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Never Mind The 25th Anniversary
jonerik writes "Considering that much of the controversy surrounding the Sex Pistols was centered around Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee, it's somewhat ironic that the band is now celebrating their own: The group's seminal album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" was released 25 years ago today, according to this article from Reuters. Interestingly, although the album was hugely influential (and remains so), like most punk albums of the time, it wasn't a huge success in the U.S. at the time, taking until 1987 to be certified gold and another five years to be certified platinum. God save the Sex Pistols - we mean it maaaaaaaaan." Yeah, so it's not precisely topical - but still, whata band.
REAL anarchists run free software.
you just dont know the right punks. get out of the suburbs and into the ghettos.
Mess Stuff Up
I think the Sex Pistols did the UK a lot of good. Back at the end of the 70's, society was still *very* conservative. The Sex Pistols were extremely shocking to a lot of people. When they tried to tour the UK, they only managed 4 gigs due to the outcry against them. Like many other forms of art, controversy gets people talking. They helped changed many people's attitudes - rather than taking the English approach of ignoring the sub-culture and pretending it didn't exist and our children weren't involved, people were forced to deal with it. "God Save the Queen" reaching #1 (although it wasn't acknowledged by the BBC at the time) made huge statements about the establishment.
Of course, John Lyndon will say it was all about introducing something interesting in to people's boring lives... and he was probably right. We're sitting here talking about it today, aren't we?
You listen to a very narrow band.
All the technical flourishes you praise are current in my listening vocabulary of "popular" music. From recent retros like Groove Collective, Air, Corduroy, Mother Earth James Taylor Quartet- to chillers like Morcheeba or Groove Armada. Even the waxies I still listen to from the late 70's and early 80's were big on improv solos and apeggia. I'm thinking of Squeeze and Madness, etc. here. Regular products of a post-punk explosion.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
> A&M paid them £7000 to leave the label
Heh. that is pretty common too. And that doesn't compare with what happened to wilco. Forced off label, picked up by another label owned by the same company. Which means the same company paid for it twice. What company? AOL. (in case you didn't know.). Which doesn't compare with Mariah. 20M to leave her label was it?
What a lot of you people don't realise is what a cultural revolution the Sex Pistols were part of, and how the authorities tried to stamp it out.
The pop charts were rigged especially to keep God Save The Queen off the number one spot, and the record was banned from airplay.
Retailers were actually threatened with arrest and imprisonment should they have the "Never Mind The Bollocks" album on display in their stores.
So while they may not have been the best punk band, they had a major impact on our culture, as what was banned 25 years ago is now perfectly acceptable.
Of course, a lot of the stuff that passes for punk on MTV these days is just bollocks.
"Information wants to be paid"
As in song on Wire's Pink Flag? Another 25th anniversary coming up -- in December!
Punk Backstreet Boys?! Wait; I thought the original Back Street Boys were the punk Back Street Boys, and the new Backstreet Boys were the boyband Backstreet Boys.
I highly recommend Greil Marcus' outstanding book Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century to anybody trying to understand the Pistols or punk rock. And I forget the author but The Wicked World of Malcolm McLaren is a great book illuminating McLaren's background and experiences.
IMO, and strictly IMO (but I doubt I am alone here), they have more of the ethos of punk than most other people ever will. Yes, sure, they have songs about drinking; yes, they sing songs about Bayen Munich; however, knowing the guys personally, I believe that they do possess your three criteria (creativity, originality and intellect), but unlike some with an idea, they don't ram it in your face - you have to pay closer attention than I suspect you probably have (not that this is a flame - if you don't like the music, then why should you?)
In any case, I like their music, but above all else, I like the Hosen as people. :)
I heard that your library burnt down and destroyed your only two books - and one was not even coloured in yet.
The following people have been members of Metallica at one time or another (I'm not including people who played with the band for only a few concerts as guests, or James' guitar tech who played his parts after the Montreal incident):
Jason Newsted didn't contribute much to the music; in about half the songs recorded in his tenure, the bass is virtually inaudible, and most of the remaining songs simpl feature Jason doubling James' riff. Jason, however, being a fan of Metallica became the member who was the most into hanging out with the fans. After every concert, you could hang out with Jason. In concert, he was the energy on stage. "Creeping Death" will never be the same without Jason's "DIE DIE DIE DIE FUCKER!" chant during the "Die by my hand..." section.
The only member that Metallica couldn't survive without, imho, is James Hetfield; his lyrics, voice, and riffs are probably the soul of the band. Lars' drumming is nothing to write home about, though he generally gets into a good groove with James (who is basically the creative center of the band). Kirk's solos are written half the time by James and embellished by Kirk.
Sad to see that so many have bought into McLaren's grand vision of himself. Do yourself a favor, read "No Black, No Irish, No Dogs", Johnny Lydon's autobiography, or see "The Filth And The Fury" and find out that Malcolm was just a self-centered wannabe artist riding on Lydon's coattails while simultaneously stealing every penny the band made. Don't revere this useless bastard!
Oh, and he totally screwed up the New York Dolls as well.