Read this at the book release party. It fit the 1977 theme perfectly.
Artifacts
Mr. Wonderful
WHEN I CANNOT DISCERN
no arc nor halo
no narrative defined
scars from past cuts
no longer pink
they reported he took
a lot less than usual
there is only one way
this can end—
next time you ask
I’ll say “Yes”
from 1977, forthcoming from Ravenna Press
1977: imaginary backcover blurbs (3 of 3)
Like a wild drummer or your heart skipping a beat. Like a mind opening. Like howling at the moon or reliving apathy. Like old scars. Like a new tattoo.
Not so much a history lesson as a shout out to the future. An artist picking through what we discard to make it new.
Complexity alternately unravels and tangles with context. These poems embrace the risk of obscurity.
1977: imaginary backcover blurbs (2 of 3)
Razor-edge sharp and buzzsaw loud.
If you believe history is not chronological but rather cyclical, then you’re not puzzled by the notion that history repeats itself.
The word “blurb,” meaning short advertisement, was coined in 1907 by F G Burgess. No surprise another Burgess then blurbs.
1977: imaginary backcover blurbs (1 of 3)
Smashes history, both textbook and memory, into fragments and then reassembles it into an anti-chronological “narrative” (in quotes), this collage of memoir, charts and sampled text is tied together by the thinnest of threads for the reader to pull or be pulled by.
Taking nostalgia to its root in battle and sickness, the writer/illustrator challenges the notion that time that has passed between then and now.
If I had to sum this up in one word, I couldn’t.
Never Mind The Bullocks
I reviewed Never Mind The Bullocks Here’s The Sex Pistols (released by Virgin on Oct. 28, 1977) for The Chimes, the student newspaper at SUNY Morrisville, Feb. 13, 1978, edition.
Subs (a coda)
As my artist friend David says: “The internet is magic.”
The catalyst: “Gimme Your Heart” 45 by the Subs (Stiff Records 1978).
How it happened: 1) I posted a newspaper clipping my Grandma C sent me in the waning days of first-wave punk. It told the story of a punk band that saved a couple trapped in their car during a snowstorm. (See story here.)
2) David added a comment linking to the song “Gimme Your Heart” by the Subs, the punk band mentioned in the newspaper clipping.
3) David’s friend Mike added a comment linking to Discogs with the Subs record (shown above) for sale.
4) I bought the 45 (made in Scotland) off the internet that evening. It arrived about a week later.
The result: The internet is indeed magic!
Accounting
Chart shows the gender make-up of punk bands that I listened to c. 1977. You could count the women musicians on one hand — Moe Tucker, Patti Smith, Deborah Harry, Tina Weymouth. Later I heard the Slits (1979) and the Go-Gos (early 1980s ). In the 1990s my daughter showed me the light with Sleater-Kinney, The Gossip, Bratmobile, Bikini Kill. Punk got better over the years!
Rocket To Russia
Three reasons why, released 40 years ago (Nov. 4, 1977), the Ramones’ third LP “Rocket To Russia” still matters:
- “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker“
- Cover photo by Danny Fields.
- Russia is still messing with us.
