Dim outlook from aging punk rockers

[OogieWaWa]

Depressing world view?

I bet you're a lot of fun at parties. And I'm 180 out from most of those perspectives, but don't let it rule my life.

Hey, some people just LIKE being PO'd all the time, and gravitated to where they are; and there they shall remain. For a while, anyway. I'm surprised that more don't just spontaneously combust.

 

[lermgalieu]

I owned the first couple DYS records and knew some of those people. The most recent one seems pretty awful, but I'm sure he still has his fans.

I also used to listen to a bit of Dagnasty. I actually remember back in the day waiting in line to get into the Pipedragon (legendary club in Buffalo, NY) for a Dagnasty show and seeing Smalley walk past me. I mean, whatever, IDC at this point, but I do find it interesting that some of these folks have taken this stance. I like my punk to be kinda beyond politics. Like I might have the same gag reflex seeing my punk rock heroes at either a GOP or a Dem convention. Ok, maybe not the SAME gag reflex, but I definitely prefer punk to be more on the outside of the $hitstem.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Does anyone else notice how a lot of old punk rock stars seem to have a depressing world view?

I almost want to tell them to grow up. Get a haircut. Shave. Go to business college. Read Dale Carnegie - How to win friends and influence people. Just say no to drugs.

The only people who ever thought you were cool are people you wouldn't want to know anyway.

You've bought into a lie and wasted most of your lives. It's not too late to turn your lives around.

Maybe that's a little drastic. But some of these people just need to grow up.

Its from all the years swimming up stream! when I was young, the punkers were the most annoying group, Super political& cynical, just a bunch of bummers seemed just to go against any grain that was there. like they couldnt have fun unless it was totally Anti-establishment. It seemed cool but exhausting!! so it doesnt surprise me that the're all burned out & depressed, yupe if everything is BSwhat is there to strive for? or they just got tired of fighting the fight!

 

[deff]

I also used to listen to a bit of Dagnasty. I actually remember back in the day waiting in line to get into the Pipedragon (legendary club in Buffalo, NY) for a Dagnasty show and seeing Smalley walk past me. I mean, whatever, IDC at this point, but I do find it interesting that some of these folks have taken this stance. I like my punk to be kinda beyond politics. Like I might have the same gag reflex seeing my punk rock heroes at either a GOP or a Dem convention. Ok, maybe not the SAME gag reflex, but I definitely prefer punk to be more on the outside of the $hitstem.

Ha, this thread is funny. I've been to the Pipedragon a number of time when it was open. At the time, I didn't feel like it was legendary. I spent around 5 to 6 years in Bflo around that time. I saw Gorilla Biscuits there. Maybe a few other decent shows.

 

[Matt O]

I wonder if the OP will make it back to this train wreck before the lock…

Maybe he’s napping?

 

[Black Out Jazz]

What's worse than aged punk rockers?
People who still listen to third wave ska.

 

[Jack Deth]

Isn’t the goal of punk rock to get a rise out of certain people? Seems successful to me.

 

[tpaul]

To the OP's question - no, I haven't noticed. But supposing what you say is true, I'm not sure what significance it has if some old punks have a "dim outlook." As far as I know, a lot of punks also had a "dim outlook" when they were young. Anger was part of what made the genre what it was. And there were reasons for it.

I grew up in '70s and '80s. All through my childhood and teen years, it was repeatedly hammered into me how great life had been for the previous generation. They had the best music, the best drugs, the best festivals. They were pushing for social change and actually achieving it. They had flower power, LSD, free love, peace not war. The Beatles, the Stones, the Who. Woodstock.

What did we have? Gas lines, Iran/Contra, disco, AIDs, inflation, heroine, pollution, a shrinking middle class, and deteriorating economy.

And while we struggled along, we were told, over and over, that there would be no resources left for us when we were older. The boomers were going to take the best of everything, own everything, break Social Security and leave us holding the bag... if they didn't kill us all with toxic waste and nuclear fallout first.

So yeah - we had a dim outlook. We were getting screwed and we knew it. That's where the rage came from.

 

[lermgalieu]

Ha, this thread is funny. I've been to the Pipedragon a number of time when it was open. At the time, I didn't feel like it was legendary. I spent around 5 to 6 years in Bflo around that time. I saw Gorilla Biscuits there. Maybe a few other decent shows.

Things aren't always legendary until afterwards. I saw HR, Universal Congress Of, Always August, the Tar Babies and a host of other bands that I love to this day there. There was nothing like it in Buffalo. It was truly independent, and the owner Ralph was a great and super-interesting guy. I remember watching artists paint to live bands, sitting on the floor while Joe Baiza played me a personal solo, all sorts of great memories. If you wanted a beer, you could go to the third floor, give someone a dollar and take one from the fridge...

 

[MegaSwing]

There’s no limit to how self-limiting one’s mindset can be. BTW, punk was a reboot of nihilistic movements dating back literally centuries. It might’ve been new to us, but it wasn’t new to civilization.

 

[NortyFiner]

To the OP's question - no, I haven't noticed. But supposing what you say is true, I'm not sure what significance it has if some old punks have a "dim outlook." As far as I know, a lot of punks also had a "dim outlook" when they were young. Anger was part of what made the genre what it was. And there were reasons for it.

I grew up in '70s and '80s. All through my childhood and teen years, it was repeatedly hammered into me how great life had been for the previous generation. They had the best music, the best drugs, the best festivals. They were pushing for social change and actually achieving it. They had flower power, LSD, free love, peace not war. The Beatles, the Stones, the Who. Woodstock.

What did we have? Gas lines, Iran/Contra, disco, AIDs, inflation, heroine, pollution, a shrinking middle class, and deteriorating economy.

And while we struggled along, we were told, over and over, that there would be no resources left for us when we were older. The boomers were going to take the best of everything, own everything, break Social Security and leave us holding the bag... if they didn't kill us all with toxic waste and nuclear fallout first.

So yeah - we had a dim outlook. We were getting screwed and we knew it. That's where the rage came from.

Pretty much a more detailed elaboration of what I said. And I'm in that same Gen X, grew up in the 70s and 80s generation myself.

 

[deff]

Things aren't always legendary until afterwards. I saw HR, Universal Congress Of, Always August, the Tar Babies and a host of other bands that I love to this day there. There was nothing like it in Buffalo. It was truly independent, and the owner Ralph was a great and super-interesting guy. I remember watching artists paint to live bands, sitting on the floor while Joe Baiza played me a personal solo, all sorts of great memories. If you wanted a beer, you could go to the third floor, give someone a dollar and take one from the fridge...

Yeah I remember. It was a while ago. What bands did you play in in Bflo? Maybe we did shows together?

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

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