Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art produced this documentary about the art and logos of the legendary American punk band, Black Flag
Killing Joke - “In Excelsis” (Live In Helsinki 11.10.2010)
Liberty is ours to protect
The glorious pursuit of happiness
The rights of free speech by consent
The right to express discontent
The glory of freedom, simple liberties
In excelsis
The rights of man to eat and drink and breathe
In excelsis
The glory of freedom
The glory of freedom
In excelsis
In excelsis
The glorious pursuit of happiness
In excelsis
In excelsis
In excelsis
In excelsis
Liberty our common goal
Smash the cabals that control
This world is ours
We won’t be sold
No profit, interest or loans
The glory of freedom, simple liberties
In excelsis
The rights of man to eat and drink and breathe
In excelsis
The glory of freedom
The glory of freedom
In excelsis
In excelsis
The glorious pursuit of happiness
In excelsis
In excelsis
In excelsis
In excelsis
There’s a horrible irony that the first time that there’s been terrorism in the US since the World Trade Centre is in Boston, which is a city central in funding the IRA who bombed so many cities on the UK mainland. The Irish punk band, Stiff Little Fingers, wrote this song about it.
Stiff Little Fingers - Each Dollar A Bullet
Oh it must be so romantic
When the fighting’s over there
And they’re passing round the shamrock
And you’re all filled up with tears
“For the love of dear old Ireland”
That you’ve never even seen
You throw in twenty dollars
And sing “Wearing of the Green
[Chorus:]
Each dollar a bullet
Each victim someone’s son
And Americans kill Irishmen
As surely
As if they fired the gun
Now you’ve never stood on Belfast’s streets
And heard the bombs explode
Or hid beneath the blankets
When there’s riots down the road
No you’ve never had your best friend die
Or lost a favorite son
But you’ll stand there and tell us
Just what we’re doing wrong
Each false word a bullet
Each victim someone’s son
And Englishmen kill Irishmen
As surely
As if they fired the gun
From the minute that you’re born you’re told
To hate the other side
“They’re not like us, they’re not the same
We know because we’re right”
But can’t you see we’re all the same
There is no right and wrong
Why can’t we stop and realize
Just what we’re doing wrong
We’ve hated too much too long
Each old lie a bullet
Each victim someone’s son
And Irishmen kill Irishmen
As surely
As if they fired the gun
How can you convince yourself
That what you do is right?
When people are dying there
Night after night
Don’t you ever wonder
Why it still goes on?
The hopes and fears and all the tears
Are buried in your ground
Buried in your ground
Each rumour a bullet
Each victim someone’s son
And careless talk kills Irishmen
As surely
As if words fired the gun
Well it’s lasted for so long now
And so many have died
It’s such a part of my own life
Yet it leaves me mystified
How a people so intelligent
Friendly, kind and brave
Can throw themselves so willingly
Into an open grave
Each new day a bullet
Each victim someone’s son
And ignorance kills Irishmen
As surely
As if we fired the gun
The Fatima Mansions - “Blues for Ceaucescu”
On this Saddest Day In Recorded History, let us remember a a social conservative who promoted a cult of their own personality, who was a great friend of Pinochet, widely feted abroad for “standing up to the soviet union” and reduced their country’s debts by having to impose austerity on ordinary people.
Well, hello.
You can no longer depend on the land in which you were born.
You can no longer depend on any land in which you choose to place yourself.
You can no longer depend on the bed in which you lie by night,
or the room in which you sit by day.
You can no longer depend on the pillow on which you lay your head.
You can no longer depend on the existence of silence in your mind when you close your eyes.
Go to England, baby-raper, false economist.
Call yourself King Charles III.
Nobody will notice.
Nobody will be alarmed.
There is no constitution.
No goodbye. Goodbye.
He’s shining brightly, he can’t be a man
He is the genius of the Carpathians
He’s running checks on his mother’s womb
He’s gonna be reborn real soon
CHORUS:
Ciao, Ceaucescu! Ciao, Ceaucescu! Ciao, Ceaucescu!
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
Well, golly gee, oh my gosh, I never
Regina, Regina rubs her thighs together
She made three wishes and they all came true
The middle one ended in a W
The first one began with a kiss kiss kiss
The last one ended in a pulverized fist
(And don’t forget, I need sleep. I don’t get no sleep.)
Meanwhile in London, things stay the same
The untenable must be maintained
Who’s that knocking down my back door?
It’s the same bald-headed, bug-eyed male whore
CHORUS
In the dingy Irish orphan’s home
Dickie Mountbatten licks the alchemist’s bone
It’s done in strict official secrecy
God, I love living in a democracy!
I really do! I do! I really do!
I looooooooovve you! I looooooooovvvvvvve you!
He’s shining brightly, he can’t be a man
He is the genius of the Carpathians
He’s running checks on his mother’s womb
Hey, look out below, he’s gonna drop in again soon!
CHORUS
Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!
Give thanks!!
Killing Joke - “Follow the Leader”
Come inside boy - they call this fun!
(Music to please the adolescent)
Taking the easy way out again
Part of the process - same old story
Follow the leader
(look at the leader)
You just condone all that you mean
Play time doesn’t last forever
Shouting about it taking the bait
Walking again in the same direction
Follow the leader
(look at the leader)
Time wore on and then you noticed
The ground starts to tremble beneath your feet
Man killed man and blood was shed (yawn!)
And the gasps of relief at human nature like
Follow the leader
(look at the leader)
Stiff Little Fingers - “Silver Lining”
They tell you not to worry
They say they’re terribly sorry
But that’s the way it has to be
For the likes of you and me
Just be good and know your station
Always look on the bright side
Keep your faith and keep your patience
Your reward is after you’ve died
So don’t be told
Don’t be consoled
Things are so bad
You can never make do
And there’s always someone
better off than you
They tell you that’s your future
It’s all down to human nature
Simply settle for what you got
That’s destiny and that’s your lot
All of us cannot come first
Yes, what you have is second-best
But it might be a good deal worse
Third world peasants get even less
So don’t be told
Don’t be consoled
Things are so bad
You can never make do
And there’s always someone
better off than you
Do you care that it’s not fair?
Is this the way we have to live?
I know I care
And I want an equal share
Even if it means I have to give
The people who are on top
Say that you should keep your chin up
And they are keen to show you
The unhappy ones below you
But I want no more of that stuff
That’s looking at it upside down
And the world has got money enough
For us to make it go around
Don’t be told
Don’t be consoled
Don’t be ruled
Don’t be fooled
Because things are so bad
you can never make do
And there’s always someone
better off than you
The Godfathers - “Birth, School, Work, Death”
A jolly good band that I saw last night in Leamington Spa supporting The Stranglers.
The Troggs - “Wild Thing”
Not sure if it’s punk, but in the spirit. In memoriam Reg Presley who died today.
Los Saicos “Demolición”
1960s Peruvian garage music which was, according to The Guardian, the first punk song. Hat tip: @luciotorre, via @sil
“Almost a decade before the Ramones, the New York Dolls or the Sex Pistols struck a chord in anger, the Peruvian band Los Saicos (the Psychos) were screaming, speeding and drinking their way to local notoriety. Now, thanks to an upsurge of interest and a recent documentary, the band – all in their sixties – have reformed and found their biggest following in half a century.
Their signature tune, Demolición (Demolition) has been revived as an anthem for political protesters and, reportedly, - for drug barons. In the Lima district of Lince, a marble plaque has been erected with the provocative claim etched in marble: “The global punk movement was born here. Demolish!!!”
Los Saicos burned brightly and briefly in the mid-60s, performing together for a few years and recording no more than a dozen songs. They were inspired by Elvis and the Beatles to play rock’n’roll but thanks to a frenetic effort to make up for a lack of training and equipment (Roland Carpio made his own guitar), with energy and attitude they ended up with a sound that was 10 years ahead of its time.
Demolición starts slowly with a typical 60s guitar and drum intro, then jolts a decade into the future as lead man, Erwin Flores, screeches “tatatatayayayaya”, followed by an anarchic exhortation to “Smash down the train station!”“
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/sep/14/where-punk-begin-cinema-peru
Loop - “the nail will burn” - live on MTV
From their final album and magnum opus, “A Gilded Eternity”. I saw this band four or five times in the eighties. Blisteringly loud, zero audience interaction, often entirely anonymous as they were backlit and surrounded by ganja-infused dry ice. Wonderful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_(band)
