bloggedy blog

:: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 ::

Punk Rock Countdown: No. 37
"Boredom," by The Buzzcocks

While the Sex Pistols drew most of the attention during the early days of England's punk scene, and the Clash broke off in another direction as a "political" band, a third element of punk was emerging in Manchester: the Buzzcocks. The 'cocks practically invented punk's DIY ethic by releasing its homemade, hand-pressed EP Spiral Scratch, in early 1977. Highlighting the four-track EP was "Boredom," a tribute to ennui led by Howard Devoto's near-recitation of Peter Shelley's clever lyrics.

The plague of boredom became a theme for future punk tunes, such as the Clash's "I'm So Bored with the USA," but the Buzzcocks were the first to articulate their ennui. Drowning in a sea of pop culture, they picked out the flotsam and jetsam and made lyrics that addressed the matter straight-on. ("I'm living in this movie/but it doesn't move me," and "I've taken this extravagant journey/so it seems to me/I just came from nowhere/I'm going straight back there.") Underscored by the best two-note guitar solo ever -- its dissonance conjures up images of a French police siren -- the Buzzcocks struck a responsive chord with alienated youth everywhere.

:: Andrew 07:32 + ::
...

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