Punk Rock Christmas

Its the year 2005, and people love to give gift cards in the holiday season. I got one of those Visa giftcards that you can buy ANYTHING with, and I got two Sam Goody gift cards. I'm using them all online.

So far I've ordered these cds from interpunk



And this shirt



And this patch



And these stickers



And so far I've ordered these cds from Sam Goody

Yes, tis a punk rock Christmas indeed.

Senior Research Paper: Punk Rock Today & Conclusion

The following is from my research paper titled "Another State of Mind". NOTE: I took out the internal citation, which makes this material plagarized.

If the ideas, actions, and philosophies of the aforementioned bands were not still practiced today, it would be easy to believe that punk is dead, but the opposite is true. Bands today are still formnig their own record labels, the most popular one being Fat Wreck Chords, formed by Fat Mike of NoFX. Not only do NoFX anf Fat Wreck Chords prove that DIY is still alive, but they also prove that punk is still political. Fat Wreck Chords has a multi-volume compilation album called "Rock Against Bush," which features countless bands, including Anti-Flag and Decendants, who express their political points of view through their music. Even pop punk bands write political songs; Green Day's 2004 album, "American Idiot", features many anti-establishmen messages. They final proof that punk is in no way dead, is the fact that some of the labels that were created by punk bands in the early eighties are still putting out albums today. Alternative Tentacles, Dischord, and BYO Records are still defiantly producing albums more than twenty years later, and they are run by the same people who founded them. Furthermore, many of the bands from "back in the day" are also still around, like Agent Orange, Circle Jerks, Bad Religion, and the Misfits (to name a few).

To conclude on a more personal note, I would like to add that my own band, The Drafted, plays the '80s hardcore style of punk (including political songs), and that our album was recorded by our friends who formed their own label, Lower Records. From my own experience, I can testify that DIY is easier to accomplish now than it has ever been, due to the internet and affordable recording equipment. Thus, any hope that a critic or loud mouth may have of seeing punk die is quite futile. I leave you with a quote from Shawn Stern, co-founder of the Better Youth Organization and frontman of Youth Brigade: "youth is an attitude, not an age [...] every generation should realize the responsibility to change what they feel is wrong in the world". That is DIY in a nutshell.

Senior Research Paper: DIY (continued)

The following is from my research paper "Another State of Mind". NOTE: I took out the internal citation, which makes this material plagarized.

Another example of DIY is the Better Youth Organization, formed in 1979 by future members of the band Youth Brigade. They founded the Better Youth Organization "as a reaction to police violence, outside exploitation and a general negative outlook held against the Punk/Alternative music scene in Los Angeles, CA". Later, the BYO started recording bands and booking tours under the name BYO Records. The first tour that BYO put on (with Youth Brigade and Social Distortion) was filmed and made into a documentary called "Another State of Mind".

Sometimes DIY happens by accident, the best example being the sparking of the Straight Edge movement. The song "Straight Edge" by Minor Threat was one of many that denounced drugs, alcohol, and one-night-stands. Many fans believed in the way of life that Minor Threat advocated and called themselves "straight edge", or "edge". Some drew "x"'s on their hands, because an "x" on someone's hand at a bar or venue means that they are a minor--not to be served alcohol. Other "edge" punks sometimes went as far as flicking people's cigarettes or spilling their drinks. This activity was something that Ian MacKaye, Minor Threat's frontman, was highly opposed to. In fact, MacKaye never told anyone to be "straight edge"; the entire movement was fan-induced, mass DIY.

Senior Research Paper: The Politics of Punk & DIY

The following is another excerpt from my senior research paper titled "Another State of Mind". NOTE: I took out the internal citation, which makes this material plagarized.

Now, why is punk rock not just music? One reason is the politics of punk. Many post-punk and hardcore bands of the early eighties were prone to writing political lyrics; some are even called "political bands". The most notable political band is Dead Kennedys, whose frontman, Jello Biafra, once ran for mayor of San Fransisco (Biafra researchpubs.com). Even one of the forefather bands, MC5, was politically involved; they played at the famous Democratic National Convention of 1968 (Vineyard rollingstone.com). Also, Joey Ramone (of the Ramones), rallied for Jerry Brown's campaign for governor of California (columbia.edu "Two rock and roll documentaries"). Anarchy is commonly associated with punk rock too, which began with the Sex Pistols, with their classic, "Anarchy in the UK", along with many other anti-establishment songs.

The true state of mind that most punk bands had was the concept of D.I.Y: Do It Yourself. Post-punk and hardcore bands were having hard times getting noticed in the music industry (probably because punks are generally looked down upon in society to begin with), so many of them formed their own record labels to release their recorded music. The Dead Kennedys formed Alternative Tentacles (Erlewine 246), Black Flag formed SST (Evans 81), Minor Threat formed Dischord (Erlewine 615), and the Subhumans formed Bluurg (Wikipedia "Subhumans"); these bands recorded, produced, and distributed their own albums, because they knew that no one else was going to do it for them. Labels like those are called "indie", short for "independent".

Senior Research Paper: Introduction & A History of Punk

The following is a draft of my research paper titled "Another State of Mind" , PLEASE NOTE: I took out the inernal citation, which makes this material plagarized.

A common phrase used by music critics (whether they be "experts" or just loud mouths) is the statement, "Punk Is Dead". The phrase usually refers to the absence of classic punk bands from the late 1970s. In other words, it is believed that punk rock died with the bands who started it. However, even with the earliest punk bands being gone, it is unfounded to say that punk is dead, because punk rock is more than just music, it is a state of mind.

First, a brief history of punk. The term "punk rock" was first used as a genre distinction in an early '70s issue of Cream magazine (Dougan 1138), but the influences of punk date back to the mid-1960s, with bands like the Velvet Underground (Unterberger 988), the Stooges (Erlewine 899), New York Dolls (Erlewine 653), and MC5 (Rees 565). These bands were breaking the rules that the limelit bands of the British Invasion were following; they were vulgar, very open about drug abuse and sex, and some were quite insane (namely Iggy Pop of the Stooges). Being from New York, the Velvet Underground and New York Dolls were probably the biggest influences on the Ramones, who were the premier band of the punk rock genre. After the Ramones played in England, future punk giants such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash were formed, and it is they, alongside Ramones, who are classified as "prototype punk", or "proto-punk": the first generation of punk rock.

The next generation of punk, "post-punk", came around 1979. Some of the new bands played so fast and were so angry that they were given the name "hardcore". The third generation of punk came in 1990 when Green Day combined aspects of both proto-punk and post-punk, creating a new sub genre called "pop punk".

Bush speaks, war is peace

I watched Georgey Boy address his nation tonight, and I must admit, he was pretty coherent.

The arguement that stuck with me the most was the one he made about 9/11. He said something like, "We weren't in Iraq or Afghanistan on 9/11, and the terrorists attacked us".
I guess we're supposed to make a connection like, "So if we're at war, we won't get attacked, and if we're not, we will." Apparently, the history of the entire world started on September 11th, nothing happened before that time, it was The Beginning. He's acting as if our government has been just minding it's own business for 200 years, completely innocent of any wrongdoing or mistake, and we all know how true that isn't.

It doesn't matter to him why the terrorists attack us, it is apparently not his job to think about such things. His job is to "protect" us, which he must be doing, since we're at war and there haven't been anymore 9/11's. He says that we're winning the war because 10 million Iraqis voted for a new constitution, but our goal is to stop terrorism, not just to "free" Iraq. Even with a democratic Iraq, terrorism will be a problem in the world, so what are we really doing over there?

Tonight he said that the goal is to kill every one of the terrorists, what rational human being could believe that this feat is possible? This goal makes no sense, therefore this war makes no sense.

House OKs Bill to Tighten Immigration Laws

From AP via Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON - The House acted Friday to stem the tide of illegal immigration by taking steps to tighten border controls and stop unlawful immigrants from getting jobs. But lawmakers left for next year the tougher issue of what to do with the 11 million undocumented people already in the country.

click here for all of it

How to stop illegal immigration: make immigration easier to do.

The House legislation [...] includes such measures as [...] requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers.

This is what really needs to be done. Stop treating the Mexicans like criminals, employers are more to blame for them wanting to come here.

I just don't understand why the Mexican border is so much more guarded than the Canadian border. It couldn't be a skin color thing, could it?

Furthermore, I think people need to get over themselves and learn to deal with people speaking different languages around them. Racism isn't just burning crosses.

Bush Raps Senators on Blocking Patriot Act

From AP via Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Saturday that senators who are blocking renewal of the terrorism-fighting Patriot Act are acting irresponsibly and standing in the way of protecting the country from attack.

[...]

Some of the most contentious elements of the Patriot Act include powers granted to law enforcement agencies to gain access in secret to library and medical records and other personal data during investigations of suspected terrorist activity.

The law allows the government to conduct roving wiretaps involving multiple phones and to wiretap "lone wolf" terrorists who may operate on their own, without control from a foreign agent or power.

click here for all of it

Bush just doesn't understand that you can't catch terrorists like that, because they don't work that way. Library and medical records? Wiretaps? I don't think terrorists look up books about terrorism, I doubt they tell their doctors that they got a cold because they're a terrorist, and it's foolish to think that they talk on the phone and just flat out say, "Dirka-dirka-dirka, lets highjack some planes".

I think the Patriot Act is intentionally used as a public opinion watch dog. They're not looking for terrorists, they're curious about who's with them and who's against them.

Senate blocks Patriot Act extension

From AP via Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON - In a stinging defeat for
President Bush, Senate Democrats blocked passage Friday of a new Patriot Act to combat terrorism at home, depicting the measure as a threat to the constitutional liberties of innocent Americans.

HA!

I gotta admit, things seem to be kinda looking up when it comes to disagreeing with Bush. I mean, we've been in the majority for a while, but now its spreading to places where it counts: The Hill.

I can't wait to get my hands on some Christmas!

Thats right, its the holiday season and we LIBERALS are out to STEAL CHRISTMAS once again!!!!!!!

Better watch out, thats not Chris Kringle on your roof! I'm gonna steal your Christmas tree, ya know, the one that the Bible told you to put up. Oh wait, not the Bible, the Pagans, whatever.

And I'm gonna SHIT on your Christmas ham cuz I'm a LIBERAL and I'm out to STEAL CHRISTMAS and persecute you CHRISTIANS!!

At least thats what Bill O'Reilly says I'm gonna do. In fact, I think he'd like it, just so he and all the others could yell about it.

"Man, they won't let us sing Christmas songs!!!!!!! They're persecuting us Christians!".....Maybe they just don't want you singing in the first place. You've gone all year without singing, and you've been a huge jerk too, now you wanna sing about Peace and fellowship and act like pine trees, peppermints, and an obese Canadian are part of your religion? Fuck that.

I know I don't need a sarcasm disclaimer, but here it is.

Burn the SAT

25 minutes is not enough FREAKING time to write an essay.

Furthermore, Texas teachers need to TEACH the math stuff thats on the SAT.

I guess I'll just be a carni.

50 Years Ago Today

A Movement began