bloggedy blog

:: Monday, October 04, 2004 ::

Punk Rock Countdown: No. 6
"Pretty Vacant," by the Sex Pistols
The sleeve for this, the third Sex Pistols single, featured a picture of a bus with "Nowhere" listed as its destination. Pretty appropriate for the kings of punk nihilism.

"Pretty Vacant" begins with Steve Jones' plucking at his guitar, heavy on the reverb, then joined by Paul Cook's tribal tom toms and Glen Matlock's thundering bass, all combining for an aural assault that sets the stage for John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) and his vocals. Rotten sings about a punk ethos of not caring -- about appearances, others' opinions, etc., but does so with a fine sense of irony. The chorus -- "We're so pretty, oh so pretty..." -- begins as a bit of self-deprecating humor, until Lydon and company turn that noun pretty into an adjective for vacant, and then add: And we don't care!"

Even more than the lyrical content of "Pretty Vacant," and the lyrics are among Lydon's best, it's the feral, tribal feel of this song -- from Cook and Matlock's rhythm bursts to Jones' harsh rhythm guitar to Lydon's demented shrieking of the chorus -- that draws me in.

:: Andrew 07:12 + ::
...

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