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FIRST_PUNKS
July 12, 2004
Of all the places to begin,
let's begin with "Horses": With additions from:
Patti Smith's first album was December 19, 2003
released in 1975. I was January, 2001
listening to this a lot November 26, 2005
when I was a teenager.
And shortly thereafter I was
reading articles about Punk
in the Village Voice, and
listening to "The Good City Rock
Show" on WBAI...
And it was *obvious* to me that Around 1990 I would
Patti Smith had done this: she'd try to tell the neo-punks
kicked the door open to what that Patti Smith was first,
really was a "new wave" of stripped and they'd play her records
down, high-energy and lyrically and wonder what was wrong
strong music. with me. Hey man, this
doesn't sound like the
Then I was caging records where I Dead Kennedys. It doesn't
could: the Ramones, Talking Heads, even sound like the Ramones.
Blondie, the Sex Pistols... but if
you asked me, the best of this first NEOPUNK
wave was clearly "Richard Hell and
the Voidoids".
Much much later -- when doing
research for wikipedia articles -- (January 2001)
it dawned on me that it was more
complicated than this. The Trouser Press guide
has an oddly dismissive
Patti Smith was a poet that article on Patti Smith,
decided to form her band only calling her "too
after seeing Television perform idiosyncratic to have
at CBGBs. been influential".
And in those days, Television But what if she was influential
(originally "The Neon Boys") in encouraging everyone to be
was fronted by *both* Tom idiosyncratic?
Verlaine... and Richard Hell.
The man I thought had In any case: Patti Smith
followed Patti Smith Though was already well-known in
got there ahead of her... it could the NY scene as a poet,
be it's and her attention to
even the punk scene clearly
more helped put it over, helped
And there are other complicated: to validate it.
contenders for "first Patti's
punk": "poetry" She published the first
was awfully review of Television at
Someone I know who rock n' roll, CBGBs, in the Soho
was kicking around with Lenny Weekly News.
in New York at the Kaye on
time, (if not doing guitar... And scoring a
a lot of concert major label
going) picks "The record contract
New York Dolls". PLEASE_KILL_ME is not to be
sneered at...
At a time when no
original music was (Or at least it
breaking through on the wasn't, back then.)
radio, The Dolls were
clawing their way up
playing street fairs Certainly they
and such. Punks before became a staple
there were punk rock of "The Good (Hm: "street fairs"?
bars. City Rock Show". All published accounts
talk about a regular
And glam before gig at the "Mercer
there was glam Arts Center".)
rock...
There's also the Ramones,
or maybe Iggy Pop, who
were both doing what they One thing that's clear:
did pretty early...
The Sex Pistols were not
And the gaze of history a the first, and punk did
century hence will find the *not* originate in
gap of a few years between England, however much
"The Velvet Underground" and credit they deserve for
"Television" rather small. picking up on it as fast
as they did... and for
doing what they did with it.
PISTOL_WHIPPED
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