, thoughtful columns by their writers. Some nice pieces on growing older and disaster preparedness. And hey, it's free now!

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/7/2011/07/princewilliam.jpg

ska is dead t shirt! that was one of the first shows i ever went to

ha sleeve I just picked up a PE last week for the first time in forever