Friday, October 24, 2008
About a week ago, when I was walking home from work listening to my Zune, this probably 13-14 year old kid asked me what kind of music I listen to. I'm not sure if he heard me or not when I said punk rock, it's possible he heard fuck you even after I said it a second time because the first time he said "huh?"
What I'm concerned about is that it's entirely possible this kid doesn't know what the hell punk rock is. This kid's coming from the same background I did, he lives in central Wisconsin and probably only knows the shit that's presented to him through radio and MTV and doesn't even realize that there's an entire world out there of stuff that won't get pushed through those avenues.
This particular kid doesn't live in a swank house in a nice part of town, his clothes aren't the latest fashion shit(round here, diva ain't much of a compliment[assholes are fashion that I never could afford to wear), he's a pudgy kid and he's kinda short, so football's likely out, meaning junior high and high school may well be hell for this kid.
So I'm thinking, maybe, just maybe I ought to reach out and, in keeping with my efforts to help save the youth of America because much like Obi Wan Kenobi to Princess Leia, they're our only hope, I should make this kid a cd and introduce him to punk music. What he does after that is up to him, but I figure I could give him a push in a positive direction before he gets sucked in to MTV sponsored safe rebellion, shit like Godsmack(are they still around[I don't really want to know]).
So what do you put on a disk to introduce a kid to punk rock? I've got a few ideas, but I've got more about what I can't put on there. You've got to keep Anti-Flag off there because you can't have him turning into one of these "anarchist" mall-punk fuckers. Do you put Sex Pistols on there? What if he decides Sid Vicious was a cool guy, what with his swastikas and shit, rather than follow Johnny Rotten who now does ads for butter...? You've got to watch what Misfits tune gets put on there, Where Eagles Dare should suffice. NoFX has got to go on there because all kids love them but you can't get too poppy otherwise you run the risk of him getting side tracked into MTV's idea of punk rock. You've got to put the song that got heroine bob and steve-o into punk rock because it's a great fucking song, while making no mention of that damn movie because very few people who watch it pay attention to the last fifteen minutes or so when steve-o realizes that you can do more damage from inside the system than you can from outside. You can't start the kid off with anything too out there. I mean, you can't just throw on Gogol Bordello, Ghost Mice, or Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band and expect him to get it. And is this a bad idea? Is it my job to open this kid up to this?
I don't know, but it gives me something to mull over in times of boredom.
said Tommy T. at 9:47 AM - #
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What I'm concerned about is that it's entirely possible this kid doesn't know what the hell punk rock is. This kid's coming from the same background I did, he lives in central Wisconsin and probably only knows the shit that's presented to him through radio and MTV and doesn't even realize that there's an entire world out there of stuff that won't get pushed through those avenues.
This particular kid doesn't live in a swank house in a nice part of town, his clothes aren't the latest fashion shit(round here, diva ain't much of a compliment[assholes are fashion that I never could afford to wear), he's a pudgy kid and he's kinda short, so football's likely out, meaning junior high and high school may well be hell for this kid.
So I'm thinking, maybe, just maybe I ought to reach out and, in keeping with my efforts to help save the youth of America because much like Obi Wan Kenobi to Princess Leia, they're our only hope, I should make this kid a cd and introduce him to punk music. What he does after that is up to him, but I figure I could give him a push in a positive direction before he gets sucked in to MTV sponsored safe rebellion, shit like Godsmack(are they still around[I don't really want to know]).
So what do you put on a disk to introduce a kid to punk rock? I've got a few ideas, but I've got more about what I can't put on there. You've got to keep Anti-Flag off there because you can't have him turning into one of these "anarchist" mall-punk fuckers. Do you put Sex Pistols on there? What if he decides Sid Vicious was a cool guy, what with his swastikas and shit, rather than follow Johnny Rotten who now does ads for butter...? You've got to watch what Misfits tune gets put on there, Where Eagles Dare should suffice. NoFX has got to go on there because all kids love them but you can't get too poppy otherwise you run the risk of him getting side tracked into MTV's idea of punk rock. You've got to put the song that got heroine bob and steve-o into punk rock because it's a great fucking song, while making no mention of that damn movie because very few people who watch it pay attention to the last fifteen minutes or so when steve-o realizes that you can do more damage from inside the system than you can from outside. You can't start the kid off with anything too out there. I mean, you can't just throw on Gogol Bordello, Ghost Mice, or Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band and expect him to get it. And is this a bad idea? Is it my job to open this kid up to this?
I don't know, but it gives me something to mull over in times of boredom.
said Tommy T. at 9:47 AM - #
|
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