Well some things you can explain away but my heartache's in me till this day

70’s Pick of the Week

“Train in Vain” by the Clash (1979)

He is not likely going to be posthumously knighted ‘Sir Joe Strummer’. One of the central figures in punk rock, Strummer was viewed as an extremist and mocked the government. You don’t get knighted for that. The Clash would sit around another round table though – that of Punk Rock.

From the womb of a nation wracked with economic turmoil and political and social unrest came writhing, spitting, sneering and swearing, a youth with only anger, fear and contempt for anything that smelled like authority - that was the essence of punk rock. 

I am waiting for my man twenty-six dollars in my hand up to Lexington, 125 feel sick & dirty, more dead than alive

The origins of “Alternative Music” and the rise of Punk – Part II

“I’m Waiting for My Man”, The Velvet Underground (1967)

Back in New York another very significant artist to contribute to what would become alternate music, was Lou Reed. To think this song came out when I was in grade school is almost creepy. The guy is talking about a heroin deal in Harlem. I was likely making batman puppets, bringing my guinea pig in for show-and-tell, or writing my first poem for Mrs. T.  Who knew?

 Seemingly from a normal Brooklyn Jewish family, Lou Reed learned to play guitar listening to the R&B and doo-wop on the radio. Having received ‘electroconvulsive” shock therapy in his teens to ‘cure’ his homosexuality, things took a different turn for Reed. The appearance of ‘normal’ would continue for a while as Reed completed a B.A. from Syracuse University College of Arts and Science in 1964, where he met John Cale (who is most famous for his song “Cocaine”).

The Velvet Underground who was based on the lower East-side in New York would catch the attention of Andy Warhol who led the visual art movement in the 1960’s. Now considered by some to be the pioneers of Goth rock, glam rock, and maybe even punk rock,  VU’s, 1967’s “The Velvet Underground & Nico” has been called the most prophetic rock album ever made (Rolling Stone).

Whoso fly up in th' sky Faster than any boy could ever describe Whos got that love so deep And everything alive

The origins of “Alternative Music” and the rise of Punk  Part I

“Jet Boy”, New York Dolls (1973)  

Often cited as a major influence on the punk, (as I stated in my previous blog) and later new wave movement in the U.K., the New York Dolls are not all that well know in the mainstream of music. As I embark on one of my longest blogs ever, bear with me as this build-up is important in understanding the influence and impact this strange band had. 

As I said, there were a lot of things going on in the U.K. to stem the backlash of Punk and then new wave against the establishment. The American influence was there, but I am not convinced it was the ‘cause’ per se of Punk. What was happening was that you had a complacent record industry cranking out mega-bands; you had Vietnam War vets returning to a poor economy, often disliked by the hippies who now also lacked a cause. The U.S. government was having its own problems, wallowing in the corruption of Watergate, broke from the long war, and floundering in the face of an economy falling apart.