Germfree Adolescents

Week 27 - X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents

I have repeatedly written to our senators, representatives, and even the governor, to urge them to stand up to this would-be dictator in the Oval Office. I get nice form letters back, assuring me that they are doing everything in their power to oppose Trump’s agenda (except, silence from Sununu); and yet, he is still flopping around, spouting lies and hate, with zero concern of reprisal or consequence. Every time I see the news, there are new investigations, plainly laying out evidence of what amounts to treason, bank fraud, blatant abuse of power, and all manner of villainous operations involving teams of lawyers and some combination of either cowed or lapdog Republicans. The fact that it’s being eaten up ravenously be so many Americans would be alarming if I didn’t already know that there are still a lot of people in this country who think that the world was made by a white god for white people, sternly reassuring one another that things aren’t what they used to be. And it doesn’t take a genius to see that “the way things used to be” just means that, as Poly Styrene says, “some people think little girls should be seen and not heard…”, and I’ll chime in when she finishes with “I say: bondage, up yours!” The men who murdered Breonna Taylor were just sent along with no punishment, though the city still paid out $12 million to her family. We’ve seen example after example over the years of wanton violence directed at Black people, from state sanctioned to the justice system looking the other way. That is what this media engine was built on. 

The punk of the seventies was this amazing nihilist tidal wave, reacting to the many disappointments of the love generation, and the aggrandizement of the WWII generation. Both in England and in America, those who fought in the war, just as those who are involved in any war, found themselves in confusing waters. Wars are rich men sending poor men to die, and no matter what causes they use to rally people to commit violence and feel justified in doing so, it’s a big business, and those same rich men make money from all of that death. I admit that nowadays, it’s a lot easier to see how all of these things were constructed, where it might have been possible to sway the public to an actual noble action, while having a much darker agenda. Also, I don’t fault those who have served, but do feel that they were significantly disrespected by not being given the entire truth. Some people think that we couldn’t maintain the freedoms we (er, some of us?) enjoy without the war machine clearing the way ahead; that without an unflinching military, we would be forever unsafe. You may not be surprised to learn that I am an endless optimist, probably to a fault, possibly to a level of naivete, but my dream is to see what would happen if for a few years we directed the military budget to healthcare, education, and rebuilding communities that have been devastated by the racist policies within all of our infrastructural systems. Why are folks more mobilized against the idea of gun control, but seemingly nonplussed at the calamity of the current state of healthcare? Do you really think that poor people should just die if they can’t afford a procedure; that the rich should be more entitled to life and peace of mind? I feel like punk has a couple of different sides, one being that it doesn’t matter because no one is going to save us and people are inherently cruel, and the other being hopeful and pushing for revolutionary change. Both are real, both are happening, and both inform the vast readings of the work of punk artists. I think that kids coming up in the seventies were often condescended to in the same way that kids of today are: “you don’t know anything; you weren’t there; you didn’t struggle like we did…” etc etc. Every generation has the impossible standards of the previous generations heaped upon them, not to mention the debts and failings of said generations, without the acceptance of such inheritance from those very same forebears. It’s the age old problem of being told to respect one’s elders, without getting much respect from them. That’s what I see as the crux of youth culture; and the more emboldened the kids get, the more confident in that middle finger, the greater abandon displayed and reveled in.

I always knew about X-ray Spex, but they weren’t maximized really in the same way as the Sex Pistols and the Clash, even though both of those groups regarded Poly Styrene and her band as titans in the field. Punk further exploited the innovations of Black artists by building upon rhythm and blues and rock and roll, both Black inventions which America (and Britain) has proudly co-opted. Funny then how Poly Styrene, an anomaly as a Black woman fronting a punk band, would then be considered an outsider. The music business often pigeonholes bands and people, and is, like most business, a study of risk assessment; it’s wild to think about what the record companies were resisting, or afraid of, in not lifting up such a substantial and passionate voice. Though Germfree Adolescents was released to wide critical acclaim, and by all accounts the band’s live performances were powerful and stirring, it didn’t get released in America until 1991 (this and subsequent editions included the singles as well as some live material). In a genre seemingly dominated by white men, I did often feel a disconnect, but the anger, ambivalence, and confusion definitely appealed to my younger angsty self. In retrospect, to know that there were other options out there that just weren’t as available at first made me feel disconcerted, but the more that I think about it, the more I realize that those opportunities for discovery are always there, it’s just a matter of doing some legwork. You can’t rely on systems to deliver the best choices; but it can be a good jumping off point. We have to encourage one another to dig, to go out and try new things, to challenge our ears and expectations. 

There is passion and joy at the root of even the most somber music, and in these brutal times, both qualities lie beneath as well. Maybe something is broken in me, and that’s what allows me to find solace in almost any darkness. I’ve been running a lot earlier in the morning lately, so that when I am heading up to the dam, it’s pitch black, and I will admit that sometimes I get nervous I’m going to run into a skunk or something. As I begin to pierce into the dense dawn gloom, the roosters down the street scream like werewolves, but I push on, and as I get to the top of the hill, there is a cool blue light beginning, and the swallows and swifts replace the bats, the cacophonous percussion of the squirrels in the trees echo along the waterway. No matter how low you might get, or how confused and overwhelmed, there are always places and people who can bring you light, who can make you happy to be alive. Maybe I’m dead inside, but if so, I guess it’s left more room for me to draw the joy from frustration, and to feel the light of our possible future; it’s just up ahead through the darkness. 

X-ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents

Saturday October 3rd 2020, 7pm

Just put it on at your house using a stereo or the internet or whatever you want.