These days practically nothing seems all that shocking musically. I
mean, really, just about everything radical that could be done, has been
done. When was the last time you heard something and thought "Whoa!
What the fuck is that?"?. To put things into perspective, let's set the
Wayback Machine to the fall of 1977. The chart-toppers are Debby Boone
(Pat Boone's daughter), KC and the Sunshine Band, Carly Simon, Shaun
Cassidy, a disco version of the Star Wars theme, and "Boogie Nights" by
Heatwave. You might understand how red blooded rockers were just waiting
for things to change. Some already had a project in the works. The Sex
Pistols did.
I'd heard about the Sex Pistols, knew what they
looked like and had an idea of what they were about but had not heard
them. When I finally did hear them I wondered where all the comparisons
to the Ramones came from. This was not "Beat on the Brat" nonsense. The
Sex Pistols raged. Like a pressure cooker that finally popped a lid.
They shook shit up.
Yesterday (or the day before?) it was
reported that there will be a TV series about the Sex Pistols on FX to
be directed by Danny Boyle (the guy who did the film Yesterday). The
part I like about it is that it's based on guitarist Steve Jones' book,
Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol. (Jones, above.) The book is a good read. I've read a
shitload of accounts of early UK punk over the years, including two
memoirs by John Lydon (né Johnny Rotten). Jones's tale can seem almost
Forest Gump-like in his uncanny string of being in the right place at
the right time. But he and drummer Paul Cook struggled long before the
Pistols got off the ground. Dude was a classic petty thief.
Though
he's done his share of rock star skirt chasing and had plenty of
success over the years, you get the feeling that Jones knows the bottom
could drop out at any moment. Reading his take on the Pistols saga makes
you feel like you're having a beer with him. Lydon's memoirs, on the
other hand, read like a guy who's full of himself, self important and
ego driven. Not to say his books aren't good. They just seem self
aggrandizing. Jone's book seems more honest. Now that I know that Lydon is (was?) a Trump supporter,
it all makes sense. Blowhards attract. I love it that it probably
pisses him off to no end that Jones got the deal. Tee-hee. Oh well, he
can always go start a band with his Trump bro Ted Nugent.
Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK mp3 at Tumblr
Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen mp3 at Clones Project
Visit:
Danny Boyle to direct Sex Pistols limited series for FX at AV Club
John Lydon doubles down on Trump support in bizarre interview at NME “He is the only hope”
More Sex Pistols stuff here
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