The Punk Rock Story

Some of you may well be aware that I was not always this intimidating pillar of togetherness and confidence, there was definitely some moments where I was a dramatic and lost kid. The following is a short story about one of those moments where I found a piece of myself.

I’m what they call a ‘late bloomer’, that’s pretty much a nice way of saying ‘slow to learn‘ but I like the way the first one sounds so lets run with that one. I was attending the University of Calgary but not going to my classes and probably (absolutely) drinking too much. My musical tastes around this age (17-18) included a whole LOT of Wu-Tang Clan (killa bees…we gonna swarm!), the Tragically Hip (ya Road Apples) and some lingering of my fathers music. In other words I hadn’t really found myself musically (one could argue I still have not). There is something to be said about being ‘well rounded’ but there is also something to be said about having the RZA and Huey Lewis giving you life and relationship advice. I’m “perpendicular to the square” but I also know its “hip to be square” so I somehow come out perpendicular to the hip, and it goes quickly downhill after this.

It was end of semester/final exam time and on this particular day I had dropped out of one class an hour before the final exam and attempted to write a marketing exam for a class I went to a staggering 3 times. This did not bode well for my mental stability at the time so I quickly decided I should go to the campus pub and begin my new career as a poet and cigarette smoker (it may have been eleven in the morning on a Thursday). I think in some bizarre way I figured I would just dive head first into being a sad bastard and get it over with. I knew that I wasn’t going to pull myself together enough to be a successful student, so I may as well seem dark and jaded and wronged by the world.

I was one of the many misled souls under the impression that girls liked fixer-uppers, or maybe girls were still at that stage where they actually wanted fixer-uppers, either way it is ridiculous. “He’s so sad and dark and lost. It’s attractive”? I ran with this theory towards the opposite sex for WAY too long and missed out on good people and good times because of it. The kinds of girls who desire a jaded and dark introvert are the kind of girls you REALLY don’t want to be hanging out with. Trust me.

“Hey Jane do you want to go out drinking? Maybe hit up a club and have a laugh”

“I’m an emotional river flowing through myself into a sea of tranquility and loneliness right now. My dark soul yearns for the peace of darkness.”

“Ummm…so no?”

Clearly I didn’t want to face the fact that I was a total piece of shit so being upset at life in lyrical form just made more sense. I think I wrote about rain and how I hated the word potential. I had downed a pitcher of beer, smoked 7 cigarettes and written three songs about how the world was a cold, cruel and bitter place.

At this point in time the campus pub or as it was lovingly known “the den” was a wreck of a place. Pipes hung down from the unfinished ceiling. The carpet reeked of old beer, puke and piss. Horrific lighting purposefully hid the worst parts; in essence as the den got darker the den became more attractive, kinda like most of the patrons. The architecture looked as if it was done by someone who was figuring it out as they went; jaded edge here, pointless ledge there. In other words, I ADORED it.

Decorated with every shade of dark brown, maroon and beige Satan created you could literally smell the den before you saw it. The bar consisted of a hallway leading to an open section when you walked through the front doors. This open section was awkwardly cluttered with old wooden circular tables, thick wooden pillars and chairs. The bar looked like a mash up between the sort of place your alcoholic uncle would go on a Tuesday afternoon and something out of a shitty western movie. Behind the bar there was another open section with a dance floor surrounded on its outer edges by picnic tables and 3 booths on the right side of the floor (the PRIME seats).

I was seated at the back side of the bar, on a picnic table, the darkest one I could find. Barely able to make out the junior high poetry I was composing. With only a handful of patrons there I tried my hardest to look like a lost puppy to conjure up some sympathy. I remember a girl coming over to me, me looking up at her all doe eyed, a glint of hope deep in my eyes hoping that she would take this mortal coil. She asked for a smoke and quickly left. I gave her one and tried to hold back the hurt. Sigh.

For some reason I think I wore khakis that day. Fucking KHAKIS. (Side note: no one deserves to get laid in khakis, ever. I don’t care if you have just saved her from certain death, drive a glow in the dark Porsche and look like that sketch pad Josh Hartnett, if you’re rocking the big K’s….you get no love (it may have taken me 2 years to figure this out. Oh and I think I started rocking them due to early Snoop Dogg and the Boyz in tha Hood movie).

As I mentioned previously there were all these architectural anomalies in the Den, it was like a build by numbers project gone wrong. At this point I’m half cut looking around the smoke filled dark bar and for some reason I noticed a particular ledge jutting out of the wall some eight feet in the air. I don’t even think up until this point I had noticed any of the awkward ledges in the Den actually. I’ll never know what caught my eye or why I reached up but I did. Standing up from my picnic table, my arm stretching out, fingers spidering along the ledge, searching for something I had no idea was there. Then I felt something, a dusty plastic object. A tape. Yes, I’m that old, shut up.

It was like I found some secret treasure or opened a time capsule. I sat down and wiped the dust off. Written on one side were the words “Face to Face” and on the other “NOFX”. This was my introduction to punk rock. This was my initiation. A gift from one drunken student to another. Kind of like those people that lose their virginity to a friend who feels bad for them and wants to help them out. The person who left/lost that tape was gentle, they talked me through it, made sure I was ok, they cuddled me after. They made sure I’d come back for more and wouldn’t run away scared only to come back years later with some sort of neurotic urine fetish.

It’s all too common to hear people say “punk rock saved my life”, in truth I think punk rock has been improperly represented in order to be used as a vessel to destroy peoples lives more often than anything. Drinking rye till you puke is not punk rock. Dying your hair red and piercing your nose is not punk rock. Decking the huge guy you don’t know who just smacked his girlfriend at the bar is. Realizing your self worth and your inner voice is. Saying shit you know people will hate you for but you feel it is true and needed to be said is. I guess in the end I will say that “Punk Rock changed my life”, and it all started on that day, because of one tape, one failed exam and quite possibly khaki pants.

Corpse Dry Humping

T.S.O.L - Code Blue

Ok so writing a song about fucking the dead is kinda creepy but this song is rad in that 'true crime' sort of way. The protagonist has a problem (he doesn't get along with the girls in his school) and finds a way to rectify that issue (sneaking into the mortuary for some corpse loving). This guy is a problem solver plain and simple.

In a weird Freudian 'ego vs Id' way things like this have always messed with my mind. Who know what lays inside the human mind? Are ethics/morals just artificial social rules created to help our race survive? Maybe we all just want to get some corpse nookie but can’t see past the morals Momma and Poppa taught us? One thing I do know is I’ll never try it, the way I figure it’s like heroin….i try it once and I’m in big trouble.

Regina Spektor - Samson

So first thing first, Regina Spector is crazy as balls (are balls even crazy?). She's this little Russian tinkerbell that writes songs from different characters perspectives, finding that her life isn't as interesting as her multiple personalities lives. It leads to an interesting lyrical landscape where she can basically sing whatever she wants without retribution because it’s from 'an artistic perspective'. It’s kinda like Eminem for people over the age of 16 (and not afraid of ‘the gays’).

It kind of makes me wish I was smart enough to come up with that idea in real life. "Um no when I punched you in the eye then screamed for you to 'fuck off and die a horrifically bloody death and rot in hell with the rest of the monsters of this world. That was just a character of mine. Duh. Don't you understand art?” Annnnnnnnd cue Mike talking with a Russian accent for the rest of the day in 3, 2, 1.

Prince - Purple Rain (no available youtube clip, sigh)

Remember when you watched Purple Rain for the first time and you realized that Prince wasn’t a fruity puffy shirt wearing egomaniac but rather an underappreciated artist and quite possibly the most prolific song writer of our time? Just me? Fine. Well either way Prince has changed music in a way that you can probably only compare to Michael Jackson. Did you know Prince wrote ‘Manic Monday’ by the Bangles? Seriously. Here is a man so epic that he penned a song as popular as Manic fucking Monday and it’s not even common knowledge.

When Michael Jackson died everyone looked back at this musical legacy that pretty much ended in 1992 and was surrounded by the sort of controversy that makes someone second guess the integrity of the artist and thus the integrity of the work itself. When Prince dies I think people will look back in amazement and realize who the more important and influential artist was. I was reading last years ‘Albums of the Year’ review in Rolling Stone and a Prince album was in the top 25. The man has created nothing but great albums for 20 years. No one does that.

Oh and I always wanted to do a lip-sync performance to “Let’s Go Crazy” in Junior High. A solitary spotlight illuminating my face in a blacked out gym. Me passionately mouthing the words “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate this thing called...life”.

After that I would get to dry hump my pick of the junior high litter.

Creepy is the new cool

Tenacious D - The Metal

Ok ok ok I get it. Metal is never going to die. I’m not totally sold if that is a good thing for music overall or not however. I don’t really know anyone who listens to metal other than guys lost in their late twenties, homicidal trench coat sporting whiney high school kids and Justin B (mad love JB). It just always seemed so purposeless. Like I ‘get’ punk rock, all the aggression is about something. Metal just seemed to be about getting upset over being the ugly kid in school.

The ‘new school’ of metal seems so ridiculous. Everyone in masks, yelling about how crappy the world is, having four “percussionists” on stage at one time (SIGH). I understand you have to try to out-ridiculous the past kings of metal but at a certain point it just becomes a musical comic book version of a Rob Zombie movie.

That all being said "The D" still rule.

Frank Sinatra - South of the Border

Every boy in the world wants to be superman until he is 15 years old, then he becomes a man and wants to be Frank Sinatra. Mr. Sinatra is basically the epitome of everything smooth and set the precedent on cool. I read a bunch of articles on him when he passed away and there is this subtle heartbroken side of Frank that adds so much credibility to his music. He was sickly in love with Ava Gardner, who was a drunken floozy who did not feel the same and broke Frank over and over again. There is famous story about him ripping her picture into a million tiny pieces after an argument they had, Frank telling his Rat Pack that he was done with her and pouring himself a stiff drink. I think it was Dean Martin who found him later on that night crying and trying to put all the pieces of her picture back together.

That somehow makes him more of a man to me. Lonely Island - Natalie's Rap I used to love Natalie Portman before this came out. Now my feelings are in “Dateline” territory. Remember that dude who videotaped himself for months talking about Bjork and how he and her were meant to be together? He was super unstable and would randomly yell at the camera about how Bjork “didn’t understand their connection” and how she had betrayed him somehow. If I remember correctly he mailed a bomb to her and killed himself right after sending it. The fuzz found his body pretty quickly and saw the hours of demented video he had made, thus were able to stop the package. Well that dude, has NOTHING on me when it comes to my infatuation with Miss. Portman. It puts the lotion on its skin.

Guilty Danish Pleasures (aka possible porn title)

AQUA - Back to the 80's

Aqua is back! And I have one thing to say about that…THANK YOU JESUS, FINALLY! The world of pop has been a virtual wasteland of Britney sluttiness and Miley pseudo-pedophilia since this Danish foursome disbanded in July 2001 (btw what’s with me and adoring all things Danish?). Remember when pop music was well …pop music? When it was fun and lame in the best possible way? I yearn for those days to return. If I see another 16 year old ‘pop sensation’ showing me her goodie bags while using Auto-tune I may have to give up hope for the future of little girls everywhere.

Sure it’s ironic that I’m hoping for pop music salvation from a band who broke up due to Lene sleeping with multiple members of her group but that my friends is beyond the point. Aqua is a symbol, like Batman but without that annoying raspy voice that Christian Bale does. A symbol of just having a good time.

They have obviously tried to update their sound a little but this song is still pure Aqua. Perhaps it’s a little gay but it’s gay in a rubbing up against a guy in a bus by accident kind of way. The best thing about their return is that they seem to realize that they were the exact thing missing from pop culture today. Aqua basically create updated 80’s pop, they were just born in the wrong decade.

Yes I’m totally serious.

Alphabeat - Fascination

Ok so let’s keep with the Danish guilty pleasures. I can’t think of another song that I should ethically despise but I TOTALLY love. As embarrassing as that is to admit, I’ll admit it proudly, I’ll wave the rainbow flag. I dare someone to listen to this song in their car and not turn it up, unless of course someone else is in the car. “Whoa oh whoa oh”. The first couple beats are blatantly and purposefully stolen from Kenny Loggins “Footloose” and that someone adds to the songs appeal. It’s like pop sampling, FINALLY!

Remember when you were 15 and just made out with that person you never thought you would in a million years? You’re ridding your bike home smiling from ear to ear, thinking how your love will last forever. This song is the personification of that moment. A 15 year olds boys boner basically sings this song. And I’m listening. Loudly.

Katy Perry - Hot n' Cold (LMFAO Remix)

Ok let’s get one thing out of the way: I’m not a Katy Perry fan. If I hear about she kissed a girl one more time I may jump in front of a moving train. While she’s certainly not the biggest villain in the pop world she’s not helping matters much. Now that’s out of the way I AM an LMFAO fan and they remix this shit out of this song.

That being said this song gets in your head like Satan’s orders to murder (ed. note: WTF?). Getting caught singing “You’re hot then you’re cold” while walking around the office makes for awkward situations. Whatever they just don’t “get it”. Right? Sigh.

Tom Waits vs.You

The Piano Has Been Drinking – Tom Waits

If I have to explain the amazingness of Tom Waits then our blogger to blogee(?) relationship has probably run its course. "Shhhh I know. Shh it's ok. It's not you. It's me, really. I just need some space. This is better for both of us...really."

For some reason I want this song played at my funeral. No one would really get it. Everyone would be looking around at the other people in attendance for some sort of explanation as to what this song has to do with my life. Then there would be a handful of people who ‘got it’ who would desperately be trying not to make eye contact or smile with anyone. One of them would be frantically trying to hold back laughter and whisper to themselves “Fucking guy”. Perfect. That person may be my father.

Your Love (The Outfield cover)– Emma Burgess

Josie might be on a vacation far away but awesomeness isn’t (HOW lame was that!). I dig this girls voice, she sounds like she would be one of those tiny chicks that you meet once in a blue moon in the dark corner of some seedy pub that remind you of why you started liking girls to begin with. She has jokes, gets irony and is shy about how talented she is. I’m also aware that I have a vulva for loving this version. I’m ok with it.

Bicycle – Queen

I wonder what Freddie really wanted to say when he sang about all the “fat-bottomed girls riding this way” in this song. Is a fat bottomed dude good times in the sack? I don’t really get it, maybe i was never meant to. This song is all kinds of rad though. Reminds me of being a kid in Queensland and racing my arch nemesis “Big Mike” on my BMX for the yearly neighborhood bike race. I remember looking over during the race and being neck and neck with my villain. Streamers whipping in the wind off my handlebars. Me grinning, eyes still on the front of his bike and mine, knowing that this was “my year”. Then I remember hitting the back of my dad’s parked Buick. Punk rock.

Random Audio Commentary

Too Drunk to Fuck – Nouvelle Vague

Cover of a Dead Kennedy’s classic This song is pretty much amazing any way you try to cover it. Making a French jazz cover of it makes it amazing times ten. Liking this song used to be pretty much mandatory for someone to be a dating option. Or they had to have no idea who Dead Kennedy’s were and thus be “cute and kind of ironically sad”. Like a potbelly pig.

Don’t Cry Out – Shiny Toy Guns

I’m not sure why but I adore this song. It’s basically emo meets electro. Which is basically Mike meets Mike. So really this song is me having sex with my clone but in a nice, let’s cuddle after kind of way. I can see me telling me how that moment was really special to me (I may be lying to myself when I say that to me).

Wonderwall (Oasis cover)–Ryan Adams and Cat Power

Why does this song still have relevance? I have no idea but it does. In a real ‘circle of life’ kind of way Oasis did the original, Ryan Adams covered it, then Noel Gallagher covered Ryan Adams’ cover of it. I’m not sure at which point this just ends up being musical masturbation but it can’t be far off. Cat Power just kinda rules so I added her, she wouldn’t date me, EVER. Which is rad for some reason.

You Make My Dreams Come True – Hall and Oates

Basically the best Huey Lewis and the News song not written by Huey Lewis and the News. How many movies has this song been in? Try every Michael J. Fox movie ever. Remember when he banged his Aunt in “The Secret of My Success”? How weird would that be? Then when she finds out he is her nephew she tries to sneak into her room all night when they all stay overnight in that mansion for the party. Awkward.

Transmission – Joy Division

Maybe the most important band between 1977 and 1982. I’m a lil obsessed but they changed everything. How does one band catch on the tail end of the punk movement, basically create post-punk, have its lead singer commit suicide on the eve of their first North American tour, then go on to form New Order and help create the 1980’s-90’s rave scene? Without them there is no U2 and there is no Tiesto (let’s not hold that last part against them).