June 22, 2005

Alternative History Open Thread

Let me hear your opinion on today's historical What if question:

"How would today's music scene be different if the Sex Pistols had been a punk rock band?"

Posted by marxy at June 22, 2005 2:19 PM
Comments

??? is this a trick question? :p

or did you get the idea from here?
http://www.thefilthandthefury.co.uk/home.htm

Posted by: rachael at June 22, 2005 2:56 PM

okay, i'm thinking way too much about this.

punk lost its momentum when the sex pistols imploded and it never reached its full potential to challenge, therefore much of what came after 1979 is just a poor man's version... and the iconography of sid vicious is part of the problem...

http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/011108-25up5.html

or if malcolm mclaren hadn't controlled them, music might have turned out differently, where image seemed precedent over music in the inclusion of sid vicious, a bass player who probably didn't even play on their recordings and had his speakers often turned off live? but he sure looked bad.

Posted by: rachael at June 22, 2005 3:24 PM

I doubt there were really so many people in the 70s saying that the sex pistols werent punk enough. Calling them not punk (or implying it) seems like just a bunch of historical revisionism through the eyes of "indie cred".

So what would change if they "weren't a punk band" is that everyone historically would have been in line with the modern pitchforker's need to give music meaning by giving it a category.

Posted by: nate at June 22, 2005 3:36 PM

your trick is loose. read history books, read jon savage. i'm really sorry to say this, because i like the undertones, the adverts or the buzzcocks ten times more than the sex pistols, but they actually were a real punk band.

Posted by: odot at June 22, 2005 5:41 PM

neomarxisme is getting way "goonies" on us.

Posted by: r. at June 22, 2005 8:08 PM

Man, this didn't work at all...! I was searching for a really nonsenical, impossible question and everybody assumed I was so snobby that I thought the Sex Pistols were sell-outs. You can all blame me and my staying at home with a nasty cold.

Posted by: marxy at June 22, 2005 8:41 PM

i REALLY thought you were snobby-ish on this one and i must admit i was really surprised of that.

Posted by: odot at June 23, 2005 8:39 AM

I thought he was just poking fun at the readers :/

Posted by: JB at June 23, 2005 9:39 AM

next time write something along the lines of, 'OMFG yOu'lL nEva beLieVe tHis' as an introduction and we'll know where to enter the nonsensical discussion.

tongue in cheek, of course

Posted by: rachael at June 23, 2005 11:12 AM

Maybe you should've gotten Lance to write this entry.

Posted by: Brad at June 23, 2005 11:59 AM

Lance is currently at Boys State or something.

Posted by: marxy at June 23, 2005 1:46 PM

i second brad's lance comment.

Posted by: r. at June 23, 2005 9:24 PM

r: weren't we just talking about something like this the other day?

Posted by: Chris_B at June 24, 2005 1:38 AM

chris_b: if we WEREN'T i'd be scandalized!

Posted by: r. at June 24, 2005 8:08 AM