F#@k This

I recently turned on one of many documentaries on YouTube about the beginnings of punk rock. I have seen many of these and most are not very impressive or are just the same old clips replayed. This one was different in a lot of ways. It had interviews with people that were actually there and telling stories and how they were affected.

Watching on an early Sunday morning with a cup of coffee, listening through blaring headphones while the rest of the household slept, I had to laugh out loud at different points. The laughter was from the truth the characters were talking about. I laughed because I was there in a few of the stories and the memories came flooding back in an instant. I would hear a Henry Rollins story or a Jello Biafra comment, and I could almost hear a soundtrack of the times in my mind.

It was a special time for a generation that was a part of an actual movement. It really depended on what part of the world you were living, because music hit at different times across the planet. The period would have been anywhere between 1974- 1979. The initial movement I refer to could  easily be argued. But in the context of this writing and the YouTube film, I am comfortable referring to the 70’s movement. The alternative music or whatever the press decided to call it, was more than just a few albums in the 90’s. Like the film states, the music of those bands much like the 70’s punk rock, was always brewing underground for years before the mainstream press clenched its fists around it.

Today I have not really seen anything that compares to what the film refers to. You would think with all the strife and political turmoil , there would be easily multiple movements. The whole idea behind art in general and its inspiration comes from social commentary, yes good or bad. I am optimistic that something is coming, either on the horizon or the dead of night.