Lest We Forget: An Outsider Remembers

Yay. My Citizen Fish album has just finished downloading! So far it has the ingredients of righteous street alley anarchy which shamefully most pop punk bands of today lack. Pardon my old school bias towards punk rock but there was a time the music had a lot to say; from the gritty alleyways of Thatcher's England, to the desolate streets of Reagan's America. It was during the day when MTV held sway over every kid in the confines of their living rooms; pre-packaged fantasies of the ideal hipster life playing to the newsreels of AIDS and wars in foreign countries.

It's no different now......

We got new wars now; war against the third world in interest of American national security as well as clandestine forces of corporate greed. The rising feelings of dissent everywhere, even on Malaysian soil, where the powers that be scramble for damage control in view of recent allegations of judicial malpractice. Punk rock in the other hands has pretty much gone to sleep, resting on their laurels and being gradually seduced by fat-cat record companies. Even the born again Christian bands are enticed by the almighty dollar; forsaking their values for a better tomorrow. It's survivalism at it's blatant low. Keep playing the fiddle as Rome burns to the ground.

Face it, punk is dead...and rock...it's a bloated corpse.

The revolution it promised to espouse has been left with nothing but empty shells of pre-packaged rebellion. It's now cool to be the outsider now. What was the last weeks mockery is now the toast of the new cool. How it's so easy for us to forget.....

But before I mouth off at the sad state of things (there is still a lot of hope mind you!)
Let us take this time to remember those who are actually still carrying the flame despite the sneers of the cooler than thou trend-whores. Guys like Mike Watt for continueing the econo tradition, Carburator Dung for still rocking on in the streets of KL for all this years, Roystone Johnny (of Kuching) for being an absolute maverick ( and for actually quiting in principle rather be liar in the local mainstream market), Steve Albini for defending the rights of the artist against s the covert motives of the industry,......many more that I've yet to gladly discover and enrich me! A vast army of me of anonymous Hendrix's and Bob Dylan's just waiting to tear up the stifling capital centered tradition of the industry.