It's National Women's History Month. If Suzi Quatro was the queen of rock & roll, then Patti Smith was the leader of the female punk insurgency that redefined the genre. The 30th anniversary addition of Horses includes a bonus disc of the album recorded live in 2005 with Tom Verlaine (Television) on guitar and Flea on bass and trumpet. Tucked at the end of the disc is a sublime, nearly seven minute rendition of The Who's "My Generation." Whereas Roger Daltrey's version looked towards the possibilities of the future, Smith's looks back, exuding regret and anger. "My generation. We had dreams... We had dreams, man! And we fucking created George Bush! New generations! Rise up! Rise up! Take to the streets! Make change! The world is yours! Change it! Change it!"
Black Lives Matter. Women's March. #MeToo. #Enough. #NeverAgain. This one's for the people in the streets! Change will come.
In the late 70s, as punk and post-punk bands spiraled towards their new wave destinies, prog dinosaurs stood paralyzed in the shadows. Bands like the Sex Pistols were meteors, igniting a global firestorm that would trigger prog's extinction. The British music press (Melody Maker, Sounds, NME, etc.), once proponents of prog darlings Genesis, Yes and ELP, now bashed any band releasing songs in odd time signatures and singing about aliens and whales. The punk revolution had turned the U.K. music industry and press on its head within a year (1976-1977). For me, this is one of the most interesting times in pop music. Although prog groups saw their audiences rapidly dwindle (Yes audiences had dropped from 20,000 to 3,000 by 1980's Drama tour), many record labels had built fortunes on the works of prog artists and were willing to foot the bill for some interesting transitional experiments. Yes' Drama , ELPs' Works , Genesis' . ..And Then There Were Three... were p...
Never underestimate the power of corporeal politics. Today, hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of American cities demanding political action on gun control. In downtown Portland, ME thousands streamed down Congress St. and gathered at City Hall. I was there. It was powerful. When you are united with others in your community, marching, there is an energy -- a sense of unstoppable momentum. It is also reassuring. We are not alone in standing up to the insanity. We are one. I am inspired by the Americans (especially the women and young people) who have once again discovered the power of peaceful, non-violent protest. If we continue to march in these numbers, politicians will hear us. The continuing volume of our chants and rhythm of our marching feet, knocking at their door, will remind them to legislate on behalf of us -- the people. All of the money in the world can't pay back the moral deficit and heal the wounded conscience of NRA-backed legislators...
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