I was in San Francisco couple months back. And I met some of the people running this zine. And all you should know is: They are teenagers. They are full with energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, curiosity and punk, and want to learn about the whole world if it’s connected to angry but cool youth, about our world we have created for ourselves. They’re not gonna grow out of anything. ‘Cause there’s nothing to grow out of and nowhere to grow up unless you wanna be a boring asshole among shallow people.
That’s why I also really wish the
best to Laura Jane Grace from Against Me! because she grew up and no longer
dreaming means she has to be a resident of this cruel shithole called the real
world. And while I wouldn’t wish this badly vibing internet ignorance to anyone,
the irony is entertaining me that the stadiums Against Me! have molded their
music and ideas to are now big enough to fill with all those xenophobic
assholes who are way beyond freaked out about her coming out. Not to go too
unnecessarily further with my rant: Against Me! should keeping fucking
themselves for whatever they are as a band as a message. Although I still love
you Julie. But it’s really not her who I wanna talk about.
What was weird about the coverage of
this was it sounded like as if now since there is a woman in the band in charge
of being the so-called brain behind songwriting, then everything is in DANGER! Not just the sound of their
upcoming songs but even their whole existence as well. People are worried of
the future of the band? Like if they changed anyhow that would be the first
time in the history of music a band starts to suck because some of the members’
personal life has an affect on the band’s music? Most of my previous columns
are about awesome bands’ terrible records. Read those and learn about reality.
Have you heard people complaining on how HR’s drug addiction turned Bad Brains
into complete crap? OK, well maybe… But reading about how people are worried
that Against Me! will start to suck?
They already changed from heartfelt-squatter-folk-in-the-core-of-a-punk-band to
a shitty crap-MTV-stardom-cloroxed-living-room-rock. The last record I have
heard from them sounded like punks who wanna play Franz Ferdinand.
But why would she stop playing music
the same music she was playing before? Because women don’t play music? Because
women don’t play punk music? Also why are her fans are upset and confused? I
mean it’s a huge thing in a person’s life—and her friends’ and family’s life—to
make such decisions. But she is doing it for her own happiness and last time I
checked Against Me! did not really sounded like the Mentors thus I don’t really
get how her being fully herself would change any of her band’s sounds or ideas.
Or is it different to hear those ideas from a woman than from a man? But
especially when those ideas could come from anyone and they are that watered
down and shitty to begin with. My mom always tells me I should wake up from my
teenage dream and if I told her I have anarchistic views on living in this
world she would tell me it’s a lie, but I wouldn’t somehow believe it more if
it came from my father.
But this whole fuss really made me
think in a big way—about women, about women in music and especially women in
the punk scene. I have seen a friend of mine playing the guitar with his penis,
but besides the fact that it looked freaky it didn’t really help his playing or
make him look too cool either. So why are we so anchored to the need of penises
between the legs of our idolized noisemakers? That day this news on LJG
got revealed I went to see some friends’ band practice. Incidentally, they are
all women. They are together for like half a year and they play this Minor
Threat-esque but collapsing plain punk hardcore. What I love in the first Minor
Threat album is that it’s so visceral and natural and confused and sometimes
falling apart but still a fucking powerhouse, they can’t go wrong. The guitar
is playing thoughts of angry youth like hating school and jobs and cops rather
than notes or bridges and choruses. And they— the girls I went to check—were
awesome but weird as well.
Look, I’m as ignorant as Agnostic
Front’s United Blood (not if they
have gained any more intellectual ever since) so maybe I shouldn’t really start
scratching the surface of why are girls especially in countries like mine are
forced to be this way even in punk.
But
when I was in SF almost every band that I saw had at least female member and
Replica ripped my fucking head off without asking anyone’s permission or
looking around to see who they should care about. Seriously, at an Oakland show I was moshed
into a kitchen from a pit the girls had started. And these girls at home could
have done the same to me. But they were for some reason concerned (in a
different way from the guys who do the same thing) about what people will think
about them, even among the safety walls of their rehearsal room. They wanted to
play their songs good rather than just play good overall. But I mean punk is
about mistakes so if you make one just keep on playing cause you are doing
something right.
For some reasons (which might be more
to do with writing this at work and being on my third beer and no food at all)
being there and seeing them play, it was almost like they were playing punk for
the first time. Or at least I felt it that way sitting on the cold floor being
half drunk, suffocated on deodorant sprays and windowless room heat. They tried
to figure out what will sound how and because they are girls it seemed like
they felt like they had to reinvent punk for themselves from the basics. And
although I loved this idea, I also wanted them to be natural. They were
intimidated by me and I guess it’s normal since I’m a critical, cynical huge
fucking asshole, especially when they see me hugging my beer, but I just wanted
them to fucking hate me, to make me the reason why they are shy and then stab
that shyness in the fucking throat with their raging songs. I wanted them—and
more so their music—to frighten me. They asked me to check them out for my
opinion on them, but what they should know—and it’s already fucked up I’m
saying this—that they don’t need a man to tell them what they should do or care
what the fuck I think about them. ‘Cause I didn’t go to their practice as a talent
agent. I went there to be amazed by their rage—that I don’t put out, we don’t give a fuck, subvert normality, disco sucks
rage. Of running away not from home but from society and all it’s bullshit.
It’s not some huge, “let’s all rise, unite and take over” speech. I’m not Bill
Pullman at the end of Independence Day.
But everybody who is punk and likes to be punk, they should act like Randy
Quaid did while flying his jet into the eyes of the enemy, laughing, spitting
and not being bothered to die. In punk only those fail on stage who are not
willing to die for themselves.
This rehearsal also reminded me that
I love compilations. I love them for the same reason I love punk. There are
million bands after each other ripping so hard I’m being amazed by our whole
counter culture. One of the most inspiring comps of all time for me is the Bullshit Detector ones. ‘Cause they not
only summon a time and scene but they also summon what is so good in punk. No
matter how fucked up you play, if you are smart and have the will you will
succeed. It’s the punk plus that
makes everything so good and those three comps with their many dozen bands are
almost all great, even if some of them can’t play their instruments at all,
it’s that rage which could be naive as hell but still could fill up kids hearts
with adrenaline and courage to start making their own shit and recognize
others’ bullshit.
Because for me women are mysteriously
amazing as well as anarcho punx, thus for me this whole crass movement is a
feminine one too. While I love hanging out with weirdly masculine people, especially
when they are women or kinda stupid boys, I’m really psyched for my new band.
We even will have a skinhead member who is a self-proclaimed emo skin. So every
member except me has a feminine soul especially the girl who will play bass.
And I’m really excited to experience creating something new with this set of
people and minds. Not that we will be “The Feminine Band That The Scene Needs”
or anything, but I’m really excited to play with these new people and excited
about our bass player as well ‘cause even though she played the harp for six
years it will be her first time to be in a punk band and play the bass. And a
friend of mine was right that he always wants someone in his bands to be an
absolute beginner on her or his instrument ‘cause people who just started
playing music care about what they like to hear and being creative not just
playing out from knowledge and being aware of which riff is completely in tune.
What we are great at most is this
just this. Punk is a community that cares about the people behind the
music—their stories, their ideas. and whatever it is since it’s punk and cool
and sounds true and sincere everybody can be themselves and do their own thing.
The only thing you have to be is yourself. Even Against Me! dared to be so awful,
so that now playing music as a girl or just dare to be a girl is such a punk
move for anyone. And no one should be afraid to do these things cause to be a
real punk it not only means to act like one but realize the punkness in others
as well. Because if we can’t see how awesome people are when they are fully
themselves and having fun, then they will be afraid to be themselves. And women
are awesome. Just listen to the guitars in Drunkdriver. That girl equals noise
as well as noise equals her, and noise is what’s cool. So get up and make
yours. Alright, I am Bill Pullman at
the end of Independence Day!
