Around the time that cynicism took me in out of the cold--freshman year of high school--I began listening to punk rock. Although I giggle a bit at how seriously my friends and I took ourselves, the music and lifestyle was incredibly formative for us and honestly saved me from a very boring suburban teenage life.
Punk rock caught me with its speed, angst, humor, and cheap concerts. Whereas many people I knew attended only one or two concerts per year, either because the bands they liked rarely toured or because the ticket prices were just so absurdly high, my friends and I went to several concerts per month, and had money left over to get high. That last sentence was pretty long, I know, but read it at the speed of a punk rock song and it won't seem as run-on.
Punk rock concerts were very important to my social circle. They were our physical, emotional, intellectual, and dare I say spiritual, release. We liked being sweated on. We like getting bruises. We liked having a hoarse voice at school the next day. This was all very important to us. A lot of times punk rock and friends were all that seemed to matter. Goddamn, this sounds so freakin sentimental.
At the age of 26, there is still a feisty little punk swinging fists in my heart. A song that still brings him out is The Decline by LA based punk grandfathers NOFX.
The song, as the title suggests, is about the decline of America, a common theme in punk rock. However, this song is actually well written. As much as I will preach punk, I will admit that many punk lyrics are pretty childish. Not The Decline.
Talk to damn near any punk and they will tell you that The Decline is a punk rock masterpiece. In a music genre where songs rarely, and I mean rarely, last longer than three minutes, The Decline churns out 18 minutes of speed, slow downs, and a variety of other musical techniques rarely incorporated by punk bands. NOFX, those cheeky bastards, played a trick on the punk genre by putting out this one long song as an EP. They were not the first punk band to play a long song--the Subhumans played a song just short of 17 minutes--but they can call claims to the longest punk song.
The lyrics of The Decline cover issues ranging from the US prison system, drug laws, gun control, the education system, religious institutions, the media, patriarchy, and homophobia. As a teenager looking for something to fight, The Decline was basically a menu for me to choose from. It was because of punk songs like The Decline that I actually paid attention in some my classes. I made connections between what I was hearing from my music and what I was learning in my social studies and English classes, and it was exciting. Punk rock made school seem worth my time.
For years I have planned to teach The Decline in my English class. Each issue raised in the song could be a hour-long discussion in itself, but I would also like to teach the song as a piece of art breaking traditional form. The Black Arts Movement broke traditional form with their poetry, Warhol with his art, and NOFX with a 18 minute long punk rock song.
Below are links to parts 1 and 2 of the decline. Remember, it is 18 MINUTES LONG, and it isn't worth your time to only listen to part of it. If you are going to listen to this absolutely amazing song set aside a full 18 minutes.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCz8PNvABO0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM6KF_Pz0mc&feature=related
I had to respond to the part about being sweated on and bruised up at concerts. I used to go to concerts fairly often; in college, I saw the Dave Matthews Band (and various other bands you're supposed to love in college) at these huge outdoor venues. It would involve arriving hours early, standing in line, then being jolted around all night among the crowds of people in various states of intoxication. Now that I'm "old" (soon to be 30), I find I can hardly tolerate concerts anymore. It takes A LOT to get me to a live show, especially since many are on weeknights. And if there isn't assigned seating, I'm likely to scout out a chair in the old-people section of the venue. That happened recently at the Brandon Flowers show; my husband and I got chairs on the balcony at First Ave, and it was perfect.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sound so lame. Why can't I take it anymore? I'm not THAT old! :-)