A great conversation about why the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash, and others mattered so much, but for so brief a time. And why we need a new blast of that old punk magic.
I loved your conversation with Eli, and listening to you and Matt Welch talk weekly confirms my belief that late Boomers (the age of my cool aunts and uncles) and early Gen-Xers (the age of me, their annoying nephew) have much in common when it comes to pop-culture tastes and related sensibilities.
I struggle to connect with much music made after 1993 or '94, which perhaps not coincidentally was when I was beginning to tire of grad school and eager to get on with a married, mortgaged life. Like you, Nick, I see the cultural-political conditions of punk's golden age to be much like today's and anxiously await a new wave of creative young musicians to emerge, disgusted by MAGA, COVID policies, InstaTok, crappy Disney content, and the rest. I am sure there are other examples out there, but the only one so far to catch my attention is Yard Act out of Leeds. I would love to hear other suggested acts to check out.
I think it's a mistake to view punk rock as a movement. There's nothing tying it all together but cynicism and music and individuality. Not even fashion. Ironically, this means it is never out of fashion.
We've had "punks" for centuries. First one I found was Diogenes of Sinope.
I loved your conversation with Eli, and listening to you and Matt Welch talk weekly confirms my belief that late Boomers (the age of my cool aunts and uncles) and early Gen-Xers (the age of me, their annoying nephew) have much in common when it comes to pop-culture tastes and related sensibilities.
I struggle to connect with much music made after 1993 or '94, which perhaps not coincidentally was when I was beginning to tire of grad school and eager to get on with a married, mortgaged life. Like you, Nick, I see the cultural-political conditions of punk's golden age to be much like today's and anxiously await a new wave of creative young musicians to emerge, disgusted by MAGA, COVID policies, InstaTok, crappy Disney content, and the rest. I am sure there are other examples out there, but the only one so far to catch my attention is Yard Act out of Leeds. I would love to hear other suggested acts to check out.
I think it's a mistake to view punk rock as a movement. There's nothing tying it all together but cynicism and music and individuality. Not even fashion. Ironically, this means it is never out of fashion.
We've had "punks" for centuries. First one I found was Diogenes of Sinope.