‘They say you can’t relive the past, but as the lights went down it all came running back: half a life away, the night, for the first time in a lonely life, a young soul took flight’ – The Bangers Embrace by Propagandhi
After nearly 18 months of the Covid pandemic, and the
constant tightening/relaxing of measures, I was able to travel back to the UK
for the summer holidays to spend some time visiting my friends and family. This
also coincided with ‘Freedom Day’, the experimental policy of ‘Living with Covid’,
and England returning to the closest measure to ‘normality’ seen in the Western
world. I decided to take full advantage of my time in the UK and tried to make
the most of any spare time I had. Following a weekend with my children, under normal circumstances
I’d be chillaxing at home on a Sunday night, yet I decided to head out with my good
friend, and spiritual elder Simon (who still exists as ‘Simon Bad
Religion’ in my phone, as a result of our first meeting in the smoking area
round the back of the Common Place [now Wharf Chambers], and one of us wearing
a Bad Religion t-shirt helping ignite the sparks of a close bond and friendship
over the subsequent years), and we headed to a ‘Meanwood’ garden hangout of
some of his close friends, and people I had become acquainted with through him
previously. This was an enjoyable & relaxing evening, enjoying good conversation
over a few drinks, and everyone being inquisitive about my life in Malaysia. It
was great to wax lyrical about my experiences and observations. Upon the
arrival of the 10pm witching hour, final cans were consumed, and conversations
waned. On the way home, one of Simon’s friends did the sensible thing and went
home, yet Simon and I have always had a penchant for carrying on proceedings
and debunking the myth that nothing ever good happens after midnight.
So, we went back to Simon’s house, cracked open some more
alcohol, and decided to kick back and enjoy listening to some loud music
together (Simon lives in a bungalow, next door to a deaf person, which is every
middle-aged punk rockers dream). Rather than living in the present and listening
to the easily accessible Spotify ready bangers playlists, we (unplanned)
settled down to a night of listening to (almost) full records – just like the
good old days of music aficionado musings. It was an incredible feeling to be
back in that zone, after what seemed like a long adventure in zoochosis. We
were now breaking down the fences and embracing our spiritual punk rock animal
instincts. What follows is a break down of the records we listened to (on CD)
and the feelings & memories they invoked.
NOFX – Coaster
This was Simons first suggestion, which completely took me
by surprise, because for him, it came at a particular time of his life (which
is often the case) where the songs spoke to him in a way that summed up many of
his thoughts and feelings that he had. He even went as far as to cite it as one
of his favourite NOFX albums, which is something I have never heard a NOFX fan say.
I bought this record whilst I was travelling, from a record store
in San Francisco, not too long after it was released (ironically it was already
in the bargain bin by that point). I did listen to it quite a bit when I got back,
but it never remained on my NOFX rotation as it seemed to lack depth beyond the
bangers of ‘We Called it America’, ‘The Quitter’, and ‘Eddie, Bruce and Paul’.
However, upon this listen, it was great to be reacquainted
with all these songs once more after a 12 year gap. What made it more special
is that each song was accompanied by a spoken work interpretation by Simon
about what themes the songs conveyed, and how it linked to events and themes in
his life at the time. Similarly, I was able to offer some of the same back to
him, and at this point we had realised that we had hit peak bonding over the
power of punk-rock. We certainly weren’t coasting through a standard post-midnight
drinking session.
Stiff Little Fingers – Nobody’s Heroes
Following NOFX, I scoured the darkest depths of Simons CD collection
to try and find something different, and not a standard ‘go-to’ record. When I
came across Stiff Little Fingers (SLF), it evoked a memory of a previous day,
about when I was in the bath listening to a Spotify daily mix (it does have
some uses for discovering some new music), and finally heard an amazing SLF
song that wasn’t Alternative Ulster. After some attempts at describing the song,
I was able to discover its name thanks to the help of the internet. After
telling Simon that I had never really got into SLF, Simon seized on the moment
to be that teacher to finally give me an education about them, and insist that
we listen to the whole record, because all the songs lead up nicely to the song
I had recently heard ‘doesn’t make it alright’.
Once again, whilst listening to the songs I was given
insight into the socio-political events of the time and listened to the stories
from Simon’s life that were attached to the songs. I must say, my mind was
blown, and I couldn’t believe how much I had overlooked this band in the past.
Now I was finally getting into the band that the guitarist in one of my
favourite bands of all time (Dickie Hammond from Leatherface) always reiterated
were ‘the greatest punk band of all time’. In fact, upon reflection with my 30+
years of listening habits, I can honestly say that they were one of the best of
the original cream of punk bands, especially as they struck a great balance
between the snotty chaos of punk and the melodic catchiness of what makes a
good pop song. What more is that this all came out and was released by a group
of lads living in the ashes of a civil war-torn Belfast. The fact that we were
drinking warm beer by this stage of the night, didn’t matter. SLF were making
it alright.
Bad Religion – The New America
I gave Simon a selection of three CDS from his collection
which he could choose for the next album, and he chose this one. It’s certainly
not one of ‘go-to’ records from Bad Religion (BR), and it’s one that divides
the fans, as it was a marked departure from their classic sound and was released
on a major label. However, with us being avid long term BR fans, the classics had
become over played and needed to be rested, and just like hardcore fans of any
band, we took solace in indulging in some of their more lesser listened to
output (well actually not for me, this record has been on occasional rotation
since I heard it).
The simple pleasures of being a BR fan all came flooding
back: singing along to a philosophical line of wisdom from Greg Graffin, joining
in with a harmonious ooh or ahh, pointing out an amazing drum fill from Bobby
Shayer, or simply just saying the phrase ‘Brain Baker’ with post orgasmic tones
when hearing a sick guitar solo. Interestingly, the tour around this record was
the first time Simon went to see them live (in Belgium – with a guy he had met
travelling around South America). For me it was around ‘No Substance’ when I
saw them play a few songs headlining the Warped Tour stage at Reading 1998, but
it wasn’t until The Process of Belief tour in 2002 when I really went full on
geek worship with them.
The Bomb – Speed is Everything
We were inebriated by this stage of the night, so it
gravitated towards single songs and compilations. I found this record in Simon’s
collection, and thought ‘this band is so obscure, I bet he must have been at
that show in Nation of Shopkeepers, when they played in Leeds during the year
2010 (I was able to find this out using my spreadsheet of all the gigs I have
ever been to). It turns out he was there, and we didn’t even know each other at
the time. Whilst listening to one of the tracks that made it onto Simons 2010
end of year compilation CD (which he still produces every year), we reminisced
how amazing they were live, and how great it was seeing the singer (Jeff
Pezzati of Naked Raygun fame) still rocking out on stage despite having
recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease).
Dog on a Rope – Spike
That last song turned out to be The Bomb that fizzled the
night away (nothing to do with it being nearly 3am and copious amounts of
alcohol being consumed – honest guvnor), yet this record is worth a mention given
that it follows on from a previous theme to the last song we listened to, and
something which came up recently, when we both attended the recent Bob Vylan
show at the Brudenell Social Club (and what an amazing performance that was –
the crowd were going mental – a tale for another time), which we attended with
our mutual friend Nat (who played in Dog on a Rope – one of the best (only)
antifascist Oi! Bands from Leeds, who have many a tale to tell). We reminisced
how once again we were at another show when we still didn’t know each other,
which was a Dog On A Rope reunion / karaoke night at Santiagos in Leeds, which
was a leaving do for one of the Leeds punks. Nat reminded us that Simon sang
one of the cover songs, and I performed one of their songs, ‘No Surrender’ – a night
that had disappeared into the vaults of the spreadsheet memory, and was fitting
to be reminded of, given our shared history and passion for punk rock. I think
I must have practiced it every night in my bedroom on the run up to the show,
because Nat reminded me that I was one of the few people that got up who knew the
song inside out.
On a final point to bring it all back round to the present,
the poetic timing of the ‘Tiger King’ becoming the most popular online series
at the start of the global lockdown is the most ironic thing about these past
18 months. As critical viewers may have noted, learning about the unfair treatment
of the animals, and their newfound behaviours as a result of captivity (Zoochosis
– did you look up that word when I used it earlier in this article? – if not,
then use a thesaurus when you are reading because it raises your literacy
standards to emancipatory levels), actually should have been a key moment to
understand the changes taking place in society at the time, and help us process
our thoughts and feelings with more clarity. As we approach the end of this
pandemic, the most important thing for us all, is to unlearn some of the new
behaviours we gathered during the lockdowns (subservience, social distancing,
and inflexibility of social norms) and start to embrace all those positive
& progressive human traits we possessed before it all kicked off
(questioning authority, social interaction, and fluidity). On the flip side, we
all (especially those with considerable influence) should use this time to
reflect on how we treat each other, our fellow animals, and mother Earth, so
that we are able to evolve into a new epoch of sustainable existence. Go forth,
slowly begin to unleash that punk-rock spirit animal inside of you once more
and embrace those little unscripted moments you have missed.
All round excellent memory and stirring stuff Lukas....one small point of order that definitely needs addressing tho.....Belgium was the first time I'd seen BR abroad!! Not ever...
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