Did you know that Jello Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco in 1979 and that Jell-o was his official corporate sponsor? Did you know that I have a San Francisco shot glass? Did you know that Harvey Milk was Jello's Biafra's uncle?
Okay, that last statement was false but the rest is true (except for Jell-o sponsoring Biafra). Learn these need-to-know FAQs about your favorite punk rock icons and more on the Bsides Wee Hour Classics radio show on CKUT 90.3 FM.
Hey folks, this show highlights some of the bands that form part of the fabric of the period known as first generation punk between 1976 - 1979. For purists, it was so fleeting, literally over the span of two, maybe three years; so many bands came and went. Because there was such a vibrant underground economy--the fanzine (i.e. Sniffin' Glue) and the indie label (i.e. Rough Trade) playing a key role in conjunction with clubs (i.e. the Roxy, the 100 club) and music journalists (i.e. Chrissie Hynde and Nick Kent)--punk exploded before even being labeled as such and was already foreshadowing its end while just barely beginning. It was a case of punk being cannibalized by its own legend. How did it get so big so quickly? It was the players in the first wave themselves that were walking advertisements. They were marketing themselves on their own terms, atleast semi-conscious of some of the major implications of punk-as-movement. This has never really been repeated at such an *organic level reaping such tremendous results. Its equivalent now would be a YouTube video gone viral. I claim no vast knowledge of the major label recording industry but it seems to me that the kind of access that some of these bands like the Sex Pistols were getting to major labels (i.e. EMI) could never occur now. (This kinda squashes the rock star pipe dream for myself as well as many others I know!) These were indeed special times for many reasons--times to be relished!
*I use organic very loosely here. I think that there was more than just a casual toying with art as artifice culminating in brilliant acts of subversion. First gen punks had popular attention--for a 'media minute', the public was watching as they gobbed, puked, and pogoed into the hearts of kids that had something to say. Many of those same kids picked up a guitar themselves and people listened.
Anyways, enough banter. Have a listen for yourself HERE.
Stay tuned for the Wee Hour Review back in a few weeks with a look at experimental music, Brian Eno and, "The Competition of the Bryans/Brians: Ferry vs. Eno". I'll be posting an online survey with results of "The Competition of the Bryans/Brians: Ferry vs. Eno" being announced on the next Wee Hour Review. Until then, be well!
This weeks playlist:
Identity - X - Ray Spex
Siouxsie interview 22 Nov 1976
Gary Gilmore's Eyes - The Adverts
Babylon's Burning - The Ruts
Top of the Pops - The Rezillos
Ready Steady Go - Generation X
Sound of the Suburbs - The Members
Anti - Pope - The Damned
(I Belong To The) Blank Generation - Richard Hell & The Voidoids
Good Kisser - Hunx And His Punx
Borstal Breakout - Sham 69
Oh Bondage, Up Yours! - X - Ray Spex
One Chord Wonders - The Adverts
(I'm) Stranded - The Saints
What Do I Get - The Buzzcocks
Baby, Baby - The Vibrators
Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
Sonic Reducer - The Dead Boys
Your Generation - Generation X
Bored Teenagers - The Adverts
If The Kids Are United - Sham 69
Born to Lose - Johnny Thunders
Action Time Vision - Alternative TV
Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
Smash It Up - The Damned
Orgasm Addict - The Buzzcocks
Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
Lexicon Devil - the Germs
Personality Crisis - The New York Dolls
Faster & Louder – The Dictators
Hersham Boys – Sham 69
2 - 4 - 6 - 8 Motorway - Tom Robinson Band
Jimmy Jimmy - The Undertones
We Are The One - The Avengers
Emergency - 999
Trash - The New York Dolls
Stranglehold - U.K. Subs
King Rocker - Generation X
Harmony In My Head - U.K. Subs
The Clash - Interview with Tom Synder 1981 - Generation X
1977 - The Clash
Drowning Men - The Adverts
Poly Styrene and X - Ray Spex interview
Day the World Turned Day - Glo - X - Ray Spex
Hurry Up Harry - Sham 69
(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures - The Rezillos
Here Comes The Summer - The Undertones
Ever fallen in love - The Buzzcocks
Free Money - Patti Smith
Two tub Man - The Dictators
Staring at the Rude Boys - the Ruts
How Much Longer - Alternative TV
Jello for Mayor (Interview) - Dead Kennedys
Let's Lynch the Landlord - Dead Kennedys
