Successful mainstream bands such as Sublime and Green Day were greatly influenced by this hardcore punk band. In the early days of Green Day, cover songs such as "Knowledge" were played. This band shares a lot of my views, including vegetarianism and the strong distrust of mainstream conformist culture.
Punks and moon-stompers were very upset to see this band break up. They did not gain much popularity, and then later split. Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong broke off and took a few years off, doing associated acts with Dance Hall Crashers and Social Distortion on their current and biggest project, Rancid. Why? Why would they break up one would ask. "Started in '87, Ended in '89, Got a garage or an amp, we'll play anytime. It was just the four of us, Yeah man the core of us, Too much attention unavoidably destroyed us. Four kids on tour, 3,000 miles, in a four door car, not knowing what was going on. We got a million years, of tourin' out like this, Hell no, no premonition could have seen this!" -Tim Armstrong. This band obviously lacked sales, any band, no matter what, needs money. Even indie bands that try to be as minimalist and humble as possible, still need a considerable amount of money.
This band mains message was a strong and vociferous struggle for social justice. Songs like "Take Warning", share stories of street fights, and "Unity", portraying all the wars, and for them to stop. A quote for one to think about.
"Music is an indirect force for change, because it provides an anchor against human tragedy. In this sense, it works towards a reconciled world. It can also be the direct experience of change. At certain points during some shows, the reconciled world is already here, at least in that second, at that place. Operation Ivy was very lucky to have experienced this. Those seconds reveal that the momentum that drives a subculture is more important then any particular band. The momentum is made of all the people who stay interested, and keep their sense of urgency and hope."
—Jessie Micheals
This is written a lot better than your previous entries, (the others were still good though.) Distrust of mainstream culture is a value that another band, Muse, follows closely to. Maybe explaining the quote at the end would make it a bit better.
ReplyDeleteDavid, i really liked how you throw in the qoute at the end, helps to decribe the point your getting at. However i thought that you switched topics very quickly. What is your favorite punk band?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a bit more of you in here, but that doesn't mean you can't let quotes from the band work for you too. Also, you'd do well to consider the audience for your writing. Maybe your audience doesn't know what a moon stomper is, and without a context for Tim's quote, your followup CM lacks a clear connection. In fact, I interpreted the quote almost exactly the opposite from your viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI like the elevated vocabulary that you use, and I don't think it's too ambitious for your audience.
There are some sentences that stick in my craw, and they should stick in your craw too! Reread them and think about how to improve their effectiveness.
1. This band is possibly one of the most influential ska-punk bands, and leading to the most influential punk bands ever to skank and rock.
2. This band mains message was a strong and vociferous struggle for social justice. (Here is a small error that makes a big difference!)
3. Songs like "Take Warning", share stories of street fights, and "Unity", portraying all the wars, and for them to stop. (Think of verb tenses here)
4. A quote for one to think about. (Is that a sentence that can stand on its own?)