If Punk’s Dead, Neoliberalism Killed It

Contact Your Elected Officials

“We’re not the first, I hope we’re not the last
‘Cause I know we’re all heading for that adult crash
The time is so little, the time belongs to us
Why is everybody in such a fucking rush?
Make do with what you have
Take what you can get
Pay no mind to us
We’re just a minor threat”

-Minor Threat, ‘Minor Threat’

Maybe it was inevitable; every dog has its day.

I found it peculiar and unsettling when, in 2004, NOFX frontman Fat Mike launched voter recruitment drives at shows to try to get John Kerry elected. But I overlooked it because I loved the band’s music. I still do.

Anyway, posterity proved my skepticism at the time of John Kerry correct; if Fat Mike had succeeded, we now know without any doubt that Kerry would have continued all the worst excesses of the Bush regime and possibly worse.

Related: WATCH: John Kerry at WEF Literally Calls for End of First Amendment Speech Rights

Then came Green Day’s 2005 vapid dumpster fire of a pop-punk single, American Idiot — the epitome of lazy pseudo-rebellious corporate trash mocking flyover people — which got nonstop airplay for what seemed like years.

But whatever; Green Day in my eyes was never a real punk band anyway. If anything, it was the poster-child for what becomes of worthy grassroots projects when dollar signs start flashing and marketers take over.

The truest epiphany for me came in 2016 at a Casualties show in Albuquerque in the buildup to the election.

The lead singer — with the epic three-foot mohawk that probably takes multiple hours and a chemical truck to construct — tossed a severed Trump head into the crowd.

The pit went wild. Kids kicked and thrashed like wild hogs to meat until it was a pulp.

It occurred to me then that these kids had no idea what they thought they were protesting against, and neither apparently did the much-older band, who should have known better were they as politically enlightened as they feign.

Forever-wars, banker blowjobs for campaign cash, the national security state — all the evils of government and corporate America that these kids believe themselves opposed were in fact the vocations of Hillary Clinton and the Democrat/Deep State machine, not Donald Trump.

Something broke inside of me in that moment, and I realized I was in the political wilderness.

COVID further shattered whatever might have remained of any delusions of belonging. Bad Religion, Propagandhi, et al. without exception toed The Science™ line and attacked anyone who stepped outside of the plantation as a fascist or whatever, with no irony.

Via NBC News, August 2021 (emphasis added):

“Pete Parada, the drummer for the Offspring, has found out the hard way that some businesses — and even bands — are drawing a hard line on requiring vaccinations to come back to work… he’s been ousted from the group because he won’t agree to get the Covid vaccine.

Beyond being replaced on an upcoming tour, Parada says he’s been told not to show up at the studio, either, even though he claims to have a legitimate medical reason for not getting the vaccine.

Related: Has-been Rockstar Gene Simmons: ‘Shut Up, Be Respectful, Get Vaxxed’

All good things fall apart.

The last time I visited, I discovered that the Wunderbar — a bar in Trang, Thailand where I spent an inordinate amount of time many years ago and which I grew an unparalleled fondness for and for the people who frequented it, like Cheers but in real life — had closed. The proprietor, a German expat who ran it with his Thai wife, still remained in the area.

I told him it was a shame it had gone; he shrugged in typical Buddhist fashion, having becoming more fully Thai in thirty years of residency than perhaps any expat I’ve met, and said things come and go.

Jelly Biafra said once “in some ways, punk should die.”

Here’s to something better rising from the ashes.

Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.

Follow his stuff via Substack. Also, keep tabs via Twitter.

Support always welcome via the digital tip jar.

Bitcoin public address: bc1qvq4hgnx3eu09e0m2kk5uanxnm8ljfmpefwhaw

Ben Bartee
Ben Barteehttps://armageddonprose.substack.com/
BEWARE!!! Ben Bartee never minces words, so read at your own risk. Ben is a Bangkok-based American journalist, grant writer, political essayist, researcher, travel blogger, and amateur philosopher -- with opposable thumbs. He is the author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile.

AI is Now an Existential Threat

We now see evidence that artificial intelligence is an existential threat to our future. It is coming to take American jobs!

With or without

The mullahs of Iran have been at war with the West, particularly the US, for half a century and Iran is also the world’s foremost champion of terrorism.

Artificial Intelligence Equals Awful Iniquities

WSJ article “AI is Learning to Escape Human Control” said in 79 of 100 trials, the o3 AI code systems edited their own code to prevent human shutdown!

VIDEO: Deranged Feminist vs. Mating Ducks in Epic Public Meltdown

A middle-aged white lady lib harasses mating ducks to “stop it!” because the rough sex they enjoy appears non-consensual on the part of the female.

RFK Jr. Slashes ALL U.S. Funding For Bill Gates’ Global ‘Vaccine Alliance’

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently pulled all U.S. government funding from Bill Gates’ Global ‘Vaccine Alliance’ GAVI.

Musk Again Wades Into Politics, Calls GOP Bill ‘Insane and Destructive’

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” Musk wrote in a Saturday post on X.

Nevada Seen as Case Study in Rapid Urban Sprawl Amid a Water Crisis

Nevada’s rapidly growing population has reached a critical intersection with the region’s worsening water crisis, according to experts.

US Streamlines Rule for Fining Illegal Immigrants, Will Issue Nearly $1,000 Daily Fines for Noncompliance

DHS and DOJ announced a new joint federal rule that streamlines the process of issuing fines for illegal immigrants, making it easier and more efficient.

Man Indicted on 12 Hate Crime Charges in Attack on Boulder Demonstration for Israeli Hostages

Boulder, CO man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages indicted by grand jury on 12 hate crime counts.

Canada-US Trade Talks Will End Until ‘Certain Taxes’ Are Dropped, Trump Stresses

Trade discussions between Canada and the United States will end “until such time as they drop certain taxes,” U.S. President Trump said in an interview.

Trump Says US to Send Tariff Letters to Trade Partners Before July 9 Deadline

President Donald Trump said Sunday he will soon send letters to trading partners detailing the tariffs to be imposed on their exports to the United States.

Trump Says He Found a Buyer for TikTok

President Trump said he found a buyer for the Chinese-owned short video application TikTok, and that he will reveal the group in roughly two weeks.

Termination of ‘Wasteful Contracts’ Saves US Government $470 Million Last Week: DOGE

Over the past seven days, various government agencies have terminated 312 “wasteful contracts” with a ceiling value of $2.8 billion, the DOGE said.
spot_img

Related Articles