Howl: a nostalgic homage to the brief, hazy era of “pure” London punk
the-tls.co.uk
the-tls.co.uk
What are these groups called today? Where are the mini-Renaissances that play a massive role in generating culture? Will these happen less and less as everyone is exposed to the global stream of information?
Look harder, I'd say. See Bar25 in Berlin and the sound that is heard there (Katermukke label, etc.). Or Berghain and it's sound (Ostguton label, etc.). Hell yeah music and "social/political movement" are still as linked as ever. There's still a whole "roots" reggae/dub scene world wide that would besides social/political also come with an embedded spiritual and/or religious movement. Revolutionary hip-hip, like Dead Prez or Immortal, is still strong. In Europe there's still Freetekno. I could go on.
Hell no revolutionary vibes from K. Perry! But it's still there.
> Songs became hits because they gave you a vision you could believe and participate in.
Yes. It's not advertised. They do not hit the charts anymore. So what. Shun the charts. We've got soundcloud, they've got ad-ridden radio and MTV.
I don't think the Clash ever had the kind of mainstream success that someone like Katy Perry has. A more appropriate analogue for "back in the day" would be like Andy Gibb or someone.
I struggle to see why, a generation later, people look back at it with anything but disdain.
Because your frame of reference of musical merit is at best subjective and at worst, built upon nothing but raw prejudice.
Attacking that fact is what punk did. That's a freedom, and some people insist on freedom in art.
Maybe I’m not being clear. I’m not saying anything about ignorance. I am instead saying that some people demand freedom in their art and it necessarily follows that such persons expect their aesthetic standards to be challenged. Indeed, such persons usually enjoy or at least appreciate it when a challenge to their aesthetic appears.
Others, for whom aesthetic freedom is not an animating principle, do not make that demand, preferring instead to stake out a familiar set of aesthetic expectations and forms.
Avoiding challenge and preferring familiar forms and expectations is a very popular choice - it requires far less engagement with art because most questions about importance of the art are already answered for the adherent. This easier path is always available for persons who are more comfortable belonging than they are beholding.