If this was 1977, I'd probably be crying "sellout!" and rioting outside the Whisky, or something. Nowadays, I just laugh and reach for the English muffins.
Mmm....butter....[drool]
[Link: John Lydon Butter Commercial]
Jass420punk presents the classic 1977 guide to New Wave couture, How to Look Punk, created by illustrious fashion maven, Marliz, in conjunction with L.A. punk in-crowders, Jenny Lens, Helen Killer, and Pleasant Puss. It's chockablock with helpful fashion tips that show you how to use chains, wrist-wraps, neck thongs, and garbage bags to look "punk pretty"...just like your favorite punk-rock superstars, including the loverly Alice "Douche" Bag, and the dreamy Bobby Pyn!
It also helpfully explains exactly how to "pogo":
"...the Pogo is a highly energized dance form, a theatrical and emotional reflection of today's society. Frenzied movements tell a story of confrontations and frustration....The Pogo is composed of an alternation of moving and holding stances, freestyle, move and hold, move and hold, and on and on."
Whew. All these years I thought it was just jumping up and down in one place. Who knew that it was such an art form?
[Link: How to Look Punk]
[Link: Alice Bag's L.A. Punk Rock 1976-1981 Flickr Set]
The Cartoonist scoops Wire's new EP: Read and Burn 03. Hear his podcast interview with Colin Newman and clips of the new songs. It's great stuff. Nobody does that slow, droning burn like Wire does.
"The Ramonetures are the brainchild of Phantom Surfers guitar genius Mel Bergman. On this, their debut album, the band takes on the task of reinventing 16 classic Ramones tunes - in a style that would have done the Ventures proud!"
[Link: Ramonetures]
Acclaimed British-Indian author, Indra Sinha, talks to Flipside Magazine co-founder, L.A. punk in-crowder, and outsider artist, X-8, about his life, music, and artistic aesthetic. X-8 was one of my best friends through most of high-school, and it always amazes me how little I really knew about him back then. His vision isn't for everyone, but you've gotta admire him for the way that he tackles his demons head-on [Link].
My pal X-8 put together this nifty little tribute page to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of fLiPSiDE magazine. It includes a couple of sites that I've already linked to like Michele's essential fLiPSiDE Memorial page, and my own personal history of fLiPSiDE and scan of Issue Number 1, along with a bunch of interviews with LA punks, the Germs, Weirdos, and the Screamers. There's also a brilliant live clip of the Weirdos kicking ass on Solitary Confinement from a 1986 fLiPSiDE video. Be sure to check out some of the other great Weirdos clips uploaded to YouTube while you're there. For my money, they were hands-down the best band to come out of LA punk.
[Link: fLiPSiDE 30 YEAR TRIBUTE]
In 1976, X-8 and I went to a party at Bomp Records in Hollywood to meet the members of Blondie. Not too many local artists were there, surprisingly, except for Danny Wilde of the Quick who was busy passing out drunk with his head in a record bin. However, Deborah Harry her bad self was present, and me being 17, filled with raging hormones, and terribly shy, couldn't think of a single thing to say, so I just stood there and stared at her for about a minute. She looked me up and down, grunted, "Nice shirt", then walked away. Ah, youth.
What I remember the most about her was that she was incredibly short. I'm only 5'2", and she barely came up to my nose. Funny, her official bio lists her as 5'2" as well. Guess she was wearing some really high heels when they measured her.
I'm really digging Glyph Jockey's (extremely) limited series of Punk Baseball Cards, and I want more more MORE! May I humbly suggest the following players for your next set?
Joey Ramone: New York Yankees
Stiv Bators: Cleveland Indians
Darby Crash: L.A. Dodgers
Jello Biafra: Colorado Rockies