Well: bullshit. Punk rock, whatever its various twists and turns within and without the commercial realm, is the only progressive movement ever smart enough to locate the molten core of progressive action: youth. It places immediacy above all else, and its common coin is outrage. It shuns the practical parlance of compromise in favor of the shouted barbs of ethical demand. But for its insistence that it be readily understood by even the most deprived suburbanite, punk rock might have been Hegel writ large. Around the time of Nevermind, there was a lot of hooey about Nirvana being the first punk rock band to really break through to the other side of profitability. Meaning no disrespect to Nirvana, who were a pretty O.K. rock band, but Nevermind is more pet rock than punk. Punk rock will clearly and unambiguously identify the enemy or it will not be punk at all. It will not just lean left: it will be the only uncompromised progressive voice still sounding when the warm arms of acceptance with compromise have taken the rest of us in. Beyond all that, it will rock approximately one million times harder than all the so-called punk bands striking camera-ready poses and signing endorsement deals. It will prove its own point by being the best rock and roll you can find. Ladies and gentleman: Propagandhi. |