Publication:
MaximumRockNRoll

Author:
Felix Von Havoc

MRR #175
I was going to talk about getting thrown in jail by jackbooted government thugs this month but my case is still under review so here are some thoughts about commodification of punk.

I once thought that hardcore punk rock was so far underground and so at odds with the dominant culture that it could never be assimilated. I was so very wrong. We live now in an era where former peace punk band Chumbawamba's music is piped into corporate fast food retaurant dining areas. Where anarchy is not a political ideology but a brand of sunglasses. Where studded leather and mowhawks are seen in glossy magazine spreads.

Back in the 1970's a book called Terrorist Chic examined how what society percieved as dangerous, marginal and extreme elements made their way into cutting edge fashion. In our lifetimes punk rock has gone through several periods of commodification and commercialization. The most scintillating and marketable forms of that which is extreme and radical are carefully packaged and turned into saleable commodities for a mass market. A great example is the anarchy t-shirt. As punk rose from the streets it was a rebellious and anti-establishment movement. Political inclination if any was towards anti-establishment ideologies. One notably voiciferous faction championed anarchism and situationism. Jamie Reid the artist and designer behind the Sex Pistols public image used situationist motifs and anarchistic slogans to package a teenage rock n' roll band as a rebel social movement. Bands like Crass advanced anarchist and pacifist ideas from a totally anti-commercial standpoint. This exposed a significant element of the rebellious young population to anti-authoritarian ideas from a new perspective: punk music rather than political literature or debate. The circled capital A became a readily recognizable symbol. In the tradition of advertizing logos, political or religious symbolism the circled A became a piece of instantly recognizable meaning. This is no treatise on semiotics, but suffice it to say circle A was in league with Hammer and Sickle, Cross, Swastika, Chevrolet logo etc. Such an idea reduced to simple symbolism is ripe for commodification and totally open to interpretation. What such a symbol means to each individual varies widely. What matters is that it has become a commodity. Soon anarchy t-shirts appear between Abba and Black Sabbath on head shop walls, ripping the symbol out of any political or ideological context into the realm of commodity. "Anarchy, dude, cool man"

Why does society need to commodify punk rock? One good reason is that subcultures and counter cultures are fertile ground for intellectual and artistic innovation, providing the raw material for the next big thing. Historically that which is avant-garde is slowly assimilated into the mainstream in a watered down palatable form. In the 1960's the psychedelic rock scene began as a radical fringe culture embracing communal living, drug use and tripped out music. In a very short period of time this "scene" was transformed into a multi-billion dollar music and fashion industry. Kids in Des Moines were soon tuning in to the hip vibe as those on Haight Ashbury thanks to mass marketing. Yet the commercialized youth culture was deprived of its radical political thrust being instead based on drug use and other forms of consumption. Why does such commodification become popular? Because young kids want to rebel. They feel a need to make a statement for their generation against the last. They have a desire to express their individuality. They want to belong to a movement or group which makes them feel as if they are a part of something big and important. Rebellion then becomes a hot item. Pre-packaged rebellion produced by a culture industry. Gangster Rap and Heavy Metal are two very successfull projects to market rebellion to youth making millions of dollars in the process. Such commodified rebellion really never challenges the status quo since it is part of the corporate structure which is the status quo.

Punk Rock of the 1970's was quickly siezed upon by major labels and re-packaged as New Wave. The creative and rebellious impulse of the early punk movement ironically resulted in more disco dance music. Of course a die-hard band of true fans for musical or political reasons kept the punk spirit alive on the underground and Hard Core was born. Lets go back to the early 1980's for a moment. Colored hair, pierced noses, tattoos, combat boots, motorcyle jackets were all pretty extreme worn only by punk rockers and a few biker/metal types. Now a short time later everybody has green hair, facial piercings, tattoos and buys Dr. Marten boots at the local mall. When I was a kid you had to have someone in England buy you Dr. Martens and mail them over. So we can see how the fashion world has taken what were once expressions of non-conformity, rebellion and social rejection and made them into easily consumable commodities.

One of the biggest money makers for the culture industry is pop-music. Compact discs which cost about a dollar to make commonly retail for 10-15 bucks. Concert ticket prices of 20-25$ are common and merchandising a band with t-shirts, hats etc. adds another huge area of profitability. For the musician joining the big time can be attractive. Gettin' money for nothin' being a rock star sure beats playing all ages shows in some kids basement for twenty bucks. So in a process as old as popular music itself the artist compromises his or her integrity tones down any controversial stance they might have and writes music for the mass market. Their true fans scream "sell out." The artist argues that they are reaching more people with their message and can finally work on their music full time etc. etc. We have seen this with folk musicians, 60's rock bands, the early punk scene, the heavy metal crossover, and lately pop-punk and ska-punk. I for one am no lover of wimpy pop music that claims to be punk. I'm fine with stuff from 20 years ago like the Clash, SLF and the Vibrators. When I hear that "she loves you la, la, la" stuff that Fat, Epitaph and Lookout have built their fortunes on I reach for my revolver. I say drop the hammer on pop and ska and bring back 80's hardcore, but I'm getting off track. Bands like Chumbawamba and Propaghandi have gotten a lot of props for playing political pop music. What then is political about pop music? Does it not by its very format scream mainstream commodification. Isn't it only a matter of time before it is sucked into the trend machine no matter how good the artists intentions are. I find it ironic that Crass who were one of the most political, inspiring and anti-commercial punk bands ever unwittingly spawned a batch of ex-punk pop and disco bands Flux, Rubella Ballet, Chumbawamba, Omega Tribe, Zounds, Honey Bane, KUKL and the Poison Girls all started as political punk bands but then "progressed" to a more commercial pop or disco sound. (I'm not trying to dis Crass or Crass records here, Stations of the Crass is still a classic record but you can see the phenomenon I discussed above manifested in the 10 notes on a summer day 12") The funny part is that they all made much better punk music than pop and only Bjork and Chumbawamba have tasted any commercial success, this after ten years of trying. While visiting my grandparents in South Florida I went to see Against All Authority play in a club. Any social or political stance these Ska-Punk cats may have had seemed lost on the preppie kids who had come to see them. Looking at the crowd around me I was reminded of the jocks and preppies who pushed me around in high school for being punk. And now they were in a club listening to the same music as me? Propaghandi or Against All Authority might be the greatest guys and really believe in the message they are promoting but it seems that when packaged in a format usually reserved for mindless drivel their message becomes lost in the format. That is to say the kids who consume it are pop fans alone, not punks or rebels or otherwise at odds with the status quo. Dillinger 4 are great guys and friends of mine but I'm afraid that the rest of their career will be a struggle to maintain integrity in the face of commodification. Maybe its me, but when I hear Avail, Fugazi, Citizen Fish, Chumbawamba or any of these sort of bands I don't hear any anger, any message, anything but more pop-music just like what they play on the radio. In contrast when I listen to Crucifix, Minor Threat, Crass, Discharge or BGK it reaches me on a more visceral level, that is I can feel the anger the energy, the feeling behing the message. And it is precisely these sort of bands who are just a little too raw-edged to become commodified and made into pop-music acts. So how much does the style determine the substance and the substance determine the style?

I went to see the Misfits a few days back. I thought I would offer some comments on the whole "back from the grave" phenomenon. Rather than address any of the serious sides of this issue I'll just approach it from that of a music fan. Warning to all old bands currently re-forming: nobody cares about your new material! No one goes to see Fear to hear them play songs off of their fifth album! I remember the first time the Bad Brains got back together they played a big comeback show at WUST radio hall and a few at the 9:30 club. They were terrific, blinding fast hardcore and I swear everybody there who was a true HarDCore fan knew every song. Then six months later the lackluster rock album I against I is released and forms the basis for the Bad Brains live set. Confused we stand motionless in the pit as the band plays on waiting for them to play a song we know. So it was at the Misfits the other night. They played here about a year ago it it was a set filled with the classics. On this tour most of the songs they played sounded like Metallica and the singer has quit trying to be like Danzig and now tries to be like Alice Cooper.

For what its worth I rate comebacks: Battalion of Saints-still pretty good, their new material is not so bad. One original member. Varukers-very good, also their new material is top notch. Final Conflict-another worthwhile return, good new material, very good live. Misfits-Starting to lose it, too much new material live. DRI-after being a shitty metal band for almost 10 years they go on tour with mostly material from the first three albums, excellent until they start playing the new stuff which is Sabbath style slo-core. Meatmen-I was never a big fan but their stage show is pretty entertaining. Seven Seconds-I got thrown out of a 7 seconds show in 1987 for heckling them because their new material sounded like REM, havn't gone to see them since. Youth Brigade-played a lot of old songs, but who can forget "the Brigade" LP which was a real kick in the nuts. Sex Pistols-to be honest I was never much of a fan, so I didn't go. Circle Jerks-they were terrible, played one or two songs I knew and a Wierdos cover. Fear-still has an obnoxious schtick but played a lot of new stuff, still plenty of classics.

Does anyone remember Chicago's Articles of Faith? A great hardcore band with a lot to say, now all but forgotten. Their first 7" What we want is Free came out in 1982 with 500 copies on Version Sound and 500 on Wasteland. Their second 7" Wait came out in 1983, 500 pressed on Wasteland/Affirmation. 1984 saw the LP Give Thanks on Reflex records. AOF also appeared on comps like Master tape vol 1 and the classic PEACE comp. Like most early 80's American hardcore this material was re-released by Germans. Bitzcore compiled the LP and 7"s as the Core LP about 1991. Their singer Vic Bondi later put his experience brow beating spoiled kids to use and became a college professor, so you can guess the lyrics are thoughtfull and well written. The music is a cut above most early 80's hardcore as it is angry and powerful yet somewhat melodic at the same time. I still find the lyrics very poignant and inspiring especially Vic's observations of the media and society. I first heard AOF on an MRR radio show and on the PEACE comp. beyond just being catchy hardcore they seemed to have a handle on much of the alienation I felt from mainstream culture and society. Its a shame I never got to see them. The first two 7"s are now collector items but the Core LP shouldn't be too hard to find and its money much better spent than on what they try to sell you as punk rock these days. In closing I'll quote Vic Bondi from the liner notes of the Core LP. "It seems to me, that hardcore was one expression of protest against this state of affairs. It wasn't political in the sense of parties, or ideology, or the dogma of organized competition for power; it was political in it's resistance to coercion, in being so "hardcore", that it couldn't be manipulated, couldn't be commoditized, couldn't become one more bail in the pig trough of consumerism. There was something necessarily human at the center, at the core of hardcore, and like human beings it had a variety of expressions: mule headed stubbornness, dionysian nihilism, proto-fascist ignorance, pompous leftist posturing; innocent hope, enlightened hope, skeptical hope, no hope. There was as many hardcores as there were people, but they all had this in common: an inaccessibility, an inability to be manipulated, a sense of integrity which on their terms made it be impossible to be bought." Right on Vic, except that he uses hardcore in the past tense, as if it had died and gone to heaven. Vic Bondi may by gone but in the suburbs and on streets hardcore still rules!

Publication Date:
January 1, 1988

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