Punk … for credit

[Dr. Medulla]

I mostly liked Mattson's book on the US underground in the 80s, but this is an uncomfortable level of cherry-picking and idealizing, both in describing arena/festival shows and hardcore.
https://slate.com/culture/2021/11/punk- ... shows.html

I just read this.

His lumping Woodstock in with Altamont and Riverfront is really bad work. There were, like, three deaths (one burst appendix, two ODs) in a weekend with half a million people. That's a lower death rate than a normal city. And he idealizes hardcore while ignoring some ugly reality. I mean, MacKaye and others had a reason for saying they needed to take back the punk scene from the Rambo punk goons who were ruining things. But that was my main criticism of Mattson's book—he's more of an advocate than a critic. Not egregiously so, as with this piece, but he does look away from some obvious contradictions within punk and is overly harsh on the mainstream.

[Dr. Medulla]

Not my punk class, but I'm grading finals and a student referred to the SCTV parody The Queen Haters (I threw it in at the end of my punk lecture for funsies) as if they were an actual punk band expressing the frustrations of youth.

[revbob]

Not my punk class, but I'm grading finals and a student referred to the SCTV parody The Queen Haters (I threw it in at the end of my punk lecture for funsies) as if they were an actual punk band expressing the frustrations of youth.

Someone deserves an F.

[Dr. Medulla]

Not my punk class, but I'm grading finals and a student referred to the SCTV parody The Queen Haters (I threw it in at the end of my punk lecture for funsies) as if they were an actual punk band expressing the frustrations of youth.

Someone deserves an F.

Alas, they accrued enough elsewhere to avoid that. Even more galling, they were in my punk seminar last year.

[Dr. Medulla]

Written response from a student on readings about defining punk: "Punk rather creates a community, where mostly middle class men who are horny for conflict and challenge in life, are able to come together to create imaginary problems and get angry."

So, like, Black Flag fans.

[JennyB]

Written response from a student on readings about defining punk: "Punk rather creates a community, where mostly middle class men who are horny for conflict and challenge in life, are able to come together to create imaginary problems and get angry."

So, like, Black Flag fans.

Damn.

[Flex]

Written response from a student on readings about defining punk: "Punk rather creates a community, where mostly middle class men who are horny for conflict and challenge in life, are able to come together to create imaginary problems and get angry."

So, like, Black Flag fans.

Yeah, we do rule.

[Dr. Medulla]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

[Kory]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

Have you taught them about Oi yet?

[revbob]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

That description is lazy and can apply to plenty of styles of music.

[Dr. Medulla]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

That description is lazy and can apply to plenty of styles of music.

Sure, but I appreciate the criticism thrown toward our inclinations.

[Dr. Medulla]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

Have you taught them about Oi yet?

Ha! That actually came up and I gave a very quick description of it.

[Dr. Medulla]

Oh, if y'all want to feel ancient, I brought up Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" and the question of punks embracing the mainstream to gain a wider audience—to break out of the self-selecting ghetto—and zero, none, nada knew the song. So … damn.

[Flex]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

Have you taught them about Oi yet?

Ha! That actually came up and I gave a very quick description of it.

You mean how great it is?

[Dr. Medulla]

I told the student that I passed her description onto some friends and she got suitably embarrassed. But I assured her, she’s not wrong in describing a certain meathead variety of punk fan.

Have you taught them about Oi yet?

Ha! That actually came up and I gave a very quick description of it.

You mean how great it is?

I respectfully withheld personal assessment. I think it’s healthy for students to dismiss it and move on by their own experience.

I did play some DK while making a larger point about aesthetics—it was a set up for something else; DK was not my core point—and, damn, the younger generation got no respect for Jello. I was on the verge of taking things personallly.