“The first all-Black punk band Pure Hell is nearly written right out of the history, in spite of being along from the trough to the crest of the first wave…Something about myself: I be really curious about these things.” – Reaghan Buchanan, ‘The Secret History Of Black Punk’
Go find some clothes at a thrift store, make a zine, flip a bird to corporatism, and tell it on the mountain that you’re glad Ronald Reagan is dead, because we’re talking about punk rock for the next couple weeks. I’ll have some longer thoughts on my own experience with punk on Wednesday. Today, we’re scholars. Liberty-spiked scholars.
What I’ve Been Reading This Week:
Two excellent histories. Really, really could not be more thrilled to semi-kick off the year with these two. Both of these cover periods of time that were decidedly before my time. I was in high school/seriously in a punk scene from like 2002-2006. Green Day had long sold out, but the nail in my personal coffin was American Idiot. Hell, Rancid seemed like old heads, Op Ivy was an Old Testament myth. And yes, I was primarily into pop-punk, which just about everyone in these books would probably kick me out of the club for. If I even got in, given my shoulder-length hair. Whatever, I like to think the actual arrival of fascism in the U.S. halls of power would make those differences passé. Let’s talk about The Secret History of Black Punk by Reaghan Buchanan and Going Underground: American Punk 1979-1989 by George Hurchalla.
The Secret History Of Black Punk by Reaghan Buchanan: I picked this graphic zine up in a section of Women and Children First that I had never seen before, and man, I am glad I had to look for whatever book I was looking for that day. This zine is exactly as it presents itself: a comic book-style history of Black punk artists, from Pure Hell to Mad Dog Karla on up to The Germs and the Bad Brains to more present-day bands like FUPU and Big Joanie. It begins, of course, with the original rock n roll shredder, Sister Rosetta Tharp, because Reaghan knows her shit. There’s also a two-page spread interviewing Hanif Abdurraqib. I love this comic, and will be listening to all of these bands this year.
Going Underground: American Punk, 1979-1989 by George Hurchalla: I picked up this up from the Haymarket tent at Printer’s Row fest this summer, though it’s off PM Press. There are a lot of punk histories out there that have been hard for me to get into—I checked one out from the library a while ago that seemed to be more into fashion than anything, which, fine, but not my interest—but I figured one that Haymarket was pushing would be worth it. My dudes, I was not wrong.
The book is something of survey. Hurchalla grew up in Florida (giving him that hungry, there’s-nothing-here-so-I’m-seeking-out-everything attitude about music), went to college in Philly (a thriving scene), had a failed attempt at a band (the Gutless Meanies, described by George with hilarious self-effacement), and had a radio show. So he knew what was happening. He traveled to shows and took being a part of the scene seriously—always important, but especially in the pre-Internet, DIY-or-die days. It says 1979-1989, and that’s true enough, but it leans heavily on 1979-1986. By the time we get to Op Ivy and Gilman Street—the generation that I considered “the old generation”—George is the old head. He’s kinda like Allen Iverson: never dogging the newcomers, but firmly rooted in his own preferences, encyclopedic though his knowledge is.
I got a lot of out this book. Really been enjoying Naked Raygun, JFA, and my wife even gave TSOL an “okay why is this kinda good tho.” The NOFX song “Two Jealous Agains” makes a lot more sense, and calling a whole chapter “This is Boston Not LA” got that hook stuck in my head for a solid week. THAT SAID: I’m glad to also read Reaghan Buchanan and Michelle Cruz Gonzalez (whom we’ll read next week). I’m not accusing George of anything. He somewhat tackles issues of racism and homophobia (although I would argue a lot of the Bad Brains stuff is glossed over, especially what happened with Big Boys). He does a long section celebrating the queerpunk scene in 1980s Texas. It’s just a different perspective, and if you’re going to get into the history of this stuff? Well, George has his focuses. It’s interesting how often the Bad Brains show up in George’s book, juxtaposed with this page from Reaghan’s:
All I’m saying is read broadly, bedroom historians.
LINKS!
Something to listen to while you browse? One of the first things to attract me to punk—besides fast music matching my own teenage energy—was anti-imperialism. It super sucks that imperialism is back in a big way this week! As the U.S. once again—but more mask-off ugly this time—re-asserts itself as the absolute bully of the word, the oppressor, and the worst thing to happen to South and Central America since Columbus, it seems only right to turn to Los Crudos. The Uruguayan-Mexican-Chicagoan punks were hollerin about all this a long time ago.
- ICE does nothing but kill people. They just most often do it by 1,000 cuts, or maybe 500. They know when they deport people, they are sending those people to a likely death. They relish it. They love it. Everyone in ICE signed up because they wanted to kill some brown people. That’s it. That’s the whole reason. They’ll say bullshit like “I wanna keep the country safe” or whatever, but that is a lie. Anyway, ICE killed a white woman this week. Not only that, she was a poet and single mother. There’s an orphaned child in Minnesota right now because of ICE. I cannot wait for the day that ICE, CBP, and DHS are gone. And I don’t just mean from our streets. Honoring the victim is the most important thing here, and Jonny Diamond at Lit Hub tells us Renee Nicole Good was a poet, too. Over at Defector, Albert Burneko sums it up with ICE Agent Kills Woman, DHS Tells Obvious, Insane Lies About It and asks How Hard Is It To Oppose Murder?, while Samer Kalaf reminds us that ICE Is Modeling Its Brutality After The IDF. At Block Club, Madison Savedra reminds us that Before Feds Killed Minnesota Mom, They Killed A Man And Shot A Woman 5 Times In Chicago. At The Triibe, Richard Wallace looks at what makes an ICE agent, and Tiffany Walden reports Residents to examine Chicago police interactions with ICE and Border Patrol at Pilsen hearing and march. Chicago stood in solidarity with Minneapolis, with vigils and protests popping up Wednesday night. Kelly Hayes spoke at a vigil in Rogers Park, and published her remarks on Organizing My Thoughts.
- In honor of punk week: Hannah Sandoz, DIY touring musician by Devyn-Marshall Brown (DMB) in Chicago Reader
- Very fun anonymous reader letter from a 1995 issue of Chicago Reader. Good reminder that punks are often completely fucking insufferable, even when they’re right. There’s a trait I’m trying to work on in the new year.
- Donald Trump Will Tell You Exactly What He Wants From Venezuela by Barry Petchesky at Defector. A pull quote, because Defector is subscription-based (but worth it!): “But the American superpower has always utilized some form or other of gunboat diplomacy, and there’s something clarifying about ripping that mask off completely. It’s impossible to claim the moral high ground now; we rarely had it before, even if we always pretended to.”
- Even further on the margins of society we go. Here’s ‘An impossible situation’: Beginning January 1, the City of Chicago will ban unhoused people on the sex offense registry from seeking shelter on public buses and trains, by Shawn Mulcahy in Chicago Reader.
- Let’s end with a poet who has a devastating line about fashion punks. Not in these poems, but somewhere, you’ll just have to read his books to find it. Here are new poems from Adrian Sobol in Lover’s Eye.
What’re you still doing here? Don’t you want to go play some single string tremolo riffs on your guitar?
If you work in the service industry, may you clean up in tips this weekend. If you control the sound system at work, consider putting on some Pure Hell or Spitboy.
Sorry you got an email,
Chris