March 18, 2008


Thinking hard and long about Punk Rock (ie- youth) nostalgia of late. Things seemed simpler than. Us versus them. As easy as it is to walk into a Hot Topic these days and buy your image, there was a certain thrill to creating it on your own. Although having to watch your back at all times was no fun either.

Here's a fun game. How many (and what) songs and bands are referenced in the following NOFX tune?

Johnny has a problem
Johnny is out of control
He had a TV party
With the kids in the black hole
Stealing people's mail
And lynching the landlord
Things to do when angry, young and bored

Johnny was only a lad
Johnny hates the scene
First he hit an old man
Then he hit and run Pauline

The record player spinning the best times I never had
So why do my old records make me sad?
Cause they're so bad
And no one seems to understand
The glory of guitar
When out of tune
The off timing
The singers who can't sing
The beauty of flaw

He's a teenage vegetable
This is the last resort
He's got PCP in his veins
He lives inside a quart
Johnny is a punk rocker
Johnny is he queer?
Johnny needed two bags
And a car to commandeer
Johnny wasn't liked much
But he had a lot of friends
Waits on stage
Eating ludes
A mindless brainwashed pig
Johnny was a good man
Till the day that he got shot
He had a jacked up chevy
That could blow you off the spot
Johnny always needs
More than he takes
Forgets a couple chords
Forgets a couple breaks
Johnny says he's bound
By only six strings to this world
Johnny Quest hates sellout bands
And Johnny Punk snorts ritilin
And Johnny is an angry amputee

NOFX - "Jaw, Knee, Music"

Was it really better "back in the day"? It seemed to me, that shit was alot more dogmatic. Those CBGS's Sunday matinees were a perfect example. Everybody looked the same. I had long hair back than and although I knew plenty of skins, I could never be in their little club because I wasn't cutting my hair.


It was nice back when the biggest issue was arguing who was more Punk.

My enemies are all too familiar.
They're the ones who used to call me friend.
I'm coloring outside your guidelines.
I was passing out when you were passing our your rules.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Who's punk what's the score?
Jawbreaker - "Boxcar"

Look at me, I'm in the front lines
I just came to have some fun
I've never seen this band before
I'm not like them, I'm hardcore

Government Issue - "Asshole"

Not gonna glorify the past, it was the same
We felt like the fire couldn't be contained
And it was you and me against the world
But we were already eating out of their hands
Dillinger Four - "How Many Punks Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb?"

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Here are the songs I recognized right off the bat:

Black Flag, "TV Party"

Dead Kennedys, "Stealing People's Mail" & "Let's Lynch the Landlord"

X, "Hit and Run Pauline"

I can't think of the name of the band, but "Johnny Are You Queer?" was in the movie "Valley Girl."

It would be so easy to be a political hardcore punk these days, as Bush and co. are far, far worse than Reagan ever was. And yet, there are no young punks, which astounds me. Where's Jello Biafra when you need him? I guess the teens and twentysomethings these days are all into plastic pop and "American Idol," which is sad. We need some angry, pissed off folks to kick us all in the balls.

The first time I walked into a Hot Topic at my local mall I laughed out loud, literally. Every now and then I peek in, but it just doesn't seem right to buy pre-packaged rebellion at the mall.

Unknown said...

Also, here's a set of Flickr photos you might be interested in:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_heermann/sets/72157594146849683/

C said...

Thanks very much for the live X!! Unfortunately it seems that I will never be on the correct coast when X is performing.. :( but I bet they will be amazing!

I see "TV Party," "Jonny Hit and Run Pauline" which were already mentioned, and oh, "Johnny Was" Marley/SLF? and Bouncing Souls' "Ballad of Johnny X"

David HD said...

Nice blog, anyway:

He had a TV party- Black Flag

With the kids in the black hole- Adolescents

Stealing people's mail
And lynching the landlord- Dead Kennedys

Then he hit and run Pauline- X

Johnny is a punk rocker- Ramones

Johnny is he queer?- Screeching Weasel

gomonkeygo said...

They are selling CBGB's posters at Target. Our local store, in podunk nowhere, sold out. I kept watching the stock shrink. It was a sick game, but I had to play it.

Nazz Nomad said...

"They think it's funny/Turning rebellion into money"
Joe Strummer- "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" 1977